New Delhi:
The 12-year-old Indiana girl was denied a heart transplant because she was not vaccinated against Covid-19 and the flu. Adalin, a distant relative of US Vice President JD Vance, was recruited from China. She was born with two unusual heart conditions, Ebstein's abnormalities and Wolf-Pulkinson-White syndrome, and has been treated at Cincinnati Children's Hospital for nearly a decade.
Talk to Cincinnati Enquilerher parents said the hospital had requested vaccinations for all transplant patients and despite objections based on religious beliefs as nondenominational Christians, the hospital refused to exempt. Addalin's mother, Janine Diehl, expressed her disappointment, saying, “I thought it was amazing. It's not about a child. It's not about saving her life.”
Her mother said she believed the vaccine was not safe and that she and her husband had made their decision, “The Holy Spirit put it in our hearts.”
Hospital spokesman Bo McMillan said, “The decisions of children in Cincinnati are guided by science, research and best practices. We work with families to coordinate care plans for each patient to ensure the safest and most effective treatment.”
Vaccines are proposed for transplant patients because of their significantly higher risk of infection. Dr. Camille Cotton, clinical director of transplantation and immunodeficient host infectious diseases at Massachusetts General Hospital, said that patients are at increased risk of severe illness or death from infection after transplantation. “The first year after transplant is when the risk of infection is the highest, but there is a lifetime risk of severe illness and transplant patients are still dying due to Covid-19,” Cotton added.
The family has launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise funds for Adaline's port. They have received more than Rs 43,42,954 ($50,000) contributions so far. Adaline's family is still hopeful and is currently considering taking her to another transplant center that doesn't require the vaccine.
