In a recent development, a family member of Vice President JD Vance has claimed that an Ohio hospital has denied her 12-year-old daughter a place on its heart transplant waiting list due to her vaccination status.
Jeneen Deal, a mother of twelve from Indiana, adopted Adaline from China when she was four years old, fully aware that the child had two heart conditions, Ebstein's anomaly and Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome, which would eventually necessitate a transplant.
Adaline has been under the care of Cincinnati Childrens Hospital, a leading institution in pediatric organ transplantation, for nearly a decade. On January 17, Deal revealed that Adalines doctor confirmed the child was in heart failure. Adaline herself expressed her condition to Local 12, saying, My heart's getting sick. I get tired. My legs get [too] tired to stand.
According to The Independent, the hospital mandates that heart transplant patients receive COVID-19 and flu vaccinations due to the significantly increased risk of infection for recipients. However, the Deal family has refused to comply with this requirement for their daughter. Jeneen Deal and her husband Brayton, both members of a non-denominational Christian church, argue that the vaccines conflict with their religious and medical beliefs. They have openly expressed their faith and vaccine skepticism on their Facebook pages.
The couple's decision was influenced by their faith, with the mother telling The Cincinnati Enquirer that the Holy Spirit put it on our hearts. They claim that the hospital has refused to respect their beliefs. The heart failure team told me they wont put her on the list unless we give her the Covid shot and the flu shot. I was like u would let her die if I refuse, Jeneen Deal wrote in a Facebook post on January 27. Thats their policy she said. How nuts is that!
The Deals are now contemplating transferring Adaline to a different transplant center that does not mandate vaccination. Meanwhile, they have raised over $58,000 of their $100,000 goal through a GoFundMe page to help cover the cost of the transplant.
Despite facing criticism and being labeled a bad parent, Jeneen Deal remains steadfast in her decision. She told Local 12, Yes, I've seen that they are already. But I just know I'm following our heart and what I feel is good for her. And nothing should be forced on us. I mean, it's our God-given right. We can say no."
Cincinnati Childrens Hospital issued a statement on their transplant evaluations and immunization considerations, emphasizing the importance of vaccines in preventing or reducing the risk of life-threatening infections, especially in the first year post-transplant. They noted that these decisions involve discussions between their providers and the patients family.
The Health Resources and Services Administration and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which oversee transplant lists in the U.S., have not mandated vaccination, leaving it to individual hospitals to establish their policies. The American Society of Transplant Surgeons supports the hospitals vaccination policy for patients in need of an organ transplant, recommending routine vaccination for all organ recipients and those on the waiting list.
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