The mother of a Colorado preschooler who died from the flu ignored a doctor’s prescription and tried alternative, “natural” methods recommended in an anti-vaccine Facebook group, according to reports.
The mother of the boy posted on a Facebook group — called “Stop Mandatory Vaccination” — that two of her four children had been diagnosed with the flu, leading a doctor to prescribe Tamiflu antiviral medication for the entire household, NBC News reports.
A third child — the woman’s 4-year-old son, who later died — had not been diagnosed with the flu at the time, but showed symptoms of a fever and had a seizure. Nevertheless, she ignored the doctor’s orders, she wrote.
“The doc prescribed tamiflu I did not pick it up,” the Facebook post read.
The woman — who was not identified by NBC News — also wrote that she had been treating her four children with peppermint oil, vitamin C and lavender. But those methods weren’t working, leading her to ask for advice from the Facebook group. The group currently has more than 144,000 members.
Some of the suggestions she received included using breast milk, thyme and elderberry — all of which are not recommended by doctors to treat influenza, which caused anywhere from 12,000 to 30,000 deaths in the US between Oct. 1 and Feb. 1, according to preliminary estimates by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“OK perfect I’ll try that,” the mother replied.
Another Facebook group member suggested the mother put sliced potatoes and cucumbers on the child’s head, the Colorado Times Recorder reports, citing screengrabs of the conversation.
The posts have since been scrubbed from the page, the newspaper reports.
Both outlets did not identify the child who died, but a GoFundMe page identified the boy as Najee. He lived in Pueblo, KCNC reports.
“I would like to sincerely thank everyone who has donated money for me son Najee!” read an update on the fundraising page, posted Thursday. “It is my deepest sorrow to inform those of you that don’t already know that my son has been taken off of life support and has passed. Myself and all those who love Najee are devastated and broken.”
The page was still active Friday afternoon and had raised more than $9,000 of its $10,000 goal.
State health officials confirmed the boy’s death Wednesday, KKTV reports, adding that no influenza vaccination records for the boy are available.
“The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment can confirm that a preschool-aged child in southern Colorado has died of flu,” the agency wrote in a statement. “The death is the second pediatric flu death in Colorado this season. The department does not have any records that show whether the child was vaccinated against influenza.”
Najee’s mother, meanwhile, told the station she feels as if she “failed” her son.
“I’m hurting so bad right now and so is his dad and brothers,” she told KKTV. “Our whole family is hurting and it feels like we failed him because we did what we had to do.”
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMicGh0dHBzOi8vbnlwb3N0LmNvbS8yMDIwLzAyLzA3LzQteWVhci1vbGQtY29sb3JhZG8tYm95LWRpZXMtZnJvbS1mbHUtYWZ0ZXItbW9tLXRvb2stZmFjZWJvb2stYW50aS12YXgtZ3JvdXAtdGlwcy_SAXRodHRwczovL255cG9zdC5jb20vMjAyMC8wMi8wNy80LXllYXItb2xkLWNvbG9yYWRvLWJveS1kaWVzLWZyb20tZmx1LWFmdGVyLW1vbS10b29rLWZhY2Vib29rLWFudGktdmF4LWdyb3VwLXRpcHMvYW1wLw?oc=5
2020-02-07 20:06:00Z
52780595181848
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "4-year-old Colorado boy dies from flu after mom took Facebook anti-vax group tips - New York Post "
Post a Comment