A pregnant nurse who refused to get the jab because she was concerned about how it would affect her unborn child, has died, along with her baby.
A US nurse and her unborn baby have died of coronavirus weeks after she refused to get the vaccine over fears of getting the jab while pregnant.
Haley Mulkey Richardson, of Alabama, worked on a labour and delivery ward at a hospital in Pensacola, Florida, The Sun reports.
Family friend Jason Whatley said the 32-year-old had contracted Covid-19 around late July or early August, according to the outlet AL.com.
She was taken to hospital where her condition deteriorated.
Haley died on August 20 – two days after her unborn baby Ryleigh Beth.
She leaves behind her husband Jordan and daughter Katie who is about to turn three.
Haley had been worried about having a serious reaction to the vaccine, having had anaphylactic reactions previously. Not long before her death, while sick with the virus, she wrote of her fears in a Facebook post.
The post from August 9 read: “Here in the dark, in the wee hours of the morning, it is so easy to pretend that all of this was just a nightmare or that I’m just here in this hospital bed due to my own issues with Covid.
“Not for anything being wrong with my sweet baby girl whom I thought I was protecting in my own womb. I know the prognosis and I know the reality.
“And while part of me may start to acknowledge this, the other part of me still believes God is still the God of miracles and is in control above all else.
“I hope and pray for miracles but having said that I am also praying for his will to be done. If there has ever been a time to ask for something to be taken out of my own hands and put in his, it is now.”
The nurse feared she would suffer a life-threatening reaction if she got vaccinated.
Her mum Julie Mulkey told AL.com: “Haley had anaphylaxis reactions in the past. So for that reason, she felt that it was not safe for her.
“And then, of course, with all the negative reporting that has gone on, what was she to believe about what the vaccine would do to reproduction.”
Experts at the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have said pregnant women should get vaccinated. In Australia, pregnant women are on the priority list to get the Pfizer vaccine, with experts saying those who are pregnant are at more risk of serious illness if they contract Covid-19.
Mr Whatley told the outlet that Haley was healthy before contracting the virus and said she had no pre-existing or chronic conditions.
‘MY BEST FRIEND’
Haley’s husband Jordan posted an emotional tribute on Facebook to his late wife.
He said: “I loved you from the first moment I met you; you became my best friend faster than anyone can imagine.
“You became my wife, and then became the mother of our beautiful daughter.
“You took care of me in so many ways and you did it without a second thought. You touched and changed lives like I never could have imagined.”
Hospitals in Alabama continue to be overwhelmed following a surge in Covid cases.
Public health officials say there are more than 2760 patients being treated, according to WSFA.
More than half of the state’s intensive care beds are being filled by coronavirus patients.
And the state recorded its 12,000th death of the pandemic just days ago.
This article originally appeared on The US Sun and was reproduced with permission
For all the latest lifestyle News Click Here
