A teenage cancer patient who was denied a life-saving lung transplant because she refused to receive the Covid vaccine has died.
Dazelle Peters, 17, who was diagnosed with leukemia four years ago, lost the fight for her life in the hospital Monday morning.
His father Josh Peters confirmed the heartbreaking news in an emotional video uploaded to various social media platforms.
She thanked everyone who sent messages of support to Dazelle during her long fight against cancer, prompting an outpouring of tributes.
Dazelle Peters (pictured), 17, who was diagnosed with leukemia and required life-saving treatment, died in hospital on Monday.
“Just know that Dazelle knew how much everyone loved her,” he said.
“This little girl was something special and deserved better.”
Hundreds of people took to social media to remember Dazelle and express their condolences.
“Rest in peace Dazelle and my deepest condolences to you and your family,” one person wrote.
“Dazelle, I admired you for your courage, strength and your unconditional love that you shared (with) many,” another person said.
Australian boxer George Kambosos Jr, who met Dazelle in hospital while receiving treatment, shared an emotional post with X.
‘RIP beautiful Dazelle, my deepest condolences to your family, heaven gained a beautiful angel. Dazelle, you will never be forgotten, an inspiration to everyone you have ever known. God bless your parents, who by your side when you finally spread your wings life can be cruel,’ she wrote.
Hundreds of people took to social media, including Australian boxer George Kambosos Jr (left), to express their grief after Dazelle (centre) died in hospital.
Other Australians paid tribute to the teenager for sticking to her beliefs by not receiving the Covid vaccine, even if this decision limited her treatment options.
‘Young Dazelle Peters was more principled and braver than most Australians. Much respect to her for sticking to her principles to the end, despite the cost to her. An honorable example for Australians,” one wrote.
Dazelle required a double lung transplant to help treat her leukemia, which is a type of blood cancer.
But he was denied treatment because he refused to receive the necessary four injections of the Covid vaccine.
His condition deteriorated after he was admitted to John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle for life-saving treatment.
He received a bone marrow transplant in May 2021 and suffered from graft-versus-host disease, which causes his body’s immune system to attack the donor’s blood cells.
She also contracted a rare form of pneumonia, which specialists at Sydney’s St Vincent’s Hospital said made Dazelle a potentially immunocompromised patient who needed to be vaccinated.
Peters previously claimed that a doctor at the hospital had told her daughter that if she didn’t get the shots and then contracted the virus, she would be a “huge threat to everyone (at the hospital) who did the right thing.”
“The way it made us feel was that they didn’t want to do the lung transplant,” Peters, 45, previously told Daily Mail Australia.
Peters claimed a doctor had said during a consultation at St Vincent’s that the hospital would give the lungs to a better candidate because Dazelle is a “complex case”.
The hospital had said that Dazelle’s lack of a Covid vaccine was a factor in her not being placed on the lung transplant waiting list, but they also said there were other reasons for the decision.
Josh Peters (right) previously claimed a doctor at Sydney’s St Vincent’s Hospital had said Dazelle would be a threat to other people in the hospital if she was not vaccinated.
A hospital spokesperson previously said its “policies and guidelines would not support the transplant” of an unvaccinated person.
“Vaccination status against various infections is a critical part of this assessment to ensure optimal survival prospects after transplant,” said a spokesperson for St. Vincent’s Hospital.
Dazelle’s case came to the attention of Deputy Federal Health Minister Ged Kearney in a letter to her from outspoken Liberal MP Russell Broadbent.
Ms Kearney warned that “the Australian government cannot intervene in clinical decisions”.
“The priority and treatment given to an individual is ultimately a clinical decision made by the treating hospital and transplant teams involved,” he said.
He clarified that there was no official mandate prohibiting the unvaccinated from receiving transplants.
“The guidelines do not prevent a patient who has not received the Covid-19 vaccine from being placed on a transplant waiting list,” Ms Kearney said.
It also said each state and territory was responsible “for the provision of jurisdictional health services, including hospital and transplant services.”
Dazelle’s family said that while a doctor had described Dazelle as a “complex” case, she had to “do the right thing” and receive the vaccines, which would have taken nine months to administer, to keep other patients and the community safe. staff.
Federal Assistant Health Minister Ged Kearney said the government could not “intervene in clinical decisions” regarding Dazelle’s health status (pictured).
A spokesperson for St Vincent’s Hospital said its “policies and guidelines would not support the transplant” of an unvaccinated person.
Peters said her daughter had been in and out of John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle after Dazelle was found collapsed in her bedroom in August last year.
Although the severity of her condition reduced while Dazelle was being treated in the hospital, the toll her body took from all the treatments over several years since her diagnosis had caused Dazelle’s kidneys, liver, and heart to deteriorate.
Peters previously told Daily Mail Australia that Dazelle decided not to receive the Covid vaccine.
“Dazelle has made it clear that he doesn’t want the hits,” Peters said.
“We can’t force her and the hospital knows they can’t force her.”
According to the TGA, Covid-19 vaccines can cause some side effects.
The most frequently reported include injection site reactions (such as pain in the arm) and more general symptoms, such as headache, muscle pain, fever, and chills.
The Australian government’s health guidelines indicate that Covid-19 vaccines are safe for people with chronic diseases.
Patients receiving end-of-life care are at high risk of becoming seriously ill from the virus.
Patients in Australia who have cancer can decide whether they want to receive the vaccine or not and can choose to make that decision with healthcare staff.
Peters (pictured center with her daughter Dazelle) said she had made it clear she did not want to receive Covid vaccines.
