Advocates blame anti-vaxxers after four-year-old boy dies from flu [View all]
Source: The Guardian
Advocates blame anti-vaxxers after four-year-old boy dies from flu
Colorado boys mother admitted in a Facebook post she refused to fill the doctors prescription for Tamiflu
Kenya Evelyn in Washington
@LiveFromKenya
Fri 7 Feb 2020 19.10 GMT
Health advocates are blaming anti-vaccine propaganda perpetuated online for the death of a four-year-old Colorado boy from the flu earlier this week.
The boys mother, Geneva Montoya, admitted in a Facebook post that she refused to fill the doctors prescription for Tamiflu, the most common antiviral medication prescribed to treat the flu.
A
search by NBC News uncovered the mothers engagement with an online group called Stop Mandatory Vaccination. The group of nearly 140,000 members, also called anti-vaxxers, is known for peddling false health information and discouraging parents from vaccinating their children.
The state health department confirmed that the preschooler died from the flu. Officials also said they have no records showing the child had been vaccinated.
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Rather than medical attention, Montoya solicited unproven at-home flu treatments from fellow members of the Stop Mandatory Vaccination group. Many of the 45 comments included what Montoya called natural cures, including lavender herbs and peppermint oil. None mentioned medical treatment.
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Read more:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/feb/07/colorado-boy-dies-flu-anti-vaccine-facebook-groups