“The COVID-19 vaccine is one of several vaccines required for transplant candidates in order to create both the best chance for a successful operation and also the patient’s survival," a hospital representative said.
A young Boston father who has resisted getting the COVID-19 vaccine is now facing a life-or-death decision. DJ Ferguson’s heart is failing fast, and he needs a new one as soon as possible.
He was at the top of the transplant list at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, but when the hospital discovered he wasn’t vaccinated for COVID-19, they took him off the list.
“He just doesn’t believe that a vaccine can be manufactured in months. Based on what he’s read, vaccines typically take years to evolve into an effective vaccine and with all this division in our country, it’s hard to trust anyone,” Ferguson’s mother, Tracy, told Inside Edition.
A hospital representative told Inside Edition, “The COVID-19 vaccine is one of several vaccines required for transplant candidates in order to create both the best chance for a successful operation and also the patient’s survival.”
Bioethicist Dr. Robert Klitzman says the requirements also have to do with who is most likely to live the longest.
“We have very few organs, so we have to decide who’s going to get them. And the way we decide is, we look at who’s most likely to survive the longest. So by saying, I don’t want a vaccine, means that this patient is more likely to get COVID and die from COVID, and we could instead give the heart to someone who will live longer with it,” Klitzman said.
Ferguson has two kids and another one on the way. His pregnant partner, Heather Dawson, posted an update, in which she suggested Ferguson was having a change of heart.
“Is DJ in a position where he now needs a vaccine to get a life-saving procedure? Yes. Is he going to choose to die instead of getting it? No,” Dawson said.
