A 12-year-old girl named Adaline Deal, who is distantly related to Vice President JD Vance through his half-siblings, has been denied a heart transplant because she is not vaccinated against COVID-19 and the flu. Adaline was born with two rare heart conditions, Ebstein’s anomaly and Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome, and has been receiving treatment at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital for years. Her parents, Janeen and Todd Deal, hoped she could get a transplant there, but the hospital requires patients to be vaccinated, and they refused to grant an exemption based on the family’s religious beliefs as nondenominational Christians.
Adaline’s mother, Janeen, expressed frustration with the hospital’s decision, saying, “I thought, wow. So, it’s not about the kid. It’s not about saving her life.” The Deals believe vaccines are unsafe and chose not to vaccinate Adaline after feeling guided by their faith. However, vaccinations are strongly recommended for transplant patients because they are at a much higher risk of infections during and after the procedure.
Dr. Camille Kotton, an expert in transplant and infectious diseases, explained that transplant patients like Adaline are at a greater risk of severe illness or death if they contract COVID-19, especially in the first year after the transplant. Despite this, Janeen remains confident that Adaline and their 11 other children will not have issues with COVID-19, even without vaccination. She told the Cincinnati Enquirer, “We’ll take it as we can if it happens. But I know I cannot put this (vaccine) in her body knowing what we know and how we feel about it.”
The situation has sparked debate, as the hospital’s policy prioritizes the safety and success of the transplant, while the family’s decision is rooted in their religious beliefs and concerns about vaccines. For now, Adaline’s need for a heart transplant remains unmet due to the vaccination requirement.
