A second pediatric death was reported in Colorado after a mother refused to vaccinate her children from the flu. The mother of a four-year-old child sought information from an anti-vaccination Facebook page to treat the child instead of giving the child Tamiflu.
Najee was the second death from Colorado and has prompted several questions with regard to the anti-vaccination movement. Two of the boy's siblings had been tested positive for influenza.
The GoFundMe page set up by the family says that the boy's 10-month-old brother was taken to the hospital with 104 degrees. Upon returning home the mother gave the children a bath and asked Nanjee and his five-year-old brother to go change into their pajamas. It is reported that within minutes Nanjee had a febrile seizure because of the fever from the flu.
Facebook posts show the mother was resorting to 'natural ways'
The reason this death has caused the debate about vaccination yet again started from the Facebook page "Stop Mandatory Vaccination" when screenshots of the mother's questions about treatment surfaced on the internet.
A week before the young boy's death, his mother had posted in the group asking for treatment and cure for influenza. The group had talked her into curing the child using vitamins, botanicals, and fruits and vegetables rather than the Tamiflu. In the post which now has been deleted the mother told the members that she did not pick up Tamiflu which was prescribed by the doctor. The member replies by saying that "You're better off taking Vitamin D and C, Elderberry, Zinc, and eating lots of fruits and vegetables."
The posts were obtained by NBC and Colorado Times Recorder. The mother seem to have tried the methods that were advised to her but the fever was not breaking and she went ahead and asked the group yet again. She had also mentioned that there was a seizure because of the fever in the group.
The mother mentioned in her previous posts that the children were not vaccinated. Research shows that most of the children who pass away from the flu have not been vaccinated. The Facebook page run by self-proclaimed "advocate for natural living" Larry Cook, has over 178,000 members and has over 10,000 posts in the last 30 days. Social media is questioning the mother's choices and the advice she received from the group.
Facebook and other social networking sites are working towards reducing the information about anti-vaccination and medical misinformation. Medical misinformation has become a challenge in the present world with the large access of information, which has led to the people believing in everything that is displayed online.
