Colorado boy, 4, dies of flu after mother took advice of anti-vaxxers on Facebook and refused to give him Tamiflu
A four-year-old boy in Colorado died of the flu on February 6, after his mother decided to use "natural" treatments like Vitamin C and peppermint oil. The boy, identified as "Najee" aka "Jr." on the GoFundme page set up by the family, wasn't really sick to start with. In the GoFundme page set up earlier asking for donations for Najee's treatment, the mother outlined the sequence of events. "On Sunday 2/2/20, I had to take my youngest son (10 months old) into the ER for a temp of 104... 3 out of 4 of my boys were sick and though I wasn't aware at the time, I now know that they all have the flu. After being in the ER most of the day, I returned home and prepared dinner for my kids (4 boys total). Once dinner was finished, I bathed my kids and sent my 5 yr old and Jr (4 yrs old), into their room to put on pajamas. About 5 minutes later, my 5 year old came and told me "Jr's sleep". This was weird to me being as though he had just gotten out of the bath. I went to check on Jr. and found him lying on the floor and he was pale...I immediately called 911 and began CPR, the EMT'S arrived and took over."
According to reports, the doctor had prescribed the antiviral drug to the entire household after their trip to the ER. Najee had not been diagnosed with flu at the time, but her other three children had been confirmed to have the virus. His mother posted her concerns on the Facebook group 'Stop Mandatory Vaccination' when her sons became ill. Of the 45 commenters, no one suggested medical attention, advising breastmilk, thyme, and elderberries to treat flu symptoms.
The mother later posted that she didn't pick up the prescribed drugs, and instead thanked the other group members for advising her to try natural treatments. "The doc prescribed tamiflu I did not pick it up," she had written in the now-deleted posts on the Facebook group's message board. She also said she was "'treating" her children with peppermint oil, vitamin C and lavender. In the group posts going back to 2017, the mother had also said she had not vaccinated her children from the flu. Once Najee had been taken to the hospital, he suffered a seizure and was also diagnosed with influenza B. After four days, the little boy died of flu. Speaking to the press, the mother said: "I'm hurting so bad right now and so is his dad and brothers. Our whole family is hurting and it feels like we failed him."
Tamiflu - the brand name for oseltamivir - fights the viral infection, reducing its load in the body to make the illness shorter, milder and less contagious. Its side effects are typically mild and similar to other common drugs: nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, headache, eye redness, sleep problems and coughing. In very rare cases, it has been linked to extreme changes in behavior and mood, especially in children.
In an emailed statement, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment confirmed that the preschooler, Najee, had died from the flu. "While flu is circulating, it is not too late to get a flu shot, and we recommend everyone aged six months and older who has not had the yearly vaccine get it,” the department said.
A Facebook spokesperson said in an emailed statement: “This is a tragedy and our thoughts are with his family and loved ones. We don’t want vaccine misinformation on Facebook, which is why we’re working hard to reduce it everywhere on the platform, including in private groups.”