Unvaccinated Mum Dies Of COVID-19 After Postponing Shot To Breastfeed Baby

A 23-year old mom in Utah who held off on getting her COVID-19 vaccine died 2 weeks ago after she contracted the virus on Oct. 25. Dezi Scopesi was a new mom and thought it was best for her son’s health to postpone getting her vaccine until she was done breastfeeding her 14-month-old son.

The young mother ended up getting hospitalized and admitted into ICU on Oct. 29 and fought for her life while hooked up to a ventilator. She succumbed to the virus and died on the evening of Dec. 2.

According to PEOPLE, Scopesi’s husband Stephen Scopesi-Steadman, and their son, Leo were both able to recover from the virus while her condition deteriorated.

The young mother's family recalled that Dezi did not have an easy start with her newborn as her son had to be flown to Primary Children’s Hospital after she gave birth. The baby required a good amount of postnatal care in the hospital’s neonatal intensive care unit.

Dezi’s sister Lashae Steele said it was a tough decision that Dezi had to make out of concern for her son’s health to wait out for the vaccine. She then got sick just a few weeks after celebrating her son’s first birthday.

While in hospital, Dezi’s family put up a GoFundMe page to initially help her husband Stephen tide through 12 weeks of unpaid family leave as well as to cover for his wife's medical expenses. As of Tuesday morning, the page had earned a total of $39, 591 from its fundraising goal of $50,000.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) stated recently that pregnant women are more likely to suffer severe symptoms from the coronavirus although it says the overall risks are low for severe illness.

Mothers who are breastfeeding are encouraged to get vaccinated as well as receive booster shots. Based on the information provided by the CDC, clinical trials for COVID-19 vaccines currently in use in the United States have not included breastfeeding mothers. It continues to say that there is very limited data on its effects on a breastfed baby, its effects on lactation, excretion of milk as well as the safety of vaccines in breastfeeding mothers.

However, both mother and baby cannot be infected with the COVID19 virus upon receiving the vaccine. Recent research reports show that breastfeeding mothers who have received mRNA jabs have antibodies in their breastmilk that could help protect their babies from contracting the virus.