A teenage cancer patient who was denied a life-saving lung transplant because she refused to get the Covid vaccine has died.
Dazelle Peters, 17, who was diagnosed with leukemia four years ago, lost her battle for life in hospital on Monday morning.
Her father Josh Peters confirmed it the heartbreaking news in an emotional video uploaded to various social media platforms.
He thanked everyone who sent messages of support to Dazelle during her long battle with cancer, prompting an outpouring of tributes.
Dazelle Peters (pictured), 17, who was diagnosed with leukemia and required life-saving treatment, died in hospital on Monday
“Just know that Dazelle knew how much you all loved her,” he said.
“This boy was something special and she deserved better.”
Hundreds of people took to social media to remember Dazelle and express their condolences.
“Rest in peace Dazelle and my condolences to you and your family,” one person wrote.
‘Dazelle, I admired you for your courage, strength and the unconditional love you shared [with] a lot,” another person said.
Australian boxer George Kambosos Jr., who met Dazelle in hospital while she was being treated, shared an emotional message with X.
‘RIP beautiful Dazelle, my deepest condolences to her family, heaven has gained a beautiful angel. Dazelle, you will never be forgotten, an inspiration to everyone you have ever met. God bless your parents, that life by your side can be cruel when you finally spread your wings,” he wrote.
Hundreds of people took to social media, including Australian boxer George Kambosos Jr (left), to express their grief after Dazelle (centre) died in hospital
Other Aussies paid tribute to the teenager for sticking to her beliefs by not getting the Covid vaccine, even though the decision limited her treatment options.
‘The young Dazelle Peters was more principled and courageous than the majority of Australians. Much respect to her because, despite the costs, she stuck to her principles until the end. An honorable example for Australians,” one person wrote.
Dazelle needed a double lung transplant to treat her leukemia, a form of blood cancer.
But she was denied treatment because she refused to receive the four required Covid vaccination shots.
Her condition deteriorated after she was admitted to John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle for life-saving treatment.
She received a bone marrow transplant in May 2021 and suffered from Graft-versus-host disease, which causes her body’s immune system to attack the donor’s blood cells.
She also contracted a rare form of pneumonia, which specialists at St. Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney said made Dazelle a potentially immunocompromised patient who needed to be vaccinated.
Mr Peters previously claimed that a doctor at the hospital told his daughter that if she did not get the jabs and subsequently contracted the virus, she would be a ‘major threat to everyone’. [in the hospital] who did the right thing.”
“He gave us the feeling that they didn’t want to give her the lung transplant,” 45-year-old Peters previously told Daily Mail Australia.
Mr Peters claimed that during a consultation at St Vincent’s, a doctor said the hospital would give the lungs to a better candidate because Dazelle is a ‘complex case’.
The hospital had said Dazelle’s lack of a Covid vaccination was a factor in her not being placed on the lung transplant waiting list, but they also said there were other reasons for the decision.
Josh Peters (right) previously claimed that a doctor at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney said Dazelle would be a threat to others in the hospital if she was not vaccinated
A hospital spokesperson previously said their “policies and guidelines would not support the transplant of an unvaccinated individual.”
“Vaccination status against various infections is a critical part of this assessment to ensure optimal survival post-transplant,” a spokesperson for St. Vincent’s Hospital said.
Dazelle’s case was brought to the attention of federal Assistant Health Minister Ged Kearney in a letter addressed to her by outspoken Liberal MP Russell Broadbent.
Ms Kearney said ‘the Australian government cannot intervene in clinical decisions’.
“The priority and treatment given to an individual is ultimately a clinical decision made by the treating hospital and the transplant teams involved,” she stated.
She clarified that there is no official mandate banning unvaccinated people from receiving transplants.
“The guidelines do not prevent a patient who has not received a Covid-19 vaccination from being placed on a transplant waiting list,” Ms Kearney said.
She also said each state and territory was responsible “for the delivery of the jurisdiction’s health services, including hospital and transplant services”.
Dazelle’s family said that although a doctor had described Dazelle as a ‘complex’ case, she had to ‘do the right thing’ and get the vaccines, which would have taken nine months to administer, to protect other patients and staff .
Federal Assistant Health Minister Ged Kearney said the government could not ‘intervene in clinical decisions’ as they related to Dazelle’s health (pictured)
A spokesperson for St Vincent’s Hospital said their ‘policies and guidelines would not support the transplant of an unvaccinated person’
Mr Peters said his daughter had been in and out of John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle after Dazelle was found collapsed in her bedroom in August last year.
Although the severity of her condition decreased while Dazelle was treated in hospital, the toll that all the treatment had taken on her body over the several years since her diagnosis had left Dazelle’s kidneys, liver and heart affected.
Mr Peters previously told Daily Mail Australia that Dazelle had decided not to get the Covid vaccination.
“Dazelle has made it clear that she does not want the jabs,” Mr Peters said.
“We can’t force her, and the hospital knows they can’t force her.”
According to the TGA, Covid-19 vaccines may cause some side effects.
The most commonly reported side effects are injection site reactions (such as a sore arm) and more general symptoms, such as headache, muscle pain, fever and chills.
Australian government health guidelines indicate Covid-19 vaccines are safe for people with chronic health conditions.
Patients receiving end-of-life care are at high risk of becoming seriously ill from the virus.
Patients in Australia who have cancer can decide whether they want to get the vaccine or not, and they can choose to make that decision together with healthcare staff.
Mr Peters (pictured center with his daughter Dazelle) said she had made it clear she did not want to receive the Covid vaccines