Mom delaying vaccine until twins’ birth dies of COVID soon after, Colorado family says
When a Colorado mom became pregnant last year, her family says she was advised to delay getting vaccinated against the coronavirus until her twins were born.
Shortly after delivering her twins, though, Alicia (Santana) Rodgers tested positive for COVID-19 and was admitted into a hospital, KUSA reported.
Her family says she died soon after.
“On Tuesday morning, September 7th, our sweet Alicia lost her two week fight with COVID leaving behind her husband Stan, and four beautiful little girls: 8 year old Emi, 16 month old Cora and 3 week old twins, Trinity and Kenzie,” her aunt, Kirsten Santana, said in a GoFundMe update.
The mother of four was 30 years old, Santana said on Facebook.
Since Rodgers’ death, there has been an “elephant in the room,” Santana said in a GoFundMe update. People want to know if Rodgers received a COVID shot prior to her diagnosis.
“And the answer is ‘no,’” Santana wrote, as there was “opposing guidance” during her pregnancy.
COVID-19 vaccines and pregnancy
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released new data on Aug. 11 highlighting COVID-19 vaccines are safe while pregnant. This was just two days before Rodgers gave birth to her twins on Aug. 13.
“CDC encourages all pregnant people or people who are thinking about becoming pregnant and those breastfeeding to get vaccinated to protect themselves from COVID-19,” said CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky. “The vaccines are safe and effective, and it has never been more urgent to increase vaccinations as we face the highly transmissible Delta variant and see severe outcomes from COVID-19 among unvaccinated pregnant people.”
Prior to the August data release, McClatchy News reported that while a COVID vaccine hadn’t been officially recommended by the CDC or U.S. Food and Drug Administration, experts said in December they believed it was “unlikely to pose a risk for people who are pregnant.”
And in April, the CDC director said she “recommends that pregnant people receive the COVID-19 vaccine” following a study on the Moderna and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines, according to NPR.
“Importantly, no safety concerns were observed for people vaccinated in the third trimester, or safety concerns for their babies,” Walensky said, according to NPR. “As such, CDC recommends that pregnant people receive the COVID-19 vaccine.”
The CDC has reported 123,633 COVID-19 cases in pregnant women and 159 COVID-related deaths in pregnant women between Jan. 22, 2020 and Sept. 20, 2021.
‘Kids were her life’
While unvaccinated, Rodgers did wear a face mask, wash her hands and use other COVID-safety precautions, her family said.
It’s not confirmed how she picked up the virus, but her family suspects she contracted it from a family friend who unknowingly had COVID while visiting. Rodgers was on bedrest the last two months of her pregnancy and did not leave the home, her aunt wrote.
“We can’t emphasize enough that if you are feeling unwell in any way, please, please stay away from others and take precautions. It may just be a cold, but it could also be something much worse. Hug your family...and again...thank you for ‘hugging’ ours,” she continued.
Rodgers’ obituary describes her as someone who “never failed to put a smile on the faces of those around her.” Family says she enjoyed her role as a homemaker and loved music, art and dancing.
“But one thing is for certain, and that is that her kids were her life.”
This story was originally published September 27, 2021 at 11:12 AM with the headline "Mom delaying vaccine until twins’ birth dies of COVID soon after, Colorado family says."