Second nurse who contracted Ebola was cleared to fly to Ohio, family says

The family of Amber Vinson, the second nurse who tested positive for Ebola in Dallas, said health officials had cleared her to fly recently even though she had expressed concerns.

“In no way was Amber careless prior to or after her exposure to Mr. Thomas Eric Duncan,” her family said Sunday in a statement, according to the Los Angeles Times.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) officials said recently that Ms. Vinson was told to avoid public transportation, including commercial flights, while monitoring herself for symptoms and that her trip to Ohio violated those rules.

But her family said that she contacted the CDC through her work supervisor and was “fully cleared for travel” before she flew to Cleveland Oct. 10.

Ms. Vinson and another nurse, Nina Pham, who were part of the team treating Duncan, the Liberian man who carried the disease to the U.S., have been diagnosed with Ebola.

Ms. Vinson also reported her temperature to Dallas County health officials and requested to fly back to stay at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital until the end of her monitoring period, her family said.

“Officials assured Amber that her concerns were unfounded because her temperatures were within the appropriate measures and [she was] asymptomatic in all other areas,” they said. “Suggestions that she ignored any of the physician and government-provided protocols recommended to her are patently untrue and hurtful.”

Ms. Vinson was diagnosed with Ebola soon after flying back to Texas Oct. 13.

The family also said they have retained attorney Billy Martin, who has represented high-profile clients such as NFL player Michael Vick in his dogfighting case and the mother of Monica Lewinsky during the perjury case of former President Bill Clinton.