Amber Vinson, infected with Ebola virus while treating Thomas Eric Duncan in Dallas, walked out of Emory University Hospital’s special isolation unit Tuesday, free of the deadly virus.
Looking celebratory in a gray suit and string of pearls, Vinson, 29, joined about two dozen members of her treatment team at a press conference. She hugged every one of then and then showered the room with thanks.
“I am so grateful to be well, and first and foremost I want to thank God,” she said.
“I want to thank the skill and dedication of the doctors and nurses and others taking care of me,” said Vinson, who was accompanied by her grandparents and aunt and uncle. “It has been God’s love that has truly carried my family and me through this difficult time.”
Vinson represents another triumph for Emory over a disease that has killed almost 5,000 in West Africa. She was the last of four Ebola patients treated at the Atlanta medical center, all of whom walked out the door virus free.
Her case was especially noteworthy in that she was among two nurses who contracted the disease after treating Duncan at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, which has been criticized for making mistakes in his care. Duncan died died at the hospital Oct. 8.
The other nurse, Nina Pham, was released on Friday from the National Institutes of Health facility in Bethesda, Md.
“I am pleased to announce that Amber Vinson is being discharged from Emory University Hospital,” said Dr. Bruce Ribner, who directed Vinson’s treatment. “She can return to her family, her community and her life without any concern of transmitting this virus to any other individuals.”
Vinson began to exhibit Ebola symptoms a few days after Duncan’s death and was taken to Emory on Oct. 15. The Atlanta hospital has one of three special isolation units in the nation designed to treat patients with serious communicable diseases.
Before arriving in Atlanta, Vinson had set off a nationwide furor when she traveled from Dallas to Cleveland to spend a weekend planning her wedding. The nurse had a low-grade fever when she made her return flight, but she had consulted the CDC before making the return trip and was cleared to go, the agency later confirmed.
The CDC took heavy criticism for what many said was ineffective monitoring; a handful of schools closed in Ohio and Texas because children had been on the same plane.
Emory was the first hospital in the U.S. to treat Ebola when it accepted Dr. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol, two medical missionaries infected in Africa in early August. Emory’s success has provided lessons for medical providers around the globe. The hospital has posted its protocols on the web, participated in webinars and responded to an abundance of emails and phone calls from doctors and professional organizations.
Ribner said the hospital has been feeding its insights back to Africa.
At Tuesday’s press conference, Ribner said the successful treatment of these Ebola patients was a proud moment for American medicine. While many more patients have been treated in Africa, those doctors did not have the means to study the disease in depth, he said.
“We have the resources, we have the expertise and we have the knowledge,” he said.
He praised Vinson’s courage in the face of the disease, and the dedication of nurses for “being on the front lines 24/7.”
Ribner also commented on the recent announcements regarding restrictions on people coming back from West Africa and those who have had contact with someone with Ebola.
Gov. Nathan Deal issued new orders Monday that travelers entering Georgia who had direct contact with an Ebola patient will be “subject to quarantine at a designated facility,” even if they show no symptoms. In addition, health care workers who have treated Ebola patients will be visually monitored at home — either by video or home visits — for 21 days.
Some infectious disease experts and relief groups have said the new restrictions could make it more difficult to combat the African outbreak by dissuading workers from going to these countries.
“As we put in place various measures to protect people in this country, we have to be very mindful of any unintended consequences which may make it more difficult to manage patients in the African continent,” Ribner said.
President Obama, in remarks on Ebola Tuesday afternoon, noted that he had spoken with Vinson on the phone earlier in the day.
"It's also important for the American people to remind themselves that only two people so far have contracted Ebola on American soil -- the two Dallas nurses who treated a patient who contracted it in West Africa. Today both of them are disease-free. I met with one of them, Nina Pham, last week, and she is doing wonderfully. And I just had a chance to get off the phone with Amber Vinson, who is on her way back home and also, as many of you saw in her press statement today, is doing well also."
Obama did not call out governors by name but said he disagreed with states that had imposed automatic quarantine on health workers returning from Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea.
“We don’t want to discourage our health care workers from going to the front lines and dealing with this in an effective way,” he said.
“Our medical teams here are getting better and better prepared and trained for the possibility of an isolated Ebola case here in the United States. But in the meantime we’ve got to make sure that we continue to provide the support of health workers who are going overseas to deal with the disease where it really has been raging.”
At the Emory press conference, Vinson called this a day of “celebration and gratitude,” although she made sure to remember “the thousands of families who continue to labor under the burden of this disease in West Africa.”
At times, the press conference became a little emotional, if not joyous. At its conclusion, applause swept the room, even coming from members of the media.
“We are delighted that Ms. Vincent will be rejoining her community soon,” Ribner said.
Added Vinson, “As we head home to Texas, we are grateful.”
About the Author
