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Amber Vinson, the second Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital to contract Ebola during treatment of Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person diagnosed with Ebola in the United States, is being released from Emory University Hospital near Atlanta.
“I’m so grateful to be well,” she said. “While this is a day of celebration and gratitude, I’d like to request that we don’t lose focus on the thousands of families still being affected by the disease in West Africa.”
During her stay at Emory, Vinson received blood plasma from Dr. Kent Brantly and Dr. Nancy Writebol, both of whom were also received successful Ebola treatment at Emory.
Dr. Bruce Ribner of Emory confirmed that Vinson is Ebola-free and poses absolutely no risk to anyone as she returns to Dallas. She and fellow nurse Nina Pham could have recovered from the disease so quickly, he speculated, because they are two of the youngest patients to be diagnosed with Ebola in a developed country. Echoing Vinson, he said the only way to make sure everyone is safe is to stymie the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.
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VInson and Pham’s successful treatment, Ribner said, will “[change] the algorithm for how aggressive we want to be [in caring for Ebola patients].”
As Vinson returns to Texas later Tuesday, she asked for privacy for her and her family.
