'Untrue and Hurtful': Family of Ebola Nurse Amber Vinson Says She Wasn't Careless

The family of Amber Vinson, one of the Dallas nurses who contracted Ebola after treating a patient, said Sunday that they are troubled by “negative public comments” and press coverage suggesting that she was careless.

“She has not and would not knowingly expose herself or anyone else,” the family said in a statement. “Suggestions that she ignored any of the physician and government-provided protocols recommended to her are patently untrue and hurtful.”

The statement added that the family has retained a lawyer for counsel “during this unfortunate and troubling time.”

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Vinson treated Thomas Eric Duncan, the Liberian man who later died of Ebola in a Dallas hospital. She tested positive after flying to Cleveland to plan her wedding and returning to Dallas. She is being treated in a special isolation unit in Atlanta.

The statement said that Vinson flew back to Dallas on Oct. 13 as a precaution, unsettled by news that another nurse, Nina Pham, had tested positive.

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The statement said that Vinson reported her temperature to health officials three times, and each time was cleared to fly. Federal health officials have said that she had a low-grade fever, 99.5 degrees, and have confirmed that she was given the OK to fly.

Authorities are monitoring people who had contact with Vinson during her trip. None has been reported sick.

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— Erin McClam