Nurse, mother of 7 who ‘followed every rule’ dies of COVID-19
An Ohio mother died from COVID-19 after giving birth to her seventh child, having “followed every rule” to stay safe.
Tawauna Averette, a pregnant hospital nurse at Kettering Health Network in Dayton, Ohio, recently passed after she was hospitalized with COVID-19, according to WHIO-TV, which interviewed friends of the mom. “For someone like her that did everything preventative, I’d have never thought this would happen to her,” Kellye Albes-Fisher told the outlet adding, “If there was anybody that followed every rule, it was her.”
The local news station reports that Averette underwent an emergency C-section and was not permitted to hold her baby. “She got a couple pictures and videos, hoping she would get out. And it didn’t end up that way,” said Albes-Fisher.
A spokesperson from Kettering tells Yahoo Life in a statement, “We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Tawauna Averette. She was a beloved and valued member of our Kettering Health Network team, and our thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends in this time of loss.”
According to the Ohio Department of Health, there are 478,879 COVID-19 cases statewide and more than 30,000 hospitalizations. In October, Ohio State University published a report examining how the pandemic has affected local populations including Black and African-American communities in Ohio. “19.6% of COVID-19 cases, 28.4% of deaths and 17.9% of hospitalizations have been among Blacks and African Americans, despite the fact that they represent less than 15.0% of Ohio’s total population,” reads the report, citing less access to healthcare, more underlying health conditions and working more essential jobs as contributors.
Our deepest condolences to the family and friends of Tawauna Averette.https://t.co/C36LEvkDle
— Miami County Health (@MiamiCountyPH) December 10, 2020
A Thursday study published by the Mayo Clinic described Black-led churches as key in addressing disparities, by providing emergency supplies and relevant health information. “Black churches have long been more than places of worship to their communities,” Dr. LaPrincess C. Brewer said in a press release. “They serve as strongholds for disseminating trusted information, including health information, in their communities.” The study notes, “Engagement with leaders of faith-based organizations on infectious disease prevention initiatives led to successes during the Ebola outbreak in West Africa and increases in influenza immunization rates during the H1N1 pandemic.”
Dr. Sophia Tolliver, a family medicine physician at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center, says more context would better explain Averette’s death, though Kettering Health Network declined to provide additional information, due to privacy reasons.
However, Averette’s case “speaks to the incredible transmissibility of the virus,” she tells Yahoo Life. “When my patients say they are being safe by not going anywhere, I dig deeper — did you go to the grocery store? Touch a doorknob or clean off your cart? Did you sanitize your hands and then touch [a contaminated] surface? There are so many unknowns. We have to look at every interaction.”
Tolliver says the coronavirus pandemic has disproportionately affected Black people due to the historical and systematic disenfranchisement of basic rights. “This creates a ripe environment for illness and mortality,” she says. “If for hundreds of years, your ancestors are stolen, not educated and killed, and the pandemic comes along and you can’t afford health insurance or don’t have sick leave or time off to see a doctor, it’s a vicious cycle.”
For the latest coronavirus news and updates, follow along at https://news.yahoo.com/coronavirus. According to experts, people over 60 and those who are immunocompromised continue to be the most at risk. If you have questions, please reference the CDC’s and WHO’s resource guides.
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