A mother has been denied the opportunity to receive a heart transplant because she is not vaccinated for COVID-19, despite having a medical exemption.
Vicki Derderian, from Melbourne, relies on a ventricular assist device to keep her heart functioning after it failed in 2020, and is desperate for a transplant.
She did not receive the vaccine because she is concerned that doing so could increase her risk of heart conditions such as myocarditis or pericarditis which, although rare, can be serious.
Ms. Derderian, a mother of two, expressed her frustration with the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services for their stance, which she characterized as “no jab, no heart.”
