Second Boy Dies After Flu Shot, Tests Negative For Flu

A Michigan mother in mourning wants to warn other parents about the severity of this flu season, after losing her son to the virus in a matter of two days.
Jessica Decent-Doll told The Times Herald that her 12-year-old son, Michael Messenger, received the flu vaccine in late December. However, in the second week of January, he began showing symptoms of the virus anyway. Michael reportedly vomited during dinner on Jan. 9, prompting his parents to take him to an urgent care center.
Physicians looked Michael over and ran a rapid test for influenza. It came up negative, and his vitals reportedly came back normal as well. Doctors told Decent-Doll to keep an eye on her son, make sure he drank lots of fluids, and prescribed anti-nausea pills for the vomiting.
On the morning of Jan. 11, Michael’s father entered his bed room to find him lying on the floor, eyes wide open yet virtually unresponsive. He was just barely drawing breath. His father performed CPR until the paramedics arrived, transporting the child to St. John River District Hospital. Michael was pronounced dead about an hour and a half later.
“It’s indescribable, it really is,” Decent-Doll said of her son’s tragic passing. She and her family are still awaiting an autopsy to determine the exact cause of Michael’s death, but Decent-Doll is speaking out about this year’s influenza outbreak.
“Don’t wait, it’s all I can say,” Decent-Doll said. “This flu or whatever is going around this year is unbelievably dangerous.”Decent-Doll also confirmed that Michael did receive a flu vaccination just weeks earlier. The Centers For Disease Control (CDC) reports that the flu vaccine lessens the chance that someone catches the virus, but only by about 10% if you’re lucky