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‘Modern-day lynching’: Man found shot dead during trip with co-worker

January 27, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(VENANGO COUNTY, Pa.) — The family of a Jamaican immigrant is calling his death a “modern-day lynching” after he was found shot to death on the front lawn of a rural Pennsylvania cabin.

Peter Bernardo Spencer, 29, was invited by a co-worker to join him at a cabin in Rockland Township, Pennsylvania, on Dec. 11, according to his family.

On Dec. 12, just a few hours later, Spencer was found with nine bullet wounds: one to the mouth, two in his buttocks and six in his abdomen or chest, according to the Venango County Coroner.

“They are trying to sweep this under the rug,” Spencer’s sister, Tehilah, wrote on a GoFundMe page. “We will not let them … He was slaughtered and killed in what I consider an act of modern-day lynching!”

Paul Jubas, the family’s lawyer, released autopsy photos of Spencer on his social media accounts at the family’s request. Jubas said the coroner’s assertion that he was shot in the chest and abdomen is a “misrepresentation” and that the photos indicate at least four of the shots were to Spencer’s back.

Pennsylvania State Police were called to the home around 2:30 a.m. and found Spencer dead on the front lawn with multiple gunshot wounds. Police say they found multiple firearms, “ballistic evidence” and controlled substances at the home.

Four suspects at the home were detained and questioned but were released after consultation with the Venango County District Attorney’s Office, according to officials. Pennsylvania State Police officials said they are investigating this as a homicide and the investigation involving the district attorney’s office is ongoing.

Spencer is Black. The former co-worker, as well as the other people at the cabin, were all white, according to the family. The people at the cabin during Spencer’s time of death have not been identified by police.

The district attorney’s office told ABC News that it will not comment on the ongoing investigation “out of concern for the impact that may have on a case and any potential charges.”

“Further disclosure of information may hinder or interfere with the investigation moving forward,” the district attorney’s office said in a statement to ABC News. “This office takes seriously any possibility that a crime may be fueled by hatred toward a person because of their race, color, religion or national origin. Rest assured, the Venango County District Attorney’s office will take every measure to ensure that justice is sought wherever it may be found.”

“The Franklin state troopers office will not give Peter’s family nor myself any information regarding this incident,” Carmela King, Spencer’s pregnant fiancee, wrote in a GoFundMe post. “We have been turned away several times while trying to reach out for information regarding what happened.”

The Pennsylvania State Police did not respond to ABC News’ requests for comment.

No one has been charged with a crime, and Spencer’s family is demanding answers, according to a statement from Jubas.

The family is demanding that the Venango County coroner must immediately turn over all photos and other pertinent information; the FBI or Department of Justice gets involved in this investigation and provides transparency for Spencer’s family; and the Venango County district attorney refers the case to Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro.

Spencer loved the outdoors and hunting, according to his family. Several groups, including Hunters of Color, Brown Girl Outdoor World and Outdoor Alliance, have joined forces to demand justice in the murder of Spencer.

A petition from more than 30 groups is urging the county district attorney, state officials and the U.S. attorney general to take action in setting “a precedent so that all future hunters, outdoor recreationists, and people of color know that justice is on their side, and that the outdoors are truly for everyone.”

The petition has gotten more than 15,000 signatures online.

North Carolina mother, young daughter found safely after going missing in 2016

January 27, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(BUNNLEVEL, N.C.) — A North Carolina mother who went missing with her young daughter in 2016 have been found safe, according to authorities.

Amber Renaye Weber, then 21 years old and her 1-year-old daughter, Miracle Smith, were last seen on Dec. 4, 2016, in Fayetteville, according to the Fayetteville Police Department. They were reported missing on Jan. 31, 2017, but leads in the case eventually went cold, police said.

The pair were found Tuesday in a home in Bunnlevel, North Carolina, about 20 miles north of Fayetteville. In 2018, they were believed to be nearby in Harnett County after Weber received medical treatment there, but her family was not able to contact her, Raleigh-Durham CBS affiliate WNCN reported.

U.S. Marshals, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and deputies from the Harnett County Sheriff’s Office found Amber Weber and Miracle Smith at a home on Lemon Lane in Bunnlevel, Raleigh-Durham ABC affiliate WTVD reported. Four firearms were seized from the home, and Joe Smith, 59, was taken into custody, according to the U.S. Marshals. He had previously been arrested on Jan. 19 on a charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, authorities said.

The case was reignited in 2021 after Fayetteville police investigative assistant Sonia Roldan partnered with the U.S. Marshalls to seek new leads for Weber and Miracle, police said. Information led investigators to believe Weber and Miracle had an association with Smith in Bunnlevel, authorities said.

Police did not disclose the nature of Smith’s relationship with Weber and her daughter.

The search “brought some closure and relief to family and friends of the missing person” as well as removed guns from the hands of a convicted felon, ATF Special Agent in Charge Vince Pallozzi said in a statement.

“The culmination of years of following leads and tips resulted in the outcome that we had all hoped for today; the successful recovery of a child who had been missing since December 2016,” Michael East, U.S. marshal for the Eastern District of North Carolina, said in a statement. “The U.S. Marshals Service and our investigative partners will not quit, nor be deterred until these children are rescued.”

California bill would allow kids 12 and up to get vaccines without parents

January 27, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) — A new bill in California would allow children to get vaccinated against diseases including COVID-19 without their parents’ consent.

Currently, kids in the state between ages 12 and 17 must receive permission from a parent or a guardian to get a vaccine, unless it is to prevent a sexually transmitted infection.

However, the new bill — introduced Friday by state Sens. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) and Richard Pan (D-Sacramento) — would allow Californians aged 12 and older to receive vaccines that meet specific federal agency criteria on their own.

Under the bill, adolescents could get vaccinated as long as the shots are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s advisory committee.

As of Wednesday, about 63% of Californians aged 12-17 are fully vaccinated, according to the state department of health — but at least 28% are not.

“There are nearly 1 million teenagers in California who are not vaccinated against COVID-19, and that jeopardizes their own health. It makes our schools less safe,” Wiener told ABC News. “A lot of these teenagers would like to get vaccinated, but their parents either won’t let them or their parents aren’t making the time to go with them to get vaccinated.”

He added, “This legislation will allow teens to protect their own health and to get vaccinated against COVID-19, against the flu and other serious diseases.”

Washington, D.C., currently allows minors to receive vaccines on their own starting at age 11. San Francisco also allows kids aged 12 and older to receive COVID-19 shots without parental consent when consent is unavailable.

Additionally, five states allow minors to get vaccinated without parental consent. Alabama allows teens to receive vaccines on their own starting at age 14; Oregon at age 15; and Rhode Island, North Carolina and South Carolina at age 16.

Elizabeth Tobin-Tyler, an associate professor of health services, policy and practice at Brown University, said these laws are often the result of a “mature minor” doctrine, which allows minors to give consent provided they can show they are mature enough to make decisions on their own.

“The idea is there are minors that might be quite mature at age 12 or 14 and have the capacity to make their own decision,” she told ABC News. “States have recognized there are situations where we don’t want to have someone make a decision at just 18.”

Dr. Georges Benjamin, executive director of the American Public Health Association, said most kids of that age are mature enough to understand medical information that is given to them.

“When you’re dealing with kids and medical care, you want to be able to give them with some graduated autonomy about their health,” he told ABC News.

If the bill passes, California would become the state with the youngest age for children to get vaccinated on their own without permission from an adult.

“It will serve as an example for other states,” Benjamin said. “California has often been on the cutting edge of legislation that has become law in other parts of the country. So it will certainly be an exemplar in that area and it will serve as a model for other states, particularly as we see the numbers of kids vaccinated grow.”

However, not everyone is in favor of the bill.

”It just seems like this is part of this ongoing war against parents by some Democratic elected officials,” California Republican Assemblyman James Gallagher told ABC News. “This bill is not about letting children make some sort of decision in a vacuum whether or not they want to get vaccinated. It’s about eliminating parents from that decision-making process.”

He described the bill as a “slippery slope” and said it could lead to kids having autonomy to take other medications without parental consent.

“What other drugs, what other things would a child be able to decide at school or some other place without their parents’ consent?” Gallagher asked.

Under California law, minors aged 12 and older are already allowed to be vaccinated against hepatitis B and human papillomavirus (HPV) and to receive birth control and treatments for STIs, mental health disorders and substance abuse.

But Wiener said he doesn’t believe the new bill would curb parents’ input when it comes to their children’s health because most teens speak to their parents when it comes to making medical decisions.

“The vast majority of teens — even if they have the ability to get a vaccine — will talk to their parents about the issue,” Wiener said. “We want parents to be involved in their kids’ health care, and I am confident that many, many teens will talk to parents about it.”

He continued, “Sadly there are some teens who are not in a position to talk to their parents about it. For whatever reason, they can’t have those conversations and in those situations, a teenager should be able to protect their own health.”

Benjamin said the idea of providing teens with autonomy is not new or radical and could actually help teenagers think critically and analytically.

“We do this a lot in other areas in our lives,” he said. “We give them driver’s licenses as they are able to mature both emotionally and physically. Parents should think of this as part of allowing their kids to have more control over their health decision-making. From a mental health and psychological perspective, this should be thought of as giving kids more responsibility, and I think overall it’s a good thing.”

ABC News’ Ivan Pereira contributed to this report.

Laser temporarily blinds medical helicopter crew member

January 27, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(SALT LAKE CITY) — A paramedic was temporarily blinded after their helicopter was affected by a laser strike earlier this month.

A Utah AirMed helicopter was struck while transporting a patient to the University of Utah hospital. A crew member aboard the flight experienced temporary blindness and blurred vision from the laser.

“They were able to safely land in our hospital, and once they were able to transfer the patient, the crew member was seen in the emergency room,” Nathan Morreale, chief flight paramedic for Utah AirMed told ABC News.

The crew member is back on the job but has experienced lingering blindness in his peripheral vision, Morreale said.

“The safety of our patients and our crews are at the forefront of everything we do,” Morreale said. “Even though our crews are highly trained for circumstances and scenarios, there’s no amount of training that can prepare you for what happens when a laser hits your eye and causes temporary blindness.”

The Federal Aviation Administration said its Flight Standards District Office is looking into the incident.

Laser incidents have been on the rise in recent years, according to the agency. The FAA reported 6,852 laser incidents in 2020, up from 6,136 in 2019. It’s the highest reported number of incidents since 2016.

Intentionally aiming lasers at aircraft violates federal law. Individuals may face up to $11,000 in civil penalties per violation and up to $30,800 for multiple incidents.

Letter from Holocaust survivor found at flea market decades later

January 27, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — Thrift stores, antique fairs and flea markets in New York City are prime spots for finding valuable, hidden family heirlooms. When Chelsey Brown, an avid thrifter, was shown a letter written more than 75 years ago at the end of the Holocaust by a survivor, she knew where it belonged.

“The second that I had it transcribed, I just knew it had to go back to the right family,” Brown said. She found the note in late 2021.

The letter was written by Ilse Loewenberg, a woman who jumped out of a moving train that was headed to the Auschwitz concentration camp in 1943. She was part of an underground Nazi resistance group called Gemeinschaft für Frieden und Aufbau, or the Association for Peace and Development.

According to later documentation from her sister, Loewenberg walked a three-day-long journey back to Berlin after escaping.

In 1944, she was recaptured and put in solitary confinement in Berlin until she was liberated by Russian troops in July 1945.

Loewenberg lost her mother, father, two sisters and husband in the Holocaust.

After she was freed, she wrote a letter to her living sister, Carla, who had immigrated to England prior to the war. Carla was the only sister and family member of Loewenberg’s to survive the tragedy.

“Through the kindness of our liberators, I am able to give you a sign of life from me after so many years,” Loewenberg wrote in German. “Dad, Mom, Grete, Lottchen and Hermann: no one is alive anymore. My pain is unspeakably big. My husband, whom I married 3.5 years ago, was also taken from me! … When there will be a regular mail connection, I will tell you everything in detail.”

That’s the letter that Brown bought from a flea market vendor.

Brown discovered the details of the family tree through MyHeritage.com, a global family history platform that retains historical records.

She discovered that both Loewenberg and Carla immigrated to the United States and settled in Forest Hills, New York, in 1948. Neither Loewenberg or Carla had children, but they did have extended families via their husbands.

Brown found Jill Butler, the daughter of Loewenberg’s brother-in-law’s brother. Butler and Loewenberg, who used to live near each other, were close before Loewenberg died in 2001.

When Brown sent Butler the letter, Butler and her family were moved.

“My whole family is truly in awe of all you have done for us,” Butler said in a letter back to Brown. “We all loved our Great-Aunt Ilse and are thrilled beyond words to read her thoughts in her own handwriting after she emerged from the depths of the European inferno.”

She added, “May God bless your noble work, and may you receive many blessings in return for all you do for families like mine.”

Brown, whose family also lost members in the Holocaust, now feels a deep connection to Loewenberg and said her story has inspired her.

“She’s a bit of inspiration for everyone to be better in life. After the war, Ilse actually sent supplies to the family that helped hide her in Berlin,” she said. “She really is an example of doing good in a world or being kind in a world that isn’t.”

Brown, who has done hundreds of heirloom returns, has said the stories have taught her a lot about life and relationships and that she wishes more people could be reconnected with family heirlooms.

“It does break my heart, because I’m sure that there’s a ton of items I could help reunite with her rightful families,” Brown said. “We shouldn’t be selling these items. It should be illegal. They should be going back to their families.”

She added, “The reason why people connected with my heirloom returns on social media is because it shows that there is magic in the lives of average people,” Brown said. “We each have our own unique ancestry and story, and I think that’s what our world and generation needs right now.”

Afghan refugees find ‘peace and hope’ resettling in US

January 26, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M.) — Thousands of miles away from her native Afghanistan, Laila finds relief in small comforts like a warm meal inside a makeshift tent camp in a desert in New Mexico.

Laila, whose name has been changed for safety concerns, is among thousands of Afghan refugees who have found a temporary home cycling through the “Aman Omid Village” on Holloman Air Force Base, one of several military installations in the U.S. designated to provide housing to Afghan refugees while they transition into more permanent homes. The camp’s name which is in Dari — an Afghan dialect — expresses what they are searching for in the United States: peace and hope.

Watch the full story on “Nightline” TONIGHT at 12 p.m. ET on ABC.

“The first very important thing about the camp that I and everyone else here likes is the safety that they are giving us,” Laila told ABC News “Nightline” co-anchor Juju Chang in a recent interview. “Safety is something that we didn’t have for years in Afghanistan.”

Laila is one of the tens of thousands who were forced to flee her native country last summer, leaving behind family and friends, as the U.S. ended its longest war the same way it started: under Taliban rule.

She says it feels like only weeks ago that she fled the swift takeover.

“I was in the bank waiting to withdraw some money. I heard gunshots,” Laila recalled.

“Everyone was like, Taliban are in here, and we were hiding under the desks after I got out,” she said. “Everyone was, like, panicking.”

President Joe Biden, who has long opposed the war in Afghanistan, inherited a deal with the Taliban to withdraw U.S. forces as the U.S. approached the 20-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, despite pressure from lawmakers and other allied nations to extend the mission. As his August deadline neared, the Taliban seized power and overtook the presidential palace in Kabul, signaling the collapse of the Afghan government and igniting chaos.

“Every time that there is a knock on the door, I think they are coming for me because I have worked with international agencies,” Laila told ABC News in a video diary at the time.

In many respects, she was exactly what the Taliban feared: A college-educated woman who flourished with the freedom gained during the 20 years of U.S. intervention.

Struggle to flee

Laila was a young girl when the Taliban last came to power and said she remembers being taught to hide her education from the group that governs the country under a strict interpretation of Shariah, or Islamic law.

“My mother and a friend of my mom would teach us how to read and write, like we would hide our books and notebooks inside the Quran. And then we would go to my mother’s friend’s house and then learn how to read and write there,” she told ABC News.

She said she was given no reason to believe this reign would be different — so she and her husband, Yusuf, whose name has been changed for safety concerns, escaped with some 76,000 other Afghans, many of whom worked for American or Western allies that the U.S. evacuated under the Biden’s administration’s mission, “Operation Allies Welcome.”

Though she said she suspected she might be pregnant at the time, Laila left her home with nothing but a small backpack.

When she landed at a U.S. base in Doha, Qatar, she was given a pregnancy test which confirmed that she was pregnant. She later learned she’ll be having twins — which made her all the more grateful to have escaped. Tens of thousands of Afghans, who also had valid paperwork, were left behind in the chaos — and to a new order of power.

“In Afghanistan, it was scary because I didn’t want to have a baby in that situation, especially with the Taliban,” she said.

Human Rights Watch, an international human rights advocacy organization, estimates that the Taliban have already killed over 100 Afghans at the top of their list for revenge for helping Americans.

Military base offers peace, hope

“Aman Omid Village,” the massive refugee camp at Holloman Air Force Base, was just months ago a barren desert. Rows of tents spanning 50-acres were erected in the final days of the fall of Kabul as officials prepared for refugees like Laila.

The commune operates as a de facto American boot camp for new arrivals and offers resources to prepare refugees for their new lives in the U.S. Residents can participate in classes from English to sewing and receive training on how to pay taxes and avoid spam calls, for instance.

At least half of the refugees there are children who often take advantage of the open area for games and recreation.

“This is sort of that shining place for them to come to,” Air Force Brigadier Gen. Daniel Gabrielli, who heads operations at the camp, told ABC News.

Gabrielli, a commercial pilot who volunteered to deploy as part of his National Guard Service, completed three tours of duty in Afghanistan. In his 33-year military career, he said helping Afghan refugees at the base has been the most gratifying experience.

“I think it is because we’re taking care of people who’ve taken care of us, right?” he said. “What they have sacrificed for our security which is a large amount.”

“My grandfather came over after World War I from Italy, so there’s no difference in this migration, and that migration,” Gabrielli said, when asked about any resistance to their arrivals. “It is just the latest in the Great American story.”

To the general and many others, the compound in New Mexico has transformed into a modern-day Ellis Island, with people like Laila among its first immigrants — but many will never find the same refuge.

More than 3.5 million people have been displaced by conflict inside Afghanistan, including 700,000 from 2021 alone, while the war-torn country continues to face conflict, famine and COVID-19.

Writing her own American dream

The resettlement agency handling Laila’s case told her that her new home would be in South Carolina.

Organizations tasked with helping Afghans arriving in the U.S. have said they are scrambling to ramp up operations following years of downsizing due to the Trump administration’s slashed refugee program. Despite some delays to her own move, Laila expressed to ABC News her excitement at the potential.

“I don’t care if it’s South Carolina or if it’s New York, it is just a new country, a new culture, a new land, a new people,” she said.

At least, for her time there, she made the refugee camp feel like home. In the cafeteria on base, she would eat regularly with young ladies she fondly calls the “three musketeers.”

“When I came here, I was kind of like, you know, depressed from all that happened, and they were the ones that really helped me,” she said. “Every day, they would come to me and because they knew I was having twins, they would take good care of me.”

Finally, after months of waiting at Holloman Air Force Base, Laila and Yusef got permanently resettled in South Carolina in January.

Now 24 weeks pregnant, Laila says she is grateful to embark on a new life on American soil, but part of her heart will always be back home, especially with the women and girls of Afghanistan.

Commission approves new safety standards for crib mattresses

January 26, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — After 139 child deaths since 2010, new safety standards for crib mattresses will go into effect this fall.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission approved a new rule Wednesday to address potential hazards like lacerations, suffocation and entrapment.

“This is intended to reduce the risk of injury,” CPSC spokesperson Jason Levine told ABC News. “The crib is the safest place for your infant, yet what this does is it takes another step in the right direction in terms of ensuring that the mattress itself is as safe as can be.”

New mattresses will be required to comply with the standard this fall, Levine said. The rule covers crib mattresses as well as mattresses in play yards and bassinets.

“Today’s vote means crib mattresses of all sizes will be required to meet safety standards,” CPSC Chair Alex Hoehn-Saric said in a statement. “This will improve safety for babies sleeping in cribs and play yards.”

CPSC said it was aware of at least 494 incidents, including 139 fatalities and 355 nonfatal incidents, related to crib mattresses between January 2010 and April 2021.

Just last week, the CPSC also warned consumers about certain Leachco Podster infant loungers after two children died “due to a change in position” that obstructed the infants’ nose and mouth.

Commission approves new safety standards for crib mattresses

January 26, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(NEW YORK) — After 139 child deaths since 2010, new safety standards for crib mattresses will go into effect this fall.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission approved a new rule Wednesday to address potential hazards like lacerations, suffocation and entrapment.

New mattresses will be required to comply with the standard this fall, Levine said. The rule covers crib mattresses as well as mattresses in play yards and bassinets.

CPSC said it was aware of at least 494 incidents, including 139 fatalities and 355 nonfatal incidents, related to crib mattresses between January 2010 and April 2021.

Just last week, the CPSC also warned consumers about certain Leachco Podster infant loungers after two children died “due to a change in position” that obstructed the infants’ nose and mouth.

Black-owned autonomous grocery store opens in Georgia

January 26, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(FAYETTEVILLE, Ga.) — When Jilea Hemmings’ oldest son was diagnosed with autism, she and her husband, Jamie, started experimenting with food that seemed to help improve their child’s performance.

The Georgia couple used plant-based substitutes to create their son’s favorite dishes, including mac and cheese and spaghetti and meatballs.

Soon, they began selling their products at a farmers’ market, and their customers asked if the food was sold in grocery stores, too.

“From there, the rest is history,” Hemmings told ABC News.

The couple just opened Nourish + Bloom Market in Fayetteville, Georgia, believed to be the first Black-owned autonomous grocery store in the nation. Hemmings said their mantra is “real food and real products for real people.”

After moving from Chicago to Fayetteville, the Hemmings family said they realized they were in a food desert — an area where there is limited access to affordable and nutritious food — and decided to use their prior food and technology knowledge to open a market of their own.

Nourish + Bloom Market features a “frictionless shopping” experience where customers can walk in, grab what they need and leave without waiting in line or stopping to scan and pay.

Hemmings has a background in technology and software building, and to bring her and her husband’s vision to life, the market partnered with different companies such as Microsoft, USC Technologies, Nova Dynamics and Intel.

Although the store is fully autonomous, the owners still wanted the store “to feel warm” by having employees that assist customers throughout the market.

“People think that autonomous means that you’re taking jobs away,” Hemmings said. “It actually is not. We are changing the way their jobs are done.”

They also have delivery robots, named Nourish and Bloom, to deliver products in temperature-controlled compartments. With autonomous shopping, vending and robotic delivery, the market can offer 24/7 access to real food and environmentally friendly products.

“The community response has been overwhelming,” Hemmings said. “They are just so proud to see a Black family doing this, and then also to experience the technology, people have been very excited about that.”

The couple plans to franchise Nourish + Bloom Markets around the country, hoping to reach a goal of 800 stores in total.

Boston hospital denies heart transplant to man who hasn’t gotten COVID-19 vaccine

January 26, 2022 by WDNY Radio

(BOSTON) — The family of a Boston man is speaking out after they say their 31-year-old son was struck from a waitlist for a heart transplant because he was not vaccinated against COVID-19.

DJ Ferguson, who was diagnosed with arrhythmia four years ago, was admitted to Brigham and Women’s Hospital after suffering heart failure this winter, his parents told ABC News. But after reviewing Ferguson’s medical history, which showed he had not received a coronavirus shot, hospital staff told Ferguson that his vaccination status made him ineligible for a new heart, according to his parents.

Tracey and David Ferguson insisted their son does not oppose vaccines; he just worries the COVID-19 shot would complicate his heart condition, they said.

“He’s not an anti-vaxxer. He has all of his vaccines, and he’s an informed patient who is concerned because of his current cardiac crisis,” Tracey Ferguson said.

However, doctors say the risk of severe illness and inflammation of the heart from contracting COVID-19 is much more likely than the low risk of heart inflammation from the vaccine, which is usually temporary.

National transplant associations recommend the COVID-19 vaccines before transplants, as do many medical centers, because after a transplant, the patient’s immune system can become compromised from medications necessary to keep the organ and the patient alive, making the individual at risk for severe illness and death if they become infected with COVID-19.

The coronavirus vaccine is just one of several vaccinations required for patients who receive a transplant at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, a spokesperson at the facility told ABC News. These requirements “create both the best chance for a successful operation and optimize the patient’s survival after transplantation, given that their immune system is dramatically suppressed,” spokesperson Serena Bronda wrote in an email.

Since only about half of people waiting for an organ transplant will receive one, according to the hospital, doctors try to ensure that the organs go to people with the best chance of survival after the operation.

While the hospital could not comment on Ferguson’s case, citing HIPAA privacy law, Bronda said that all patients seeking transplants undergo a “comprehensive evaluation” to determine if they are eligible for the operation.

Transplant seekers are also screened for certain “lifestyle behaviors” that might disqualify them, such as substance use and active smoking, she added.

Evaluating patients seeking organ transplants is a common practice in most hospitals — and a necessary one, experts told ABC News, as there are not enough organs for everyone who needs one.

“You’re trying to get the most life saved with a very, very scarce resource,” Dr. Arthur Caplan, a professor of bioethics at New York University, said. “This is not about discrimination.”

Jennifer Miller, a bioethicist at Yale, told ABC News that hospitals must “allocate prudently” when it comes to organ transplants. “If you end up giving a heart to somebody who then dies, not only that person died, another person didn’t get that heart,” she said.

On Tuesday, DJ Ferguson was in open-heart surgery to receive a mechanical heart pump, called a left ventricular assist device, which should keep him alive for up to five years, according to his parents, who worry about the toll the device will have on their son’s quality of life.

“For the foreseeable future, he won’t be able to shower, he won’t be able to swim. He won’t be able to have a life,” David Ferguson said.

Tracey Ferguson said it was “devastating” when she learned that her son was not eligible to receive a new heart.

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