Only days after Texas nurse Nina Pham was released from a treatment center and declared Ebola-free, her colleague has also been given a clean bill of health and released from her treatment facility.
Amber Vinson, the second nurse to test positive for the Ebola virus earlier this month, spoke at a press conference today regarding her recovery.
"I'm so grateful to be well," Vinson said, after leaving Atlanta's Emory Hospital on Tuesday. "And first and foremost, I want to thank God. I sincerely believe that with God, all things are possible."
She continued to give appreciation for the health care workers who got her through her treatment, but kept the focus on God's love for the support it gave to her and her family. "It has been God's love that has truly carried my family and me through this difficult time, and has played such an important role in giving me hope and the strength to fight."
Vinson was first diagnosed with the Ebola virus after giving aid to the nation's first Ebola case, Thomas Eric Duncan, in late September. Vinson was moved to Emory Hospital in Atlanta on October 15th to take advantage of that hospital's specially equipped facilities. Emory Hospital staff had previously treated Dr. Kent Brantly and aid worker Nancy Writebol earlier this summer when they both contracted the virus while working in West Africa. Both were cured and later released.
Dr. David Lakey, commissioner of the Texas Department of State Health Services, released a statement declaring Vinson free of the deadly virus. "Through excellent health care and her own courage, she beat the disease. We wish her the best as she transitions back to a normal life, and we welcome her back home to Texas."
Now that Vinson and fellow co-worker Nina Pham are out of the hospital, this leaves only one remaining Ebola patient in a U.S. hospital: Dr. Craig Spencer. The 33-year-old doctor tested positive for the virus last week when he returned from a Doctors Without Borders trip in Guinea. He remains in serious but stable condition in a New York hospital.
Vinson has returned to her home in Texas and carries no threat of transmitting the virus, officials assure.
