A paramedic and mother of a 13-year-old student who died from COVID-19 wants Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp to mandate masks in classrooms, while state Democrats urge him to shut schools down until most children are vaccinated.
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Jennifer Helm believes her son, Porter Helm, contracted the coronavirus infection at Coosa High School in Rome, Georgia. Helm wants Kemp to issue a statewide mask mandate, but she doesn’t support a requirement for vaccines, claiming there isn’t enough research on them.
“You can’t just keep farming these kids around in these schools,” Helm told CBS46.
Helm said she believes her son caught COVID-19 at Coosa High School. The teenager died Tuesday morning at a local hospital. The county coroner — who said Porter was the county’s youngest coronavirus victim — cited respiratory failure due to COVID-19 as his cause of death, Rome News-Tribune reported.
“I just received another notification this morning,” Helm continued, noting the school district had reported multiple infections. One of the notifications informed her that Porter had been in close contact with six other students who had confirmed positive tests.
In just three days, the Floyd School District reported 11 students who had developed COVID-19.
Helm contracted the virus after her 13-year-old son and was hospitalized for her infection. Doctors discharged her Wednesday, but she still requires oxygen to breathe.
A few days after testing positive, Porter — who had gone to his dad’s house — didn’t wake up. Helm found out her son had died while she was still in the hospital for COVID-19.
“He gave him some medicine,” she said in her interview with CBS46. “And when he went back to check on him, he wasn’t breathing.”
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“It’s the most horrible thing I’ve ever been through,” Helm lamented, remembering her son, who always made her laugh. “I miss you so much. I’d give anything if you were still here.”
Despite her heartbreaking loss, she’s unsure whether she will take the vaccine. Helm works as a paramedic and has two other children but said she chose not to vaccinate her family because there is “not enough research,” claiming the success rate is low.
Research shows all of the vaccines afford people protection against severe illness and hospitalization from COVID-19. Additionally, CDC data shows more than 40% of Georgians are fully vaccinated, including 35% of Floyd County. Unfortunately, both are well below the national average.
The grieving mother does, however, support implementing mask-wearing requirements across the state.
Data on the Floyd School District’s website shows Coosa High School has a 1.64% positive case rate. Current policy triggers mandatory mask requirements when a school’s positivity rate hits 2%.
Two other high schools have already hit or exceeded that threshold, including Pepperell High, where 12 students tested positive this week.
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