CDC Officials Confirm They Gave Second Dallas Ebola Nurse Permission to Fly — Even After She Called to Report Fever

Officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have reportedly confirmed that they gave Ebola patient Amber Vinson permission to fly on a commercial plane Monday, even though she had a low-grade fever, according to several reports.

Vinson, 29, is the second medical worker to contract Ebola after having close contact with deceased Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas.

Amber Vinson (Photo: Akron Public Schools)

The CDC apparently gave Vinson the OK to fly because she was showing no other signs of Ebola other than a low-grade fever.

A health official admitted that someone "dropped the ball." More from CBS News:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that Vinson called the agency several times before flying, saying that she had a fever with a temperature of 99.5 degrees. But because her fever wasn't 100.4 degrees or higher, she didn't officially fall into the group of "high risk" and was allowed to fly.

Officials in the U.S. have been trying to calm fears over the Ebola crisis, but time and again events have overtaken their assurances.

"She wasn't bleeding or vomiting," CDC Director Tom Frieden said. "The level of risk around her would be extremely low, but because of the extra margin of safety, we will be contacting [all those who were on the flight]."

However, Frieden admitted that Vinson "should not have been on that plane."

"We will from this moment forward ensure that no other individual with exposure travels in anything other than a controlled manner," he added.

There were a total of 132 passengers on that flight, all of whom have been asked to call 1-800-CDC-INFO.

The other nurse who contracted Ebola after treating Duncan is 26-year-old Nina Pham. Vinson was transferred to Emory University Hospital in Atlanta on Wednesday.