A 70-year-old Texas nurse who came out of retirement to train nursing students during the pandemic has died of COVID-19

• Iris Meda, a retired Texas nurse returned to duty during the pandemic to help train aspiring frontline nurses.
• In October, though, Meda was exposed to COVID-19 in a classroom and was hospitalized soon after.
• She died from complications related to the virus on November 14.

Iris Meda, a 70-year-old Texas nurse, retired in January.

When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out shortly after, she felt a call to duty and got back to work, this time training nursing students who would be on the front lines.

In October, though, she was exposed to the virus by a student and died from complications earlier this month, The Washington Post reported.

"She felt like if she could gain momentum by teaching some of those basics, we could contain any virus," her daughter, Selene Meda-Schlamel, told The Post. "She wanted to do something that would make a difference."

Meda graduated from her nursing program in New York City in 1984, according to a GoFundMe page raising money for a scholarship in her name.

Soon after her retirement from the North Texas Job Corps, she jumped back in the game to help teach aspiring nurses who were studying at Collin College.

On October 14, Meda tested positive for the coronavirus after showing symptoms and was hospitalized three days later. She died on November 14.

At least 12,448,099 Americans have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to Johns Hopkins University. Among them are at least 232,497 healthcare workers, the CDC reports.

Meda is survived by her daughter and sister. Another daughter, Tanya Meda Bui, died of cancer in June 2013, according to her obituary.