Not vaccinated yet? Neither were these COVID victims. All regret their skepticism
July 29, KCRA 3, Sacramento — Philly Baird of Ripon fought for each breath at Doctors Medical (Center) in Manteca, as he battled COVID-19 and pneumonia. “I was an idiot. I didn’t get the shot, I believed in all the hoopla,” he said.
Aug. 11, ABC 10, Sacramento — Close friends and family say Anthony “Big Bunk” Moreno was a vaccine skeptic who wasn’t convinced of the science or safety. Marisa Sanchez, a sister-in-law, said Anthony told her just before he was intubated that he would have taken the vaccine had he known how seriously it could have affected him and his family.
“Living the hell that we live right now and having to deal with this first hand. I would definitely tell anyone, you have to get vaccinated,” Sanchez said.
Aug. 6, CNN, Virginia — Unvaccinated dad records days of regret in hospital — and makes heartbreaking request for daughter’s wedding in case he dies
“I messed up big time, guys,” Travis Campbell said through an oxygen mask in one video posted to Facebook. “I didn’t get the vaccine ... I made a mistake, I admit it.”
Aug. 8, ABC, Jackson, Miss. — Claire Pride, 28, said she did not have any underlying health conditions before she got sick. She said she did not think she would get the virus because of her age. “I hate that I had to learn from my mistake.”
Aug. 7, NBC, New Orleans — ‘Didn’t know if I was going to live’: Musician urges public to get vaccinated after catching COVID-19.
July 21, National World (UK) — A father of one who caught COVID-19 while watching England play in the Euros told nurses “I wish I had got vaccinated” before he died.
July 30, New York Times, Provo, Utah — “I have such incredible guilt,” said Mindy Greene (who decided against vaccines for her family after research and prayer, before her husband was hospitalized). “I will always regret that I listened to the misinformation being put out there. ... They’re creating fear.”
The warnings are out there.
People critically ill, in some cases dying, are trying to get the attention of anti-vaxxers, science deniers, and the generally reluctant with chilling, cautionary tales of heartache, suffering, and loss from the coronavirus and its highly contagious delta variant. This list just scratches the surface.
The one thing all have in common: regret.
They also are willing to swallow their pride and plead with others not to go down the same road, headed the wrong way.
It’s not easy to admit mistakes. It’s probably harder to do for TV cameras, knowing their humiliation could reach millions.
Why do it?
Staring death in the face, or confronting the reality of serious illness with long-term consequences, can change a person. Deathbed repentance can strip away pride, leaving truth and a desire to help others.
Fresno County surging
Do people listen? Not all, evidently — by a long shot.
“The bad times are back,” is how Dr. Rais Vohra, the interim county public health officer, put it Friday. As Bee staff writer Tim Sheehan reported, hospitals across Fresno County are handling almost seven times more patients requiring inpatient treatment for COVID-19 than they were six weeks ago, as concerns mount over a continuing surge in new coronavirus cases and the impacts of the virus’ highly contagious delta variant.
But maybe someone will see these stories, think twice, reconsider and get their shots after all. To these suffering souls, it’s worth the effort, the shame, and discomfort of coming forward. It might even be restorative.
One more excerpt, from NBC in Arkansas on July 8: “It is heart-wrenching to see unvaccinated individuals come into the hospital with regret,” said Dr. Ryan Dare, an infectious diseases physician. They are patients who, “if they could do it all over again, would have had the vaccine in a second.
“The decision to get a vaccination should not be hard. Patients know that now, but they know it too late.”
If you haven’t yet had your shot, do it today — before it’s too late. Don’t become another sad story.