A North Carolina woman who was scared of getting vaccinated is pleading with Americans to get the shot after falling gravely ill from the Covid-19 Delta variant.
Eketrina Wilson, 39, issued the urgent warning after winding up in an intensive care unit at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center and struggling for breath.
Ms Wilson told the Winston-Salem Journal she had avoided getting the vaccine out of fear, and a mistaken belief that her age would protect her.
“I wasn’t vaccinated because I was scared,” Ms Wilson said.
She contracted the illness early in July and experienced tiredness and shortness of breath for two weeks before seeking medical attention.
After arriving at Wake Forest Baptist Health High Point Medical Center on 19 July, she spent three days in a general ward.
“She had a terrible shortness of breath and low levels of oxygen,” Dr Kinchit Shah told the Winston-Salem Journal.
“After the first three days, it was time to send her to the ICU. She was not getting better.”
Ms Wilson began to get better, and after she was well enough to leave ICU she requested a vaccine as she couldn’t face going through the same experience again.
Speaking after being discharged from hospital, she said she was still having difficulty breathing and faced a long road to recovery.
“It hurts too much to breathe,” she said on a Zoom call with reporters.
Along with many vaccine skeptics who have fallen ill from the virus, she’s now pleading with others to get the jabs.
“It’s not scary. It’s just like the flu shot. You have to have it or you’re going to get sick.”
