A student who refused to have the coronavirus vaccine has died due to complications the virus caused, his distraught mother has said.
Tyler Gilreath tested positive for Covid-19 back in August just three days after returning to university for his second year.
The 20-year-old, who was studying at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, was asked multiple times by his family to have the vaccine but did not have it.
His mum Tamra Demello said she had “cajoled, encouraged, threatened, and nagged” her son to get vaccinated.
While battling Covid Tyler developed a debilitating sinus infection that spread to his brain, his mum said.
After three weeks of battling serious sickness, and multiple operations, he was taken off life support on Monday after doctors informed the family he wasn’t going to make it.
“I am devastated beyond belief,” his mum said.
She added that her son refused, insisting he wouldn’t get sick as a healthy 20-year-old.
But Tyler finally caved to his mother’s pressure, promising to get the jab once he settled in at college, she said.
“He didn’t get the chance."
She added: “We’re just hoping if we can just convince these young people who think they’re invincible, you know, that this active, healthy, not ever really sick kid — if this can happen to him from those complications, that it can happen to them too.
Tyler was an organ donor and doctors on Monday harvested his heart, liver, kidneys and pancreas, his mother confirmed.
“We’re very thankful that he’ll live on.
"He would’ve been just really happy to have at least helped somebody else."
