Bedridden COVID patients urge the community to get vaccinated
There’s been dramatic summer surge in COVID-19 positivity rates in South Florida and throughout the country. Most new cases are younger patients who are not vaccinated.
“If I would have known to take the shot, I would have taken it a while ago because COVID is real,” said Shawn Moses, who prior to being hospitalized with COVID was a healthy 47-year-old. “You need it. Don’t put it on hold. Go take the shot. Listen to me. If I would have listened to myself, I wouldn’t be in this situation right now.”
Moses is now hospitalized at Broward Health, where he has spent 18 hours a day for the last six days lying on his stomach, because that is the only way he can breathe.
“This past week, the number of hospitalized COVID positive patients has significantly increased again,” said Broward Health Medical Center Chief of Staff Sunil Kumar, M.D.
Dr. Kumar attributes the spike in positivity rates to the Delta variant of the virus, which is more contagious and has been affecting younger, healthier people. He said nearly everyone infected with the virus has not been vaccinated.
Inside Broward Health’s COVID-19 units, there are patients who are 15, 20 and 32-years-old. The common denominator is that none these patients is vaccinated, and they are all fighting for their lives.
“Mr. Moses is a young, healthy gentleman,” said Dr. Kumar. “Unfortunately, he didn’t have all the information about the vaccine. Now, he realizes that it was a mistake, and he’s struggling.”
As the pandemic shifts, those who are not vaccinated remain the most at risk.
“There’s only one thing that you can do,” said Dr. Kumar. “There is no running away from this. You must vaccinate. It’s a preventable disease at this point, and you need to help yourself and your family. You don’t want to die from COVID, and you don’t want a family member to die either. That can be prevented by getting the vaccine.”
For more information on the vaccine and its availability, visit BrowardHealth.org/Vaccine.
