More than 247,000 people have died of COVID-19 in the U.S. since vaccines first became available. Some contract COVID-19 and die before they can be inoculated.
Since vaccines have become available in the United States, more than 247,000 people have succumbed to COVID-19 as the vaccination effort across the country ramps up.
The final insult: Some dying of COVID while awaiting vaccine
JAY REEVES, Associated Press
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1of8In this undated selfie photo provided by Charlotte Crawford is Natalia Crawford, who died of COVID-19 in Texas before she had a chance to receive a vaccine against the coronavirus that causes the illness. More than 247,000 people have died of COVID-19 in the U.S. since vaccines first became available in mid-December 2020. While it s unknown how many of them wanted to be immunized, families have wrenching stories of loved ones being infected after months of staying safe and then dying before they could get a dose. (Natalia Crawford via AP)Natalia Crawford/APShow MoreShow Less
The final insult: Some dying of COVID-19 while awaiting vaccine
More than 247,000 people have died of COVID-19 in the U.S. since vaccines first became available mid-December.
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In this undated photo provided by Laura Brown, is Air Force veteran Diane Drewes who died of COVID-19 in Ohio, while waiting to receive a vaccine against the coronavirus. (Photo | AP) By Associated Press
After months of hoping to receive a COVID-19 immunization and then weeks of fighting the illness after one never came, Air Force veteran Diane Drewes was down to her last few breaths at a hospice center in Ohio when the phone rang. It was a health care worker, calling to schedule her first appointment for a coronavirus shot.
The final insult: Some dying of COVID while awaiting vaccine
With surveys showing a large percentage of the U.S. population leery of vaccines, it’s impossible to say exactly how many of the dead would have even wanted an immunization. But Brown said her mother wanted one desperately. Other families have similar, wrenching stories of loved ones being infected after months of staying safe and then dying before they could get a dose.
Charlotte Crawford, who has spent 40 years working in the microbiology laboratory at Parkland Hospital in Dallas, was fully immunized in January after receiving two doses of the Moderna vaccine because of her work. Yet she then endured the agony of watching her husband and two adult children contract COVID-19 and die before they could get shots.