HALL County, Ga. (CBS46) — A Hall County husband told his family he hoped he didn’t regret not getting the vaccine. Weeks later, he tested positive for COVID, went into the ICU and never made it out alive. Now his widow is doing what she can so others don’t even up like her husband.
“They did everything under the sun.” Mary Roland continued, “they did everything possible to try and save him.”
Mary and Byrant Roland had just celebrated their third marriage anniversary this summer when the 49-year-old tested positive for COVID soon after.
Roland had no underlying major conditions, he was otherwise healthy.
The husband went into an already overwhelmed hospital in Hall County after some minor pains. But eventually, ‘it went all downhill from there.’
His widow recalled, “he did say I hope I don’t regret having not gotten the vaccine.”
In ICU for 16 days, nine on a ventilator, the husband was feeling regret and Mary too, she told CBS46.
Adding, she wishes she would have pushed harder for him to get vaccinated. Roland died July 28.
When asked if he’d want people to get vaccinated now– “absolutely, 100 percent,” Mary responded.
“He was just a light. Anybody that knew him just always felt supported.”
As a teacher, she watched resistance against masks, and protests across the state have left her stunned. The teacher urged local school districts to fight against covid misinformation, citing it as ‘deadly.’
And now through both grief and anger, she’s making vaccine advocacy her full time mission.
“I’m pretty fed up with the statement ‘it’s a personal choice’ because I’m living proof everyday that it’s not a personal choice.
Death affects more than just the person who passed away.”
The CDC reports about 99 percent of new covid deaths are those of unvaccinated people. Experts warn with the Delta variant surge plus new studies of the Lamba variant, now is not the time to wait to get vaccinated.
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