Dad's heartbreaking texts as he lay dying of Covid
A dad has died from Covid-19 after texting his regret in not getting vaccinated.
Christian Cabrera, 40, from California, died from coronavirus on Saturday, his brother Jino wrote on a GoFundMe page.
“We’re completely heartbroken,” he wrote.
“He touched so many people’s lives because he was a very loving, kind, generous, caring person with a beautiful heart and soul.”
Mr Cabrera fell ill with Covid shortly after Christmas and was rushed to the emergency room last week struggling to breathe, KTLA 5 reported.
He had not been vaccinated. Jino said his brother told him he feared he was going to die and urged him to look after his son Noel, 3.
Jino told KTLA 5 his brother told him at one stage he “really” regretted not getting vaccinated.
“If I can do it all over again I would do it in a heartbeat to save my life. I’m fighting for my life here and I wish I have gotten vaccinated,” the 40-year-old texted his brother.
He wrote on Instagram it was "the worst pain" he had experienced in his life.
It is not clear why Mr Cabrera was not vaccinated.
He was known for being the sidekick of comedian Michael Blackson. The pair did a podcast together and a number of skits on social media.
US vaccine booster drive stalls
The US vaccine booster drive appears to be losing steam, worrying health officials.
Just 40 per cent of fully vaccinated Americans have received a booster dose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And the average number of booster shots dispensed per day in the US has plummeted from a peak of one million in early December to about 490,000 as of last week.
Also, a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that Americans are more likely to see the initial vaccinations — rather than a booster — as essential.
“It’s clear that the booster effort is falling short,” Jason Schwartz, a vaccine policy expert at Yale University, said.
Overall, the US vaccination campaign has been sluggish. More than 13 months after it began, just 63 per cent of Americans, or 210 million people, are fully vaccinated with the initial rounds of shots. Mandates that could raise those numbers have been hobbled by legal challenges.
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As for why an estimated 86 million Americans who have been fully vaccinated and are eligible for a booster have not yet gotten one, Mr Schwartz said public confusion is one important reason.
“I think the evidence is now overwhelming that the booster is not simply an optional supplement, but it is a foundational part of protection,” he said.
“But clearly that message has been lost.”
The need for all Americans to get boosters initially was debated by scientists, and at first the government recommended only that certain groups of people, such as senior citizens, get additional doses. The arrival of Omicron, and additional evidence about falling immunity, showed more clearly a widespread need for boosters.
But the message “has been lost in the sea of changing recommendations and guidance,” Mr Schwartz said.
with The Associated Press
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