An indoor mask advisory has been issued in New Orleans, and Louisiana is facing a major setback in its battle against the coronavirus.
Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards is dealing with the highest number of COVID infections since the winter, leading to a surge in hospitalizations.
"I actually lost my breath today when the daily update came in," Edwards said.
Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Arkansas, Missouri, and Nevada are the hardest-hit states right now—as unvaccinated Americans are driving these trends.
Betty Antoine's 46-year-old son Brandon became a COVID statistic—despite her pleading with him to get a COVID-19 vaccine.
"I begged him, I said, 'You need to take the vaccine, Brandon.' 'Oh, no, mom, I'm not going to take it. And you better not take the vaccine either,' Antoine recalled in a conversation with CBS News' David Begnaud.
"Did he ever talk to his doctor?" Begnaud asked.
"His doctor wanted him to take the vaccine. He told her no," Betty said.
He told his mom and his friends he had done the research and wanted to wait, but Antoine said her son left out an important detail to his friends.
"He did not tell his friends all the underlying health conditions he had. He had a bad heart. He had lung problems, COPD," she said. Brandon tested for COVID-19 and died six later. Standing next to his bedside, Antoine said she was overcome with a sense of purpose.
"First of all, I was so full with... I want to say angry. I was kind of angry, not so much at him, but because he did not take the vaccine," she said. "And I said, right then I'm going to ask his friends and everybody to take that vaccine in honor of him."
Antoine offered COVID-19 vaccines during his funeral. Three people stepped up that day to take the vaccine and 10 others followed later.
"I just wanted them to see Brandon's ashes. I wanted them to know, look, Brandon is dead because he did not take the vaccine," she said.
Among the 100 million Americans who are unvaccinated, many are healthcare workers.
"In order to protect the patients, we have to not be carrying a virus," said Christopher Thomas, a critical care doctor in Baton Rouge. "We've done this for flu. We need to be patient-centered. And that requires us as health care professionals to take the first leap in that first leap is to get vaccinated."
FadeToPuce on July 26th, 2021 at 17:10 UTC »
Well this is all awful. That poor woman. When my wife’s parents got COVID I got a fraction of a peek into some of what this woman must have gone through and it’s just awful. Knowing not only that your loved one is too far down the rabbit hole to listen to reason but then to have to sit idly by while the worst case scenario unfolds in front of you. And largely you still can’t even visit them in the hospital, your own child in this case, to comfort them in the time they have left. I hope it helps her a little, though it couldn’t possibly be enough, knowing she did ultimately save some lives.
Balls_of_Adamanthium on July 26th, 2021 at 15:56 UTC »
Before people start slandering the mom, she didn’t come to sudden realization after her son died. She had been begging him to take the vaccine for a while. He was another victim of ignorance, as dude thought he had “done his research” while hiding from his family he had heart and lung issues. No parent want bury their child. Tragic.
CB_Joe on July 26th, 2021 at 15:32 UTC »
A bad heart and COPD. He should have been high priority for the vaccine. It's a shame he didn't take it.