Media

The Media’s Favorite Story Seems To Be Regular People Wishing They Got Vaccinated Before Dying

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Media outlets, including The Washington Post and New York Times, have been highlighting people who are dying of COVID and inquiring about whether the victims wished they got the vaccine.

The Washington Post published an article about 39-year-old Micheal Freedy, who died Thursday. Freedy texted his fiancee, Jessica DuPreez, and said, “I should have gotten the damn vaccine,” according to the Post. The outlet noted that Freedy wasn’t against the vaccine but that he wanted to wait a year to see the long-term side effects of the jab.

His story, though, is eerily similar to others that were reported.

After 34-year-old Stephen Harmon died of the virus at a Los Angeles area hospital, media outlets jumped on the story. An Associated Press article, which was also published by NBC News, noted that “Harmon had made fun of vaccination efforts on social media” before he was hospitalized. (RELATED: Washington Examiner To Require Vaccination For All Employees)

Business Insider reported that “Harmon also made a joke about the widespread trust in Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s leading infectious-disease expert.” The California News Times and the Daily Beast also ran stories on Harmon’s case.

BBC wrote about “a super fit 54-year-old” named Faisal Bashir who said he didn’t get the vaccine because he was “arrogant” and thought he didn’t need it because he was “strong and healthy.” Bashir spent a week in the hospital receiving oxygen and was later released. He’s now dedicated to speaking out about his experience to warn others, according to the report.

“They spurned the COVID-19 vaccine,” read a headline from The New York Times. “Now they want you to know they regret it.” As the headline suggests, the article tells the stories of “people who once rejected the vaccine or simply waited too long” and are “now grappling with the consequences.”

“A number are speaking from hospital beds, at funerals and in obituaries about their regrets, about the pain of enduring the virus and watching unvaccinated family members die gasping for breath,” the article stated.

Doctors told NBC News that “it is heart-wrenching” to see people enter the hospital with COVID-19 who regret not taking the vaccine.

Dr. Mayrol Juarez, a critical care physician at Mercy Hospital Springfield in Missouri, said that his patients allegedly wished “that they knew they were going to end up in the hospital this sick and they would have made a different choice and got the vaccine.”