A mother whose 28-year-old son died of Covid-19 said her biggest regret is that they did not get vaccinated when they could. Christy Carpenter cannot forget her son Curt Carpenter’s last words before he died: ‘This is not a hoax, this is real’.

Curt initially believed the coronavirus was a hoax and the whole family living in Alabama was hesitant about getting vaccinated, Christy said.

‘It took years to create other vaccines, and the coronavirus vaccine was created very quickly. That made us very nervous,’ Christy told the Washington Post in a report published on Sunday.

Curt, his younger sister and Christy all contracted the virus in early March. They experienced mild symptoms in the beginning, but a week later, their oxygen levels dropped. Curt and Christy were admitted at Grandview Medical Center in Birmingham and both developed pneumonia the next day. Curt was placed on a ventilator.

Curt suffered a collapsed lung, and that on top of constantly changing oxygen levels caused his organs to start shutting down. He died on May 2.

‘It took watching my son die and me suffering the effects of Covid for us to realize we need the vaccine,’ Christy said. “We did not get vaccinated when we had the opportunity and regret that so much now.’

Christy said Curt was autistic and a healthy young man.

Christy added that if her son were still alive, ‘he would make it his mission to encourage everyone to get vaccinated’.

‘Cayla, his sister, and I are carrying out that mission in his memory,’ Christy said. ‘If we can help keep people healthier and possibly save lives by encouraging others to take the vaccine, then Curt’s death was not in vain.’

Christy was discharged from the hospital but months later, her health is not what it used to be before contracting the virus. She continues to deal with hair loss, fatigue and ‘Covid brain’. Christy could not work or drive until late May and is still on pulmonary therapy.

‘I lose my train of thought easily, can’t remember parts of conversations, can’t remember people’s names that I have known for years,’ she said.

The Carpenters’ reluctance to get the jab is not uncommon in Alabama, the state with the lowest vaccination rate in the US. Only 33.9% of the state’s population is fully vaccinated and 41.6% have received at least one dose, according to the Alabama Department of Public Health.

‘We find that there’s a lot of mistrust with messages that come from state government, from public health, in particular, from the media,’ the public health department’s chief executive Scott Harris told the Post. ‘There’s just a lot of different people who have a lot of different reasons for not getting the vaccine. And it’s just hard to address them in a big way.’

Unvaccinated people who are infected with Covid-19 often become more ill than those who have taken the shot. In Alabama, more than 95% of people hospitalized for the coronavirus did not get the jab, Harris said.

Earlier this month, a doctor at Grandview Medical Center, Dr Brytney Cobia, shared on Facebook that coronavirus patients have pleaded for the vaccine when they are in serious condition.

‘One of the last things they do before they’re intubated is beg me for the vaccine,’ Cobia wrote. ‘I hold their hand and tell them that I’m sorry, but it’s too late.’

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