A woman in Nevada is warning people, vaccinated and unvaccinated, to continue wearing masks and practice healthy distancing after her vaccinated husband died of COVID-19.
Julie Mikeworth shared her story with KLAS, saying her late husband, Bob, contracted the virus and passed away within a matter of weeks.
"To have seen what it did to him in a short time," Julie recounted.
Bob was in his 70's and was considered high-risk, and with being fully vaccinated, he still was unable to overcome COVID-19 once he came down with it.
"I don't think people realize what that feeling is," Julie explained of Bob's hospitalization. "That you are helpless; you can't see them."
Married for 35 years, Bob and Julie both got sick at the same time, but Julie found her symptoms mild and her recovery quick, attributing them to the vaccine.
"In the end, he wanted me to let people know," Julie lamented. "Because people need to know you can't let your guard down."
As she attempts to navigate her life without the man she loved, she said her message is quite simple: wear a mask, and get vaccinated if you are able.
"Quit talking politics," she exclaimed. "Quit talking this, just do it."
According to a report from the Nevada Hospital Association (NHA), 95 percent of their hospitalized cases are among the unvaccinated.
"Unvaccinated COVID-19 patients continue to fill southern Nevada hospitals contributing to hospital overcrowding and staffing shortages," according to the NHA report.
On Tuesday, Nevada Health Response released a statement saying that mask guidances were in effect across the state. "The CDC recommended that everyone, including fully vaccinated individuals, wear a mask in public indoor settings in counties with substantial or high transmission," the statement said.
"In line with Emergency Directive 045 (signed and effective May 3, 2021), the State of Nevada is automatically adopting the latest CDC guidance related to masks as a statewide requirement," it added.
Mikeworth asked people to comply with guidelines, saying, "This is the longest I've ever been away from him. He was the most loyal person, the most honest person you would ever meet."
"You don't want to go through what I went through," she added.
As the Delta variant becomes the dominant strain in the U.S., spreading rapidly throughout all 50 states, the surge in infections and hospitalizations nationwide is record-breaking.
Hospitalizations in the U.S. more than tripled in the last month, according to the CDC. The average number of admissions went from around 12,000 to nearly 43,000.
A doctor in Florida named Dr. Fayez Ajib made a video urging people to get vaccinated after a shift. "If you are on the edge about getting vaccinated I would really encourage you guys to do so, because you don't know how bad it can get and you don't want to take that chance."
Newsweek reached out to the Nevada Department of Health for additional comment.
A woman in Nevada warned people, unvaccinated or fully vaccinated, to continue using caution and to wear masks after her vaccinated husband died of COVID-19. An Indonesian health worker prepares Bio Pharma COVID-19 vaccine on...A woman in Nevada warned people, unvaccinated or fully vaccinated, to continue using caution and to wear masks after her vaccinated husband died of COVID-19. An Indonesian health worker prepares Bio Pharma COVID-19 vaccine on August 6 in Surabaya, Indonesia. Robertus Pudyanto/Getty Images
