- An unvaccinated college student from Texas with no underlying health conditions died of COVID-19.
- The mother of Breanna Gray said she wished she would have “forced” her daughter to get vaccinated.
- In the last phone call before she died, Gray was “screaming through a mask”, her mother said.
The regretful mother of an unvaccinated college student from Texas who died of COVID-19 last month said she should have “forced” her daughter to get the jab, according to FOX 4.
Breanna Gray was set to become a freshman at Navarro College in September but fell ill on July 31 and was hospitalized a week later.
The 19-year-old had no underlying health conditions and had decided not to take a COVID-19 vaccine.
Two weeks after the Texas teen was admitted to the hospital, her condition worsened and soon after, she was told by doctors she had to be put on a ventilator.
Read more: Charging the unvaccinated more for medical insurance is a terrible idea
Her mother, Tabitha Gray, told FOX 4 that the last time she spoke to her daughter, she tried to calm her down over the phone.
“You just hear her screaming through the mask for me, and that was the last time,” Tabitha said, according to FOX 4. “And the last voice I heard is her yelling for me in her mask.”
“For me, not being there to help my baby or be there is the worst feeling in the entire world,” Tabitha added.
—Peyton Yager (@peytonyager) August 31, 2021
Gray’s entire household was unvaccinated, which led to all of them contracting the virus at around the same time. However, only the teen ended up in the hospital.
The teen had sent pictures of herself in the hospital bed, hoping she would survive. She died on August 19.
Gray’s mother said that societal pressure from nearby friends and family influenced their decision to remain unvaccinated.
“I feel like it’s my fault,” Tabitha said, according to FOX 4. “I should’ve forced it.”
“I shouldn’t have let other people in my head or life get to me,” Tabitha said. “I should’ve done what I needed to do to protect my family.”
Gray was described as “the light in the room everywhere she went on a memorial website.” Her dream was to own a beauty salon after college.
Since Breanna’s death, Gray’s family have received their first COVID-19 vaccine and are booked in for their second appointment later this month.
More than 174.6 million Americans – 52.6% of the population – have been fully vaccinated, according to the CDC.