A UNVACCINATED woman urged other people to get the Covid jab in her last TikTok video in the hospital before she died.
Alexandra Blankenbiller, of Florida, was just 31 when the virus took her life.
2
2
She lamented the “mistake” that she waited to get her doses – which could have saved her life – as she got visibly more unwell.
On August 15, lying from a hospital bed hooked up to oxygen, Alexandra said: “I don’t have a lot of energy for talking, so I’m going to try to make this quick.
“I did not get vaccinated. I’m not anti-vax. I was just trying to do my research. I was scared.
“I wanted me and my family to all do it at the same time. And as I am sure you guys know, it’s hard to get everyone to agree on something if people feel differently.
“So, I do think it was a mistake. I shouldn’t have waited.
“If you are even 70 per cent sure you want the vaccine, go get it. Don’t wait. Go get it.
“Because hopefully if you get it, then you won’t end up in the hospital like me, okay?”
Nine days after the video was created, receiving almost 1 million views so far, Alexandra died.
“It’s no secret this is something that should be taken seriously,” her sister, Cristina Blankenbiller, told WebMD.
“But there’s so much misinformation out there.”
Cristina said she and her family were unable to see Alexandra at Orange County Medical Center, and were told on the phone she had died.
The last four videos on her TikTok are taken from her bed as she slowly deteriorates.
In one video, in which she captioned “DO NOT WAIT TO GET VACCINATED!”, Alexandra reacts in horror to screaming wails coming from another room.
It is believed the screams are either a Covid patient or the family of one who has died.
Alexandra, who had been writing a screenplay before she became unwell, used her last days to explain to followers the powers of vaccines.
‘GO GET IT’
She said: “It’s not saying you won’t get Covid. It’s just a layer of protection so that it’s not as severe if you do come in contact.
“The vaccine is not a guarantee you wont get Covid… It’s like a bootcamp for your body to go up against Covid.”
Friends described Alexandra as someone who cared deeply about helping others.
Sister Rachel Blankenbiller said: “Her final video really showed a lot of who she was.
“She was selfless – the type of person who used her final days to help others.”
As Alexandra explained, Covid vaccines help to prevent severe infection caused by the coronavirus.
The Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Moderna jabs have been proven in both trials and real life to reduce the risk of hospitalisation and death – more than 90 per cent after two doses even against the Delta variant.
You can still catch the virus even if you are fully vaccinated, but it should be a milder disease.
For a small proportion, the protection built after vaccination won’t be enough to fight Covid, hence why there are still deaths every day.
But to be as protected as possible, experts agree the benefits of the vaccines for outweigh the small risks.