Indiana man Mark Green and his wife Amy didn’t want to get COVID-19 vaccines.
They told the Indianapolis Star that they felt the government was pushing too hard to get people vaccinated, that the shots were developed to fast to be safe. Then, Mark got sick.
Now, the New Palestine, Ind., resident said he can't believe the issue was politicized.
"I'm not pro-vaccine. I'm pro-health," he said. "The vaccine is what makes you healthy. You get the vaccine, it's going to make you healthy, keep you healthy and not let this happen to you."
Amy, however, is still on the fence. While the Republican-leaning couple is not against all vaccines, they had discussed getting vaccinated COVID-19 before Mark became ill and were afraid of the unknown when it came those shots. They didn’t want to be told what to do, Mark said.
Most people they know also remain unvaccinated.
One of the only people close to them who considered getting a COVID-19 vaccine was Mark's mother. However, she hurt her hip and ended up in the hospital before she could get one. The 88-year-old ended up battling COVID-19 in the hospital and surviving.
Her 58-year-old son was in critical care unit fighting the virus Friday. Since he was admitted to the hospital more than 11 days ago, Mark has been given what he describes as "pounds" of medicine – much more than a dose or two of COVID-19 vaccine.
He has an underlying lung condition that makes the situation even more serious. In July, Mark's pulmonologist Robert Klinestiver tried to convince his patient to get a vaccine.
"I didn't take the vaccine myself because I was scared, the unknown, what would happen two or three years down the road," Mark said. "Once I got sick, I kind of realized, it didn't matter what happens down the road. It matters what happens now…You got to weigh the here and now or maybe never."
It's better to be vaccinated now and worry later, he concluded.
As Mark continues to battle the virus, he could eventually need a ventilator. He’s seen others on them in the hospital and he hopes it won't come to that.
This week could be critical ones for Mark, Klinestiver said, according to the Indianapolis Star.
While Klinestiver says he can understand why people like the Greens are reluctant to get vaccinated. However, he is frustrated because hospitals have been filling up with COVID-19 patients, including many who could have avoided a hospital stay with a vaccine shot. Compared to the early stages of the pandemic, when most COVID-19 patients were elderly, Klinestiver now sees people in their 50s, 40s and even 30s hospitalized with COVID-19.
"That's the salt in this wound, you know," he said. "It's so hard to watch a person in their prime of their lives die."
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, vaccines are a safe and effective way to prevent severe COVID-19 infections and hospitalizations.
Hospital beds full of COVID-19 patients also make it harder to care for people suffering with other ailments.
As of Friday, Mark is still expected to have a long haul to beat COVID-19. Before he can be discharged he will need to be weaned off high doses of oxygen, Klinestiver explained. Even when he leaves, Mark will still need to be on some oxygen. He will also need to tend to his legs, which have become atrophied during his hospital stay.
Klinestiver said a full recovery could be months away.
"This is terrible, this is bad," said Mark when he appeared in video for the Indianapolis Star about his struggle.
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