PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The consequences of COVID-19 vaccine refusal became a very personal issue for Philadelphia City Councilmember Curtis Jones, who lost his son last week.
He had a message for unvaccinated people at Thursday's session: Making that choice could have potentially fatal consequences beyond just spreading COVID-19 to those they love.
Jones said his son’s treatment for a heart and lung illness may have been delayed because of COVID-19 patients monopolizing hospital beds.
He shared that he didn’t want to shame anybody, but he wanted to make the unvaccinated aware that the risk is not only to themselves, and not only about COVID-19.
"Understand that it has an unintended consequence on those who have other ailments," said Jones.
Jones learned the lesson in a heartbreaking way, trying to find his son care. His son was waiting for an organ transplant, but Jones said that as his son got sicker, the family had trouble finding him an intensive care bed because they were filled with COVID-19 patients.
"That hospital we were trying to get our boy in had a 105% occupancy," Jones explained. "One-hundred percent of the beds were already taken, with a five-person waiting list."
There are currently 216 people hospitalized with the virus in the city, including 30 on ventilators.
The Pennsylvania Health Department estimates that 95% of people hospitalized with COVID-19 are unvaccinated.
Philadelphia has one of the highest vaccine rates among big cities, but 16% of adults still have not received even a first dose.
"If we can take a step to prevent it," Jones added, "if we can keep that hospital system open so that a kid has bed, that’s what it’s all about."