An unvaccinated Florida woman who died while battling COVID-19 took to TikTok to urge others to get the vaccine days before her death.
CBS News reports Megan Alexandra Blankenbiller of Jacksonville, Florida was hospitalized on August 13 and died on August 24, just nine days after posting a video in which she pleaded with her followers to get the jab.
“I don’t have a lot of energy for talking,” Blankenbiller, who was 31, said in the two-minute video. “I did not get vaccinated. I’m not anti-vax, I was just trying to do my research. I was scared, and I wanted me and my family to all do it at the same time. And as I’m sure you guys know, it’s hard to get everyone to agree on something if people feel differently.”
“I shouldn’t have waited,” she continued before pleading with her followers: “If you are even 70 percent sure that 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.”
Nine days later, her sister Cristina Blankenbiller confirmed Megan’s death in a Facebook post.
“Thank you all for your prayers for my family,” she wrote. “I am saddened and heart broken to share that my older sister has been called to heaven today. Megan was such a beautiful person who gave her everything to anyone in need. She was a light to all around her and brought joy to everyone she met. She is forever loved and was the best big sister and friend anybody could have asked for. Not a day will go by where she is not on my mind and in my heart.”
