A surgical technician who avoided the Covid vaccine because she feared it would cause infertility died of coronavirus shortly before she was set to get married.
Samantha Wendell (29), will have her funeral at the church where she was to marry – and where her parents were married many decades ago.
She was healthy and had no pre-existing medical conditions.
The Kentucky bride-to be wanted to have three to four children but was discouraged because of fears that the vaccine might affect her reproductive ability.
Scientists have found no link between infertility or any coronavirus vaccine.
American CDC advised mothers-to-be concerned that vaccines are completely safe.
They write: “[Vaccines are safe for] people who are trying to get pregnant now or might become pregnant in the future, as well as their partners.”
Tragically, Samantha spent her August 21 wedding day on a ventilator and died just over a fortnight later.
Her cousin Maria Vibandor told NBC News: “Misinformation killed her.
“If we can save more lives and families’ lives, then this is the gift that she left for us to deliver.”
Wendell eventually decided to get vaccinated, booking her appointment for late July.
It was too late.
Samantha, who had just returned from her bachelorette party, was suffering from coughing and shortness of breath a few days prior to her appointment.
Wendell and Austin Eskew tested positive for COVID-19.
On August 16, five days before their wedding, Wendell was placed on a ventilator.
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Samantha’s mom said that Samantha even requested to be vaccinated prior to being placed on the ventilator.
Jeaneen Wendell told NBC: “It wasn’t going to do any good at that point, obviously
“It just weighs heavy on my heart that this could have easily been avoided.”
Austin added: “I am so grateful to her for all that she did.
“We didn’t really ever do anything without the other in mind.”