They spent Christmas in a Kansas City hospital with COVID. Their message: Get vaccinated

Katie Bernard
·2 min read

Two COVID-19 patients at University Health - formerly Truman Medical Center - who didn’t get vaccinated are begging others not to repeat their mistake after they spent Christmas in the hospital.

In video interviews with University Health staff, Anita Gardner and Arlene Hines said they wished they had gotten vaccinated before getting severely ill with COVID-19.

“I’m telling everybody you may not think this is a good thing but it is. It’s a good thing to keep you from getting sick like this,” Gardner said through tears. “It’ll do you a world of good.”

Gardner said she had initially avoided getting the vaccine out of fear.

Anita Gardner was hospitalized with COVID-19 at University Health in Kansas City. She urges others to get vaccinated.
Anita Gardner was hospitalized with COVID-19 at University Health in Kansas City. She urges others to get vaccinated.

Hines, who is in her 60s, said she had simply put off getting the vaccine until it was too late and she was sick.

“It just knocked me off my feet,” Hines said. “One day I went to the grocery store, the next day I was in the hospital almost dead.”

COVID-19 surges across U.S.

The women’s message comes as COVID-19 cases continue to rise nationwide and across the Kansas City metro area. The seven-day rolling average of COVID-19 cases reached 940 on Tuesday, the highest it’s been since January.

Gary Salzman, a pulmonologist at University Health, said most of the severely ill patients in the hospital have not been vaccinated.

“The last couple of weeks have been terrible we have just been overwhelmed with sick COVID patients,” Salzman said.

Hospitals across the metro area are scrambling to find available beds as they deal with COVID-19 and flu patients.

Vaccination rates in Kansas and Missouri remain low. According to state health departments 51% of Kansans and 54% of Missourians are fully vaccinated against COVID-19.

Misinformation about the vaccine’s safety and efficacy has spread over the last several months accelerating resistance to the shot.

Salzman said those fearful of the vaccine should be more concerned about the impact of COVID-19.

Kansas and Missouri have authorized COVID-19 vaccines for anyone ages 5 and up. Details on how and where to get a free COVID-19 vaccine and booster can be found here.

Arlene Hines, who is in her 60s, said she had simply put off getting the vaccine until it was too late and she was sick with COVID-19. She spent Christmas in a Kansas City hospital and urged others to get vaccinated.
Arlene Hines, who is in her 60s, said she had simply put off getting the vaccine until it was too late and she was sick with COVID-19. She spent Christmas in a Kansas City hospital and urged others to get vaccinated.