Arkansas nurse says she still won’t receive COVID vaccine even after both parents die from the virus



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Shanda Parish (pictured, an Arkansas nurse, said she still did not want to be vaccinated even after both of her unvaccinated parents died from Covid in late August

Shanda Parish (pictured, an Arkansas nurse, said she still did not want to be vaccinated even after both of her unvaccinated parents died from Covid in late August

An Arkansas nurse said she was still unlikely to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, even after both of her parents died from the virus within days of each other.

Shanda Parish, of Fort Smith, Arkansas, told the Wall Street Journal that she thinks the vaccine is too recent and doesn’t trust it.

This despite the death of his father Robert and his stepmother Vira, both aged 70, at the end of July three days apart after contracting Covid during a high school reunion.

The parish stood firm in refusing the shot despite sending a horrific voicemail message from his father as he moaned and gasped on his deathbed in the hospital.

She said, ‘It doesn’t even sound human. I hate to hear it, but I can’t delete it. ‘

Parish says she has since been blamed for not pushing her parents to get the shot – although her brother David Herring tried unsuccessfully to do so.

Speaking through sobs, Parish added: “We didn’t kill them, but some people make us feel like it’s our fault they left.” No one should be trying to make you feel guilty because someone has died.

Arkansas – and Sebastian County, where the parish lives – are both hit by a wave of Covid fueled by an Indian ‘Delta’ variant, as cases approach record highs after months of decline.

Herrings were longtime residents of western Arkansas.

Their children told the Journal that they did not want to be vaccinated.

The parish says she does not regret her parents’ decision not to be vaccinated because it was their choice.

Vira (left) and David (right) Herring both died of COVID-19 in late August after contracting the virus at a high school reunion.  Neither has been vaccinated

Vira (left) and David (right) Herring both died of COVID-19 in late August after contracting the virus at a high school reunion. Neither has been vaccinated

Parish shared an article on shingles being a low-risk side effect of COVID-19 vaccines in the days following the death of his parents

Parish shared an article on shingles being a low-risk side effect of COVID-19 vaccines in the days following the death of his parents

She told the Journal, however, that she wished she had the chance to urge them to go to the hospital sooner.

She has since said that friends have tried her and even blamed her for her parents’ deaths.

“We did not kill them, but some people make us believe that it is our fault that they left,” she said.

“No one should be trying to make you feel guilty because someone is dead.”

DailyMail.com reached out to Parish for comment, but did not immediately respond.

Her brother, David Herring, lives near Washington DC and gets the vaccine himself.

He told the Journal that he urged his parents to get vaccinated before they died, and he is furious at the situation.

“I am absolutely angry and frustrated,” Herring said.

“Their age and state of health – they should have been vaccinated very early.

“And then try to talk to their friends and hear these ridiculous things about depopulation and computer chips.”

Children of the Herrings are divided over whether to receive the vaccine, with Parrish refusing, and their son David getting the vaccine, and urging others to do the same

Children of the Herrings are divided over whether to receive the vaccine, with Parrish refusing, and their son David getting the vaccine, and urging others to do the same

Despite the death of her parents, Parish says she has no plans to get the vaccine.

On August 4, after her parents died, she shared a vague anti-vaxx press article with the caption “They keep coming …”

The publication refers to an article on shingles being a potential side effect of COVID-19 vaccines, with 112 incidences of the disease in 33 million people in the UK.

Like much of the rest of western Arkansas, Sebastian County has a low vaccination rate.

Only 36.2% of the 127,000 people in counties are fully immunized, according to official data.

The county also averages 78 new cases per day, up 50% from 52 cases per day two weeks ago, and the highest since February 1.

The state is also approaching its record level of new daily Covid cases.

Arkansas has an average of 2,263 cases per day – the highest total since the pandemic was at its worst in January – cases up 24% from 1,824 just two weeks ago.

It is one of 13 states in the United States where less than half of the residents are at least partially vaccinated – with only 49% of them having received at least one shot of the vaccine and 37% fully vaccinated.

Arkansas was one of the states most keen to oppose pandemic-related warrants, even passing a law earlier this year that banned any mask warrant in the state.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican, said last week he regrets passing the law and is calling for a special legislative session to repeal it as his state is stricken with the virus.

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