COVID-19 patients on ventilators at a hospital in the Ozarks say they should have taken the virus more seriously and been vaccinated

COVID-19 patients on ventilators hospitalized in the Ozark Mountains have expressed regret at not getting vaccinated against the virus.

In a video posted to The New York Times over the weekend, patients at a Mountain Home, Arkansas hospital spoke about their experiences with COVID-19 and their decision not to get the vaccine.

Christopher Green, 53, told The Times he chose not to be vaccinated to protect his personal freedoms.

“I probably should have had a little healthier fear,” he said. “It needs to be taken more seriously. I mean, I don’t know how close I am to being a lot worse.”

Green died nine days after being interviewed by The Times.

Another woman, who has not been identified, said she was angry with herself for not having been vaccinated.

“I never hurt like I hurt,” she said. “It made me a believer.”

Baxter County in Mountain Home has a vaccination rate of 37%, compared to 51.5% of people fully vaccinated, according to the Times.

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