Although young and healthy, unvaccinated father dies from COVID

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This photo provided by Christina Tidmore shows Josh Tidmore on Wednesday, August 11, 2021 at the Marshall Medical Center South in Boaz, Ala. Healthy and in their thirties, Christina and Josh Tidmore believed they were at low risk for COVID-19, and with conflicting points of view filling their social media feeds and social circles, they decided to wait for to get vaccinated. On July 20, Josh came home from work with a mild cough that they initially thought was a sinus problem. On August 11, he died of COVID-19 at a northern Alabama hospital as Tidmore watched a doctor and his team frantically try to resuscitate her husband. (Christina Tidmore via AP)

MONTGOMERY, Alabama (AP) – Healthy and in their 30s, Christina and Josh Tidmore believed they were at low risk for COVID-19. With conflicting views on whether to get the virus shot filling their social media feeds and social circles, they decided to wait.

© Provided by Associated Press
This photo provided by Christina Tidmore shows Christina and Josh Tidmore on Saturday, February 16, 2019. Healthy and in their 30s, Christina and Josh Tidmore believed they were at low risk for COVID-19, and with conflicting views filling their social media feeds and social circles, they decided to wait to get the shot. On July 20, Josh came home from work with a mild cough that they initially thought was a sinus problem. On August 11, he died of COVID-19 at a northern Alabama hospital as Tidmore watched a doctor and his team frantically try to resuscitate her husband. (Christina Tidmore via AP)

On July 20, Josh came home from work with a mild cough initially considered to be a sinus problem. On August 11, he died of COVID-19 at a northern Alabama hospital as Christina Tidmore watched a doctor and his team frantically try to resuscitate her husband.

“She was like, ‘I need a pulse. “I was hearing ‘no pulse’,” Christina Tidmore said through tears. “They were trying so hard. “

“No one should go through this. He was only 36 and I’m 35 and we have three children.

She is now imploring young adults not to dismiss the risk and to consider getting the vaccine.

“Josh was perfectly healthy, active, and not a smoker.” He would have been 37 on Saturday.

Doctors say they are seeing a spike in cases in young adults and children as the highly contagious delta variant sweeps through unvaccinated populations. Medical authorities say there is conflicting information about whether it makes people more seriously ill or whether young people are more vulnerable to it, but it is clear that contagiousness means more young people and children are getting sick.

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FILE – In this file photo from August 12, 2021, USA Health workers test a person for COVID-19 at a driving clinic in Mobile, Ala. Health officials say they are seeing an increase in cases in young adults and children as the highly contagious delta variant sweeps through unvaccinated populations. (AP Photo / Jay Reeves, file)

“There is no doubt that the average age of people in hospital is decreasing,” Public health official Scott Harris said on Friday.

“I don’t know if it’s clear that delta is worse in this age group or worse than any of the strains we’ve seen before. … But what you have is one that is just much, much more transferable. Because the elderly are the primary constituents of the vaccinated population in our state, the most vulnerable are these young people. So you see them getting infected at much higher rates than before. ”

In the past four weeks, people aged 25 to 49 accounted for 14% of all COVID deaths in the state. And people aged 50 to 64 made up about 29%.

The state is also seeing an increase in COVID cases among children, although deaths have been rare so far. The state this week set a record for pediatric hospitalizations with 50 children hospitalized with COVID-19.

In the past four weeks, 6% of COVID-19 cases in Alabama have affected children under the age of five, while 8% have affected children between the ages of five and 17, according to the Department of Public Health of Alabama.

“I am very concerned that children in Alabama are experiencing more illnesses and hospitalizations from COVID-19. Children can contract and spread COVID-19 disease. COVID-19 can be a very serious illness in children with at least 6% of children suffering from long-term consequences of this illness, ”said Dr. Karen Landers, pediatrician in the Alabama Department of Public Health.

The Alabama Hospital Association said this week that 85% of COVID-19 hospital patients are unvaccinated.

Christina Tidmore also had COVID-19 but recovered. She said she and her husband were not anti-vaccine, but heard conflicting information – including, she said, from doctors.

“It’s just a fight there. On this side and the other, and political garbage. … You don’t know who to believe, ”she said.

A joke with a heart of gold, Josh loved helping others and making people laugh, especially children. He walked around the Easter and Christmas gatherings dressed in an inflatable dinosaur costume and ran around hugging his family members. He happily photobombed beach goers. He didn’t hesitate to rush to help an injured motorcyclist in an accident near the northern Alabama church founded by his grandparents.

“He could make you feel better when no one else could. He would listen. He really cared about everyone, ”said Christina Tidmore.

The family are relying on her faith to get by and Christina Tidmore wants to share her husband’s story to help people, just like Josh would have wanted.

“If you can try to save your life, then you probably should,” she said of vaccinations.

“I have a lot of feelings and a lot of regrets and a lot of what ifs,” she said. “” you don’t want to do that. You don’t. “

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This story corrects the first sentence of the summary to read Alabama, not Mississippi.

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Follow more of AP’s pandemic coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/coronavirus-pandemic