Funeral of man who died of COVID-19 turns into vaccine and testing event

A Florida man’s last wish before he died of COVID-19 was to be vaccinated. To honor her memory, her family is turning her funeral into a vaccination and testing event to protect the community from the deadly virus.

Marquis Davis, a 28-year-old business owner and father, died July 26 from COVID-19. He was not vaccinated at the time.

Marquis’ wife Charnese Davis described him as a hard worker and a loving husband and father who cared for his siblings when his mother passed away in 2012.

She said he started feeling sick at the end of July and tested positive for the virus the next day. He quarantined himself at home but gradually got worse.

“He was losing his breath just getting up. I was like, it’s not normal, you need some more help, ”Charnese Davis told ABC News.

He was taken to hospital where he was placed under an oxygen machine.

“He was there about six days, and then they finally said he wouldn’t make it,” Charnese Davis recalls.

Although he was initially reluctant to get the shot, Marquis Davis told his wife he wanted to get the shot after she recovered.

“He was in the hospital. He said, ‘Bae, I’m going to get the shot when I get out of here.’ So he was going to have it. I was like, ‘Well, I’m so glad you said that, but it’s too late,’ ”Charnese Davis told local ABC affiliate WFTV.

Charnese Davis said their church, Faith Temple Christian Center in Rockledge, approached her to offer her the COVID-19 vaccine and testing in her wake and memorial. She was immediately on board.

“Now we see things change completely with this delta variant. [Marquis] was 28, had the rest of his life ahead of him, and because of COVID-19, especially this delta variant, and he wasn’t vaccinated, his life was cut short, ”Dr R. Shaun Ferguson, the pastor of Faith Temple Christian Center, told ABC News.

“Our position as a church is to make this cut. Let’s do it. I don’t want to see another person lose their life, period,” he added.

Church partners with state to deliver Pfizer and Johnson & Johnson vaccines. COVID-19 tests will also be available during the event.

Charnese Davis said organizing the funeral immunization event was sending a message to the community about how dangerous the virus is.

“He was so adamant that he didn’t have it, everything we heard about the vaccine wasn’t always perfect… There are a lot of young adults my age who don’t want to get it or they think. that it won’t affect them, ”Charnese Davis told ABC News. “But, it affects you. It could have been avoided, so let’s get vaccinated so that it doesn’t happen to you.”

“At least have a chance to fight. Protect yourself. Protect your family. It’s not a good thing to play with,” she said.

The vaccine and testing event will run from 4 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. and again on Saturday from noon to 5 p.m.

COVID-19 continues to ravage communities and cities, fueled by the highly transmissible delta variant, and the crisis is hitting Florida hard.

More than 110,000 new cases of COVID-19 and 108 deaths from the virus have been reported in the Sunshine State for the week of July 23-29, according to state data. The positivity rate has increased since May, reaching 18.1% the week of July 23, according to state data.

Currently, about 50.6% of Florida is fully vaccinated, according to data from Johns Hopkins.