Kim Harris died, Aug. 12, 2021 after she was rushed to Kelowna General Hospital with pneumonia and tested positive for COVID-19.
Image Credit: FACEBOOK/Aurey Harris
August 24, 2021 - 6:00 AM
A Kelowna man is asking others to get their COVID-19 vaccines after his unvaccinated mother died from the disease earlier this month.
Aurey Harris said his mother Kim Harris died, Aug. 12, after she was rushed to Kelowna General Hospital with pneumonia and tested positive for COVID-19.
She had started feeling sick about a week earlier and two other family members had tested positive for the virus.
With asthma and other health issues including previous lung damage due to pneumonia, Aurey was concerned because his mother had not received the vaccine.
He knew contracting COVID was a huge risk for his mother and said it all happened pretty quick.
“If it wasn’t for contracting COVID, she would have lived a lot longer," he said.
He wanted to speak out about getting vaccinated because as a science teacher, he said teaching critical thinking is his trade.
“This was another opportunity to do that. It just made it increasingly relevant,” Harris said.
Unvaccinated people are 10 times more likely to contract COVID-19 than those who are vaccinated, provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry said during a news conference today, Aug. 23.
READ MORE: COVID-19 vaccination card coming to attend events, restaurants in B.C.
The infection rate amongst those who are unvaccinated is 28/100,000 while, for those who are fully vaccinated, only two people per 100,000 are getting infected, Henry said.
And 93 per cent of those in hospital have not been vaccinated, she added.
The province has released a new set of restrictions starting in September. A vaccination card will be needed to provide proof of at least one vaccination to attend sporting events, cultural venues and other venues like restaurants and fitness classes.
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