Thread by @VICENews

“I'm living something I didn't believe," said Celice Chandler, a COVID patient who’s still choosing not to get the vaccine. trib.al/xNWLEwf

Arkansas has one of the lowest COVID vaccination rates in the country. VICE News embedded at a hospital in Little Rock where patients facing the threat of death still won’t get the shot. trib.al/xNWLEwf

“The second pandemic is a pandemic of the unvaccinated,” Dr. Nikhil Meena told VICE News. “People were more rescuable in the first pandemic.” trib.al/xNWLEwf

Key differences with the Delta variant, Meena noted, are that 20 percent of COVID patients at UAMS Medical Center in Arkansas are pregnant women, and that younger people have a higher mortality rate. trib.al/xNWLEwf

“People need to know that it is real. It is real, people are dying,” Celice Chandler said through labored breaths. trib.al/xNWLEwf

Sitting upright on the hospital gurney with highflow oxygen rushing through a nasal tube, Chandler explained that she and her husband both thought COVID-19 was just a hoax. trib.al/xNWLEwf

While Chandler’s husband is still skeptical about her COVID diagnosis, Chandler now says she understands.

When asked if she’ll get the vaccine, Chandler responded, “not at this time.” trib.al/xNWLEwf

“I did not realize that the threat of death is inadequate to make people want to go have vaccines,” Dr. Meena said.

“There's a fair number of people who don't believe they have COVID and that we're lying to them.” trib.al/xNWLEwf

Read our full story: trib.al/xNWLEwf