Thread by @VICENews

Lydia Rodriguez, a mother of four, was unvaccinated and died of COVID-19.

Before she went on a ventilator, she had a final request.

"Please make sure my children get vaccinated," she said, according to family. trib.al/pvTWfvW

“She would be there for her kids right now if she had been vaccinated," Rodriguez’s cousin, Dottie Jones, told ABC 13. trib.al/pvTWfvW

Rodriguez and other members of her family in Texas contracted coronavirus at a weeklong church camp, according to the Washington Post. trib.al/pvTWfvW

All four children tested positive and only one showed mild symptoms, but Rodriguez and her husband, Lawrence Rodriguez, were hospitalized last month. trib.al/pvTWfvW

“Lydia has never really believed in vaccines,” her cousin told the Post. “She believed that she could handle everything on her own, that you didn’t really need medicine.” trib.al/pvTWfvW

Rodriguez eventually changed her mind and became more open to getting the vaccine, but by that point, she was already in the intensive care unit. trib.al/pvTWfvW

Her husband died August 2 and she passed away Monday, leaving behind their four kids. trib.al/pvTWfvW

Texas, where fewer than half of people are fully vaccinated, has suffered some of the most severe effects of the delta variant that’s primarily responsible for the fourth sustained COVID-19 surge in the U.S. trib.al/pvTWfvW

Rodriguez’s family has set up a GoFundMe to help cover the costs of medical and household bills, as well as care for her children. trib.al/pvTWfvW

Read the full story: trib.al/pvTWfvW