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Fla. Vaccine Advocate Has 6 Unvaccinated Family Members Die from COVID in Just 3 Weeks

The wife of a Florida mayor says COVID-19 has killed six of her loved ones in just three weeks.

Lisa Wilson, who's married to Belle Glade mayor Steve Wilson, told WPTV on Wednesday that none of her family members that died from the virus had been vaccinated against it.

"I work side by side with the communities and constantly push the message to get people vaccinated, but I couldn't convince my family members to get vaccinated," she told CNN on Thursday.

Wilson, an aide to Palm Beach County commissioner Melissa McKinlay, had gone door-to-door in Belle Glade educating locals about the coronavirus vaccine earlier this summer. So the loss of her family members to the virus is particularly difficult.

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"I was in their ears almost every day. 'You've just got to do this,' " Wilson told The Palm Beach Post on Tuesday. "I'm beating myself up. Should I have pushed harder?"

Belle Glade mayor, wife lose 6 family members to COVID-19
Belle Glade mayor, wife lose 6 family members to COVID-19

WPTV

The ordeal began three weeks ago with her uncle Tyrone Moreland, Wilson told WPTV. She later told CNN that the 48-year-old "wasn't eating" and was "coughing a lot" before family decided to take him to the hospital.

There, they hit a snag. "We were checking other hospitals and there was not a single bed available in Palm Beach County. They had to transport him to a hospital an hour and a half away," Wilson said.

Moreland was eventually taken to Lakeside Medical Center for treatment but ultimately died.

RELATED: 1 in 500 Americans Have Now Died of COVID-19

The next day, one of Wilson's cousins died in the hospital as well. She lost three more cousins within the next two weeks.

"You can't grieve the death of one because then the next day or two someone else has passed away, so it's been really hard to comprehend and try to figure this all out," Wilson told the station.

Now, the vaccine advocate has an urgent message for those who have not received a COVID-19 vaccine.

RELATED: Karl-Anthony Towns, Who Lost Mom and Family Members to COVID-19, Calls Out Those Refusing Vaccine

"I need for everybody to hear this message," she said. "Don't trade places with me and my family."

Young Man Dies After Chronicling His Battle with COVID and His Vaccination Hesitancy
Young Man Dies After Chronicling His Battle with COVID and His Vaccination Hesitancy

Ben Hasty/MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Vaccine

Wilson isn't the only one that wants to relay the message to those who have yet to be inoculated. "My family that was dying on their death bed, they also wanted me to let people know to get vaccinated," she noted.

"They were just scared," Wilson confessed to CNN.

McKinley hopes the community will not only listen to Wilson's story, but also act for the sake of their own loved ones.

RELATED: Risk of Severe Breakthrough COVID is Low, but More Likely for the Elderly or Immunocompromised

"I really hope that people are encouraged by her telling her story and encouraged in a way that they won't want their family to go through this and be vaccinated," the county commissioner McKinlay said.

Wilson simply is hopeful that her story will help save at least one person. "We are at a critical time. People are dying."

So far, Wilson appears to have already changed a few minds. "I think I have now convinced ten members of my family to get a vaccine," she told CNN.