'You're fighting for every single breath all day long': Virginia father-of-six says he regrets not getting COVID-19 vaccine and pleads with others to get their shots
A Virginia father-of-six is pleading with others from his hospital bed to get the COVID-19 vaccine as he continues to battle the virus.
Travis Campbell of Bristol, Virginia, contracted Covid late last month, and has been hospitalized in Bristol Regional Medical Center Hospital in Tennessee ever since.
His wife, Kellie, was previously hospitalized with the virus and has since recovered.
Neither of them were vaccinated.
Travis told ABC News that he is now fighting for his life - struggling to breathe every day - and wants to help others avoid the same fate.
Travis Campbell (second from left) is urging others to get vaccinated from his hospital bed after he contracted a serious case of COVID-19 last month. His with, Kellie (far right), was previously hospitalized with the virus. Both are unvaccinated. Pictured: Travis and Katie with their six children
Campbell (pictured) says that he feels like he fighting for his life in the hospital
'When you feel like you have to fight for your life, you don't realize that you're fighting for every single breath all day long,' Travis told ABC News.
'If I have a day or two left, I don't want to waste my time.
'I want to help as many people as I can, to let them see the real truth, that [the Indian 'Delta' variant] is real, and it's only getting stronger and faster.'
Kellie told ABC News that she and her husband are not against the vaccines, but had just not gotten around to getting the shots yet.
'We just put it in the back of our mind and we kept saying: "We'll do it tomorrow, we'll do it tomorrow,"' she said.
'We have a very hectic life and it's no excuse, but that's our excuse.'
More than 98 percent of Covid hospitalizations in Virginia are among people that are not fully vaccinated, according to official state data.
'It's time to protect your family, its not worth getting long term lung damage or death please go get the vaccine,' Travis wrote in a Facebook post.
'The 2nd wave is coming and is going to be stronger than the first. When I hear my kids with the rattle lung cough, when they say they are so dizzy they are getting sick, or they or I are dehydrated from the diarrhea, I realize I could have prevented this.
'I'm over the stupid conspiracies, its time to be rational and protective. Its not worth being stubborn like I did.'
Campbell posted a video of himself wearing an oxygen mask and struggling to speak between labored breaths to his Facebook page on Thursday.
Campbell posted a video of himself struggling to breathe while wearing a mask to his Facebook page on Thursday
He also asked anyone inspired by his story to contact him, and shared a message he received from a pharmacist who said many in the area had come in to get their shots after hearing the Campbell family's story.
Cases of the virus are growing in Virginia, as they are in many other parts of the country as well due to the Delta variant.
The state is averaging 1,279 new cases per day, a 173 percent increase from the 467 figure from two weeks ago.
Vaccine demand is growing as well, however.
As the Delta variant has swept across the nation, many are getting their shots, realizing the pandemic is not yet over.
The White House reported that 863,000 COVID-19 vaccine doses were distributed on Wednesday - including 585,000 first doses - the highest single day total in over a month.
Around 10,000 of those shots were administered in Virginia, where 62 percent of the population has received at least one vaccine dose.
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