Juan Guevara was the first in the family to fall ill.
In mid-August, the father of two 44-year-old children fell down with a sore throat, fever and chills. He soon tested positive for coronavirus.
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Two days after receiving the test result, his pregnant wife also began to feel ill. At the family’s home in Victorville, California, about 60 miles northeast of Los Angeles, Esmeralda Ramos began complaining of muscle aches and headaches. His back hurt. Then he started coughing.
Worried about the baby, who was due in November, Ramos made the decision to drive to the hospital. Still ill, Guevara needed to be home to take care of his 2- and 7-year-olds, who had also tested positive.
Over the next few weeks, Ramos ’condition worsened and he was placed on a fan. On Sunday, Guevara received a call from the hospital informing him that doctors could no longer hear the baby’s heartbeat.
“When I got to the hospital Sunday afternoon, I was sadly told I was dead,” Guevara told The Washington Post.
Neither Guevara nor Ramos, 43, had received the coronavirus vaccine. Guevara told The Post that he was unsure of doing so and that his wife feared the shooting would negatively affect the baby.
“I was always worried about the baby,” she said in a phone interview early Wednesday.
Ramos tested positive for coronavirus a few days after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued guidelines recommending vaccination of pregnant women. Although the CDC had previously said that those who were pregnant were “eligible” for the vaccine, the agency maintained a neutral stance that ceased to be an official recommendation.
As of Sept. 4, only 25 percent of the U.S. pregnant population had received at least one dose of the coronavirus vaccine, according to a CDC data set.
CDC officials now say the vaccine does not increase the risk of miscarriage and that the benefits of getting vaccinated against coronavirus outweigh the known risks. Pregnant women who contract the virus are more likely to experience severe symptoms that require hospitalization and the need for a ventilator, and are at increased risk for preterm birth and “other adverse pregnancy outcomes.”
Guevara said he had to wait more than a week to visit his wife at the hospital because of his own illness. After getting a negative test result, he rushed to the bed of his leg. At that time, Ramos seemed to be in good health, although he still had this cough.
“He was fine. He was talking to me. He was fine,” Guevara recalled.
But over the next few days, Ramos ‘oxygen levels dropped and the couple followed doctors’ recommendation to put her on the ventilator. And on Sunday, more than seven months into her pregnancy, Ramos lost her wind. The couple planned to name the baby Jonathan Julius.
Guevara said early Wednesday that he has been unable to communicate with his wife, who is sedated and “very critical right now.” She has tried to stay positive for her children, praying for her mother to return home.
In retrospect, Guevara said he “shouldn’t have heard” other people’s opinions about the vaccine, including those who wondered why he needed it. Once these seeds of doubt were planted, they took root.
“Different people told me different stories,” he told The Post. “Why get something I don’t need? I was just stubborn.”
Guevara said he plans to get vaccinated as soon as he can and encourages others to do the same.
“Put on your mask and get vaccinated as soon as possible. Don’t even think about it,” he said. “People will regret it just like me.”
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