(CNN) – After months of knocking on doors in Palm Beach County, Florida neighborhoods, trying to convince community members to get vaccinated, Lisa Wilson said she lost six members of her family to covid-19 in a lapse of three weeks.
“I work side by side with communities and constantly push the message for people to get vaccinated,” Wilson explained, “but I couldn’t convince my family members to get vaccinated.”
Wilson, an assistant to Palm Beach County Commissioner Melissa McKinlay and wife of Belle Glade Mayor Steve Wilson, said she received a call in August that her uncle, Tyrone Moreland, was ill and it was getting worse quickly. “It started with my uncle. He felt so bad. He didn’t eat and cough a lot,” he said. After paramedics transported him to the hospital, they discovered there was no ICU bed available.
“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,” he said.
Within days, Wilson’s grandmother, Lillie Mae Dukes Moreland, fell ill. “He was in the hospital, he was tested and he had covid and pneumonia,” Wilson said. “First my uncle died, then my grandmother died and the day after her death, my cousin died.” Three more cousins died in the next two weeks, Wilson said.
In the midst of his pain, Wilson has not stopped trying to convince others to get vaccinated. “My family is going through a tough time and I don’t wish this on any family member anywhere,” he said. “If my family were vaccinated, they would be here today.” Wilson explained that fear and misinformation were important factors why his family members refused to get vaccinated. “They were just scared,” he said. “Everything was new and they were scared.”
“Lisa is a silent force in nature,” McKinlay said. “She’s a practical person who has gone door-to-door encouraging people to get tested, wear masks and get vaccinated in a district that is an access point,” McKinlay explained.
More than 56 percent of Palm Beach County’s population is fully vaccinated, slightly above the U.S. average, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). However, the CDC also describes that the county has a high rate of community transmission.
Lisa Wilson, who goes door-to-door advocating for vaccines, said she recently lost six unvaccinated relatives because of the covid-19.
“I really hope people feel encouraged by her telling her story and encouraged in a way that they won’t want her family to go through this and get vaccinated,” McKinlay said.
After the loss of family members, Wilson continues to encourage others, including family members, to get vaccinated. “I think now I’ve convinced ten members of my family to get vaccinated. If I could save someone with my story … We’re at a critical juncture. People are dying.”