Louisiana man says he would rather be hospitalized again than get vaccinated against COVID-19

'Don't shove it down my throat': Louisiana COVID-19 patient says he would rather be hospitalized again than get vaccinated

Scott Roe, a small business owner from Louisiana, says he still opposes vaccine even after he was hospitalized with virus
Claims that federal administration has an 'agenda' to 'shove [vaccines] down your throat'
Louisiana has the second lowest vaccine rate in the U.S. as COVID-19 cases surge
Rep Steve Scalise got first shots of his vaccine earlier this week, encouraging constituents to get vaccinated

Published: 19:47 BST, 22 July 2021 | Updated: 21:11 BST, 22 July 2021

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A Louisiana man who was hospitalized with COVID-19 says that he would rather be hospitalized once again rather than getting vaccinated.

Scott Roe, a small business owner, contracting pneumonia due to COVID-19 and his health rapidly deteriorated, resulting in hospitalization.

He will soon be discharged but is unvaccinated, and says his battle with the virus does not change his mind on the vaccine, according to CBS News.

Louisiana is among the states with the worst vaccination rate, having only 40 percent of residents at least partially vaccinated

The report comes as the U.S. sits on a stockpile of vaccines with little demand for them among the unvaccinated, with the Indian 'Delta' variant also sweeping through the nation.

Scott Roe, a small business owner from Louisiana, was recently hospitalized due to COVID-19. He told CBS that his experience has not changed his stance against the vaccines

'Here I am recovering, getting out of here finally tomorrow. Am I going to get a vaccine? No,' Roe told CBS News from his hospital bed.

'Because there's too many issues with these vaccines.'

Roe did not mention what specific issues he has with the vaccines.

The three COVID-19 vaccines given emergency use authorization by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration - the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Johnson and & Johnson vaccines - are all deemed safe and effective in combatting the virus and its spread.

When a reporter asked Roe if he would be willing to go back in time to get the vaccine - preventing his hospital visit - he also said no.

In Louisiana, cases have increased from 619 to 2,006, a 224% spike from two weeks ago

Hospitalizations have risen to 844, which is the highest level seen since February

'Don't shove it down my throat. That's what local, state, federal administration is trying to do - shove it down your throat,' Roe said.

'They're shoving the fact that that's their agenda...their agenda is to get you vaccinated.'

The state of Louisiana has had trouble getting its residents vaccinated.

Only 40 percent of residents of the state have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, the lowest total of every state other than Mississippi (38 percent).

Coronavirus cases in the state are also trending in the wrong direction, rising 224 percent in the past two weeks from 619 per day on July 7 to 2,006 per day on July 21.

Hospitalizations are also at their highest since February, with 844 people currently in the hospital with the virus.

Around 70 percent of active cases in the state are of the Delta variant, a highly contagious strain that originated in India.

Those choosing not to get vaccinated are more likely to be conservative, with their being a clear correlation between support for former President Donald Trump in the 2020 Presidential Election and a lower vaccination rate.

Many Republican political leaders are urging for their constituents to get vaccinated, though.

Trump and members of his family have made it known that they are vaccinated, with the former President even encouraging supporters to get the shots.

Rep Steve Scalise, a prominent Republican congressman who represents Louisiana, encouraged his constituents to get vaccinated earlier this week

Rep Steve Scalise, one of the most prominent Republicans in Congress who represents Louisiana's 1st district, received the first shot of his COVID-19 vaccine earlier this week.

'Especially with the Delta variant becoming a lot more aggressive and seeing another spike, it was a good time to do it,' Scalise told NOLA.com.

'When you talk to people who run hospitals, in New Orleans or other states, 90 percent of people in hospital with delta variant have not been vaccinated. That's another signal the vaccine works.'

Roe said he was aware of Rep Scalise, but denied that the vaccines are proven effective, and said his opinion is unchanged.

Medical professionals are advising Louisianan's to get the shots as well, as a vast majority of people being admitted into the hospital with the virus are unvaccinated.

'I want to be clear after seeing what I've seen the past two weeks. We only have two choices: we are either going to get vaccinated and end the pandemic. Or we are going to accept death.' said Dr Catherine O'Neal, chief medical officer at Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center, during a press conference Friday per a report from The Advocate.

'A lot of it, this surge, and another surge, and possibly another variant.'

An Alabama doctor - coming from a state with a similarly low vaccination rate - penned an essay on Facebook about what she has seen in the emergency room, as patients have asked her for an opportunity to receive the vaccine.

'One of the last things they do before they're intubated is beg me for the vaccine. I hold their hand and tell them that I'm sorry, but it's too late,' Cobia wrote

Across the country, 99 percent of COVID-19 deaths in May were among unvaccinated people, with health officials even saying all COVID deaths occurring at this point are preventable.