A 25-Year-Old Died of COVID-19 Two Days Before His Vaccine Appointment

A California family is urging people to get vaccinated against COVID-19 after three generations of family members died from the virus. The latest is 25-year-old Alberto Valencia Vidales, who died on October 2 after spending more than a month on life support battling COVID in the hospital.

Tragically, Vidales tested positive for COVID-19 two days before he was scheduled to get the vaccine, his fiancée, Ali McDaniel, told local news station KSEE.

"It does not leave out anyone; it is the devil's playground," McDaniel told the news station, referencing the virus. "And I just pray that no one else has to play it the way that we have."

Unvaccinated Risks

Vidales tested positive for COVID-19 on August 9, 2021, after being exposed at his job as a security guard, where he most often worked as a school resource officer, his family said. He was hospitalized on August 17 due to complications from COVID and eventually developed severe pneumonia, according to a GoFundMe set up by his family to raise money for his funeral costs. By August 27, Vidales needed a ventilator to breathe. Soon after, he was put on an ECMO machine, which is used in critical care situations to help heart and lung function.

"He had many ups and downs while on life support, and his amazing team of [doctors] did everything in their power to help him," the GoFundMe stated. "They never gave up but, unfortunately, on Oct. 2nd, 2021, Alberto took his last breath."

COVID-19 Impact

On GoFundMe, Vidales was described as a "bright, ambitious, smart, funny young man," who was also "the jokester and life of the party."

Vidales is the third loss in the family due to COVID this year, with the GoFundMe noting that Vidales's mom, Rosa, "has had to say her final goodbyes to her father, brother, and now her beloved son." Vidales's 50-year-old uncle and 79-year-old grandfather died of COVID-19 in January, KSEE reports.

In addition to his mother, Vidales leaves behind his father, stepfather, two brothers, a sister, his fiancée, and a 4-year-old stepdaughter.

McDaniel told KSEE that Vidales asked her to get vaccinated for the virus after he became sick, and she since has gotten the vaccine. Still, she said she has "so many regrets," wishing that she and Vidales had been vaccinated sooner. "I lost what everyone in my generation is experiencing—wedding, multiple kids, a home," she said.

So far, GoFundMe has raised $6,150 toward its $10,000 goal.