‘It’s no joke,’ now says unvaxxed man after 49 days in hospital and infecting his family

Frederick Tibayan, 45, of Puna, Hawaii, was hesitant to get a Covid vaccine, and then he got seriously ill. SCREENSHOT

HILO, Hawaii – Worried about possible side effects, Frederick Tibayan, 45, of Puna, was hesitant to get vaccinated against Covid.

Just when he decided to get the vaccine, he fell sick. He couldn’t sleep and started coughing up blood, and he ended up spending 49 days in Hilo Medical Center as a Covid patient.

Tibayan’s hospitalization included 20 days in the Intensive Care Unit. He lost 57 pounds and suffered serious damage to his lungs.

“This thing took me to death’s door,” he told Hawaii News Now. “I was looking in the window, ready for walk-in. That’s how bad it was. This was no joke.”

Not only that, he infected his wife, his eldest son and four of their youngest kids. None of them were vaccinated.

Tibayan, who went home with an oxygen tank, is now urging others to get the vaccine. SCREENSHOT

“We’re seeing whole family units come in at one time and even being hospitalized all together, of course in separate rooms, but yeah, we’re seeing a lot of spread through the community,” says Caitee McAllister, a registered nurse at the Hilo Medical Center’s progressive care unit.

Medical experts said the highly contagious Delta variant is spreading quickly among the unvaccinated.

Tibayan, who went home with an oxygen tank, is now urging others to get the vaccine.

“Do something,” he said on Hawaii News Now. “No just think like how I used to think, like, ah, this is fake, this is propaganda, this is stuff. I tell you this ain’t no joke.”