'We are drowning in people who are dying': Doctor takes to social media to urge COVID vaccinations

'I have yet to admit a single person because of a vaccine-related incident'

ByABC7 Chicago Digital Team WLS logo
Monday, September 6, 2021
Doctor takes to social media to urge COVID vaccinations
"We are drowning in people who are dying with this illness, and I have yet to admit a single person because of a vaccine-related incident."

MARSHALLTOWN, Iowa -- As COVID cases continue to surge across the U.S. due to the Delta variant, an Iowa doctor took to social media to urge vaccinations.

He started off by saying, "I feel like I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't say something."

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Lance VanGundy is the ER medical director and an ER physician at Unitypoint Health in Marshalltown, Iowa.

He goes on to warn about misinformation being spread about the virus and vaccines.

"We are drowning in people who are dying with this illness, and I have yet to admit a single person because of a vaccine-related incident," he said. "In over 20 years of doing this, I've never been this busy or been this stressed or seen this many sick people."

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VanGundy also pointed out that because ICU hospital beds are full of COVID patients, there is no room for others who may need to be admitted to a hospital for non-COVID reasons.

"Even if you get a mild illness and you pass it along to somebody else, that's a hospital bed that I can't send a hip fracture to, or a heart attack to," he said.

The video was posted to his Facebook page on Sept. 2.

To see the latest information on COVID-19 in Iowa, visit coronavirus.iowa.gov.