After son dies of COVID, mother holds vaccine drive at his funeral: https://t.co/jJHIk6PE5L

Betty Antoine’s 46-year-old son Brandon died of COVID after refusing to get vaccinated. pic.twitter.com/DySJ2DNNbS

— Local 12/WKRC-TV (@Local12) July 22, 2021

Baton Rouge:

Betty Antoine’s 46-year-old son Brandon became a COVID statistic—despite her pleading with him to get a COVID-19 vaccine.

“I begged him, I said, ‘You need to take the vaccine, Brandon.’ ‘Oh, no, mom, I’m not going to take it. And you better not take the vaccine either,’” Antoine said to CBS News’ David Begnaud.

“Did he ever talk to his doctor?” Begnaud asked.

“His doctor wanted him to take the vaccine. He told her no,” Betty said.

He told his mom and his friends he had done the research and wanted to wait, but Antoine said her son left out an important detail to his friends.

“He did not tell his friends all the underlying health conditions he had. He had a bad heart. He had lung problems, COPD,” she said. Brandon tested for COVID-19 and died six later.

“First of all, I was so full with… I want to say angry. I was kind of angry, not so much at him, but because he did not take the vaccine,” she said. “And I said, right then I’m going to ask his friends and everybody to take that vaccine in honor of him.”

Antoine offered COVID-19 vaccines during his funeral. Three people stepped up that day to take the vaccine and 10 others followed later.

“I just wanted them to see Brandon’s ashes. I wanted them to know, look, Brandon is dead because he did not take the vaccine,” she said.