Florida mother loses two unvaccinated sons to Covid in 12 hours

‘I think they would be alive today if they would have gotten their shot,’ Lisa Brandon said through tears

A mother in Jacksonville, Florida lost both her sons to Covid-19 in a 12-hour period – and believes they’d still be alive if they hadn’t refused the vaccine.

“It’s a parent’s worst nightmare,” Lisa Brandon told News4Jax. “The only reason I’m doing this is to put the word out to please get vaccinated.”

Ms Brandon says she and her sons – Aaron Jaggi, 35, and Free Jaggi, 41 – all caught the virus at the same time in July. But only she was vaccinated.

Ms Brandon had a mild case. Aaron and Free did not.

As her sons’ condition worsened, Ms Brandon took the two men to a hospital. There they were rushed to the intensive care unit and treated for double pneumonia. Both were eventually put on ventilators.

Free died on 12 August, and Aaron died on the 13th, less than 12 hours later.

“They never made it home,” Ms Brandon tearfully told News4Jax.

The mother of three – whose other son died five years ago – says she had tried to persuade Aaron and Free to get vaccinated, but the two men refused.

“I think they would be alive today if they would have gotten their shot,” Ms Brandon said. “I wish I could have made them do it. And now it’s too late.”

Three Covid-19 vaccines are widely available in the United States, produced by the companies Pfizer, Moderna, and Johnson & Johnson. All three have proven highly safe and effective, and Pfizer’s was recently given full approval by the US Food and Drug Administration.

Ms Brandon, who lived together with her sons, says she now has to move out of her home. A friend of hers, Brittany Pequignot, has started a GoFundMe to help her pay her bills.

“I know this past year and a half has been a trying time for all of us and some of us have lost people due to Covid, but Lisa has suffered more than most,” Ms Pequignot wrote. “To have to bury three children in a lifetime is unimaginable.”