MOORESVILLE, N.C. — A TikTok video of a Mooresville man criticizing people who aren’t vaccinated and people who “don’t think COVID exists” has gone viral, with the clip amassing more than 5 million views since being posted earlier this month.
“If you really believe that COVID’s not real, and you really believe that you don’t need to get the vaccine, that is your right,” Jason Arena says in the video. “I’m not gonna argue with you about that. What I am going to argue about is you running to the (expletive) hospital once you have the virus. If you don’t trust the medical field to prevent you from getting it, why do you trust them to cure you from it?”
In the viral TikTok clip, Arena talked about his wife’s struggle with stage 4 breast cancer and how the lack of beds due to COVID-19 affected her ability to get treatment.
Arena has posted multiple short videos on the social media platform chronicling the ups and downs they have faced battling cancer in the time of COVID-19.
Arena appeared on CNN Tuesday night and spoke about the frustration he felt after trying to get his cancer-stricken wife care at a hospital filled with COVID-19 patients.
“The staff does a tremendous job, once they can see you,” he said. “I mean, it’s not the hospital’s fault -- they’re overworked as well. They treated her well, they got her comfortable. She suffered for the following two days until I could get an appointment at an outpatient center until they could get the fluid drained off.”
Arena’s wife, Marilyn, died on Aug. 20.
Arena said it’s everyone’s right to decide whether or not to get the vaccine, but he wants them to realize there is collateral damage from those decisions and urges unvaccinated people to stay home.
>> WARNING: The TikTok post contains profanity and may be offensive to some viewers.
(WATCH BELOW: Doctor gives snapshot of state of COVID-19 in Charlotte at hospitals)
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