ATLANTA — A Georgia woman lost both of her parents from COVID-19 just days apart.
Elana said what hurts the most is knowing they could still be with her today. While Clint and Carla Smith both died from the virus, Elana said the false information and conspiracies are as much to blame.
"My entire family is vaccinated except for my parents," she said.
Elana hopes their story encourages others to get the vaccine.
"I begged both of my parents to get vaccinated and they wouldn’t and now I am basically an orphan," she said. "I lost both of my parents within two days of each other and they suffered a lot."
Carla was at Piedmont Newnan Hospital while Clint received treatment at Wellstar in LaGrange. Elana and her grandmother, over a video call, had to make the final decision that the ventilator would stop. She described that moment as "awful."
"It was terrible and then I had to do it two days later with my dad," she said.
The family held one funeral for the husband and wife - a service Elana said could have probably been prevented.
The couple was against getting vaccinated.
"If they had been vaccinated, I truly believe they wouldn’t have died," she said.
"They said that there were tiny microchips in the vaccine and by inserting in body thought government was tracking you," she explained. "False information that they got from Facebook and propaganda that has been spewing out."
Photos | Clint and Carla Smith along with family
She said she's sad her parents believed the misinformation. She would much rather for them to still be alive.
"I am angry that everything that they read that they took to heart, I am angry for every person out there that has, you know, 'drunk the Kool-aid,' as they say."
She is pleading for others to learn from this lesson.
"Please listen to me, please," she begged. "I know you don’t know me, but please listen to me. Please go get vaccinated. Please care about yourself and care about your loved ones enough to do this for yourself and for them. Please."