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Friday, November 13, 2026Nov 13

Though young and healthy, unvaccinated Alabama father dies of COVID

This photo provided by Christina Tidmore shows Josh Tidmore Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021 at Marshall Medical Center South in Boaz, Ala. Healthy and in their 30s, Christina and Josh Tidmore figured they were low-risk for COVID-19, and with conflicting viewpoints filling their social media feeds and social circles, they decided to wait to get vaccinated. On July 20, Josh came home from work with a slight cough they initially thought was sinus trouble. On Aug. 11, he died of COVID-19 at a north Alabama hospital as Tidmore watched a doctor and her team frantically try to resuscitate her husband. (Christina Tidmore via AP)
This photo provided by Christina Tidmore shows Josh Tidmore Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021 at Marshall Medical Center South in Boaz, Ala. Healthy and in their 30s, Christina and Josh Tidmore figured they were low-risk for COVID-19, and with conflicting viewpoints filling their social media feeds and social circles, they decided to wait to get vaccinated. On July 20, Josh came home from work with a slight cough they initially thought was sinus trouble. On Aug. 11, he died of COVID-19 at a north Alabama hospital as Tidmore watched a doctor and her team frantically try to resuscitate her husband. (Christina Tidmore via AP) This photo provided by Christina Tidmore shows Josh Tidmore Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021 at Marshall Medical Center South in Boaz, Ala. Healthy and in their 30s, Christina and Josh Tidmore figured they were low-risk for COVID-19, and with conflicting viewpoints filling their social media feeds and social circles, they decided to wait to get vaccinated. On July 20, Josh came home from work with a slight cough they initially thought was sinus trouble. On Aug. 11, he died of COVID-19 at a north Alabama hospital as Tidmore watched a doctor and her team frantically try to resuscitate her husband. (Christina Tidmore via AP)

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) – Healthy and in their 30s, Christina and Josh Tidmore figured they were low-risk for COVID-19. With conflicting viewpoints about whether to get vaccinated against the virus filling their social media feeds and social circles, they decided to wait.

On July 20, Josh came home from work with a slight cough initially thought to be sinus trouble. On Aug. 11, he died of COVID-19 at a north Alabama hospital as Christina Tidmore witnessed a doctor and her team frantically try to resuscitate her husband.

“She would say, ‘I need a pulse. ‘I would hear, ‘no pulse,’ “Christina Tidmore said through tears. “They were trying so hard.”

“Nobody should go through this. He was only 36 and I’m 35 and we have three kids.”

She is now imploring young adults not to dismiss the risk and to consider getting vaccinated.