Facebook Travis Campbell
Travis Campbell is a Virginia father who has been documenting his COVID-19 battle in online videos posted to Facebook. In particular, he is expressing regret that he did not get the vaccine.
“I messed up big time, guys,” he said in one video that he posted to Facebook. “I didn’t get the vaccine … I made a mistake, I admit it.”
In several videos, Campbell, 43, who is from Bristol, Virginia, spoke from his hospital bed through an oxygen mask as his condition has deteriorated.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Campbell Says He Was ‘Very Misinformed’ About the Vaccine & Was ‘Negligent’ to Not Get It
“Hey everybody good morning,” he said in a video on August 6, 2021. He spoke with labored breathing.
He said he was praying for prayers and strength including “for everybody else that’s sick.” He said he wanted to “continue on focused on the fight, saving our neighbor and making sure they don’t make the same mistakes I did by not getting vaccinated or communicating with your doctor in preparation for the virus. It’s going to continue coming through our communities.”
Campbell said he has received “thousands and thousands of messages. I couldn’t be more humbler. It’s tough making large mistakes, not just wrong turns at the stop sign or off at the wrong exit, the large mistake is the hand you’re dealt and that’s it. You can’t go backwards, and you can’t change it. I was very misinformed through common talk and not doing my research. Turning the TV off, and not listening to anything…the political fighting.”
He added: “The excuse is, I was negligent.”
2. Campbell Hopes His Videos Will Encourage People to Get the COVID-19 Vaccine
In one post on Facebook, Campbell wrote, “If you went and got vaccinated since participating in my videos, would you mind to post a picture on this post for my family please. I am so thankful to see so many people believe in their selves and get protected. It makes me feel a sense of purpose that my friends and loved ones will live on! I love each and everyone of yall.”
People posted well wishes on the thread. “You sir are a hero, you are saving lives by sharing your story. Keep trusting in god as you fight this beast of an illness. Praying for your healing,” wrote one woman. “PRAYING FOR YOU TRAVIS..I AM GETTING IT NEXT WEEK❤❤❤,” another woman wrote.
Another woman responded, “I made my daughter watch your videos and she was strongly against getting vaccinated and she went and got her first shot Wednesday! I really thank you for posting your videos! I don’t have a picture of her getting the shot but here is a picture of her on her birthday Saturday!!!”
3. Campbell Says He Is Thankful ‘to See Daylight in the Morning’
In another video, Campbell said he was “thankful to see daylight in the morning.”
He described how difficult it was to breathe. In this video, he also discussed his decision not to get the vaccine.
On July 25, he wrote that his whole family had COVID, saying,
I have never been this sick in my life!! My whole family has covid, i truly regret not getting the vaccine. Im testifying to all my bulletproof friends thats holding out, it’s time to protect your family, its not worth getting long term lung damage or death please go get the vaccine. The 2nd wave is coming and is going to be stronger than the first. When i hear my kids with the rattle lung cough, when they say they are so dizzy they are getting sick, or they or I are dehydrated from the diarrhea, i realize I could have prevented this. Im over the stupid conspiracies, its time to be rational and protective. Its not worth being stubborn like i did. PM me if you have any questions i will help you and your family in anyway.
In another post, he wrote, “People are getting vaccinated, makes me feel like we are spreading the word and hopefully saving lives!”
On July 29, he wrote, “Just wanted to give you a update, kellie says no more videos cause i look to bad lol. They have me on oxygen and I’m starting to get a little strength and appetite. Breathing is more difficult but i’m still hanging on. Fever is still here and I’m still dehydrated but hoping to start improving soon, they finally got the IV in so I’m hoping to get more fluids quicker. Thank you and love yall.”
4. Campbell Is Worried He Won’t Be Able to Give His Daughter Away
Before his COVID videos, Campbell wrote about typical things, like problems with Netflix, racing cars, knee surgery, his family, and eating hotdogs. In May, he wrote, “The Red Cross has partnered with the Bristol VA School System and the Bristol VA Fire Department to install FREE smoke detectors in any student’s home that does not have any working alarms. Any Bristol VA Student to contact me. I am the one that is gathering all the contact information.”
His wife Kellie told CNN that the other family members did not get as sick.
Campbell told CNN that he didn’t get vaccinated because he assumed his daughter’s basketball team members had already contracted the virus, so he had probably had it too.
In one video, Campbell discussed how he’s afraid he won’t be able to give his daughter away if she gets married some day. “I had to make a phone call to my 14-year-old son … and I had to ask for his permission that if I didn’t come home, that he would give my daughter away,” he said in one of the videos.
His daughter, Madison Campbell, told CNN: “You never want to hear your dad talk about not being there for those big moments in your life.”
5. Campbell Is a Former Police Officer
According to The Washington Post, Campbell is a “retail worker and former police officer.” The Post reported that he had contracted a “mild COVID-19 case” previously.
The newspaper reported that he has pneumonia and “a partially collapsed lung.” He has rheumatoid arthritis. He started coming down with COVID symptoms on July 22.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective at preventing COVID-19 disease, especially severe illness and death. COVID-19 vaccines reduce the risk of people spreading the virus that causes COVID-19.”
CDC notes,
COVID-19 vaccines teach our immune systems how to recognize and fight the virus that causes COVID-19. It typically takes 2 weeks after vaccination for the body to build protection (immunity) against the virus that causes COVID-19. That means it is possible a person could still get COVID-19 before or just after vaccination and then get sick because the vaccine did not have enough time to build protection. People are considered fully vaccinated 2 weeks after their second dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccines, or 2 weeks after the single-dose Johnson & Johnson’s Janssen COVID-19 vaccine.