Did you hear that a fully vaccinated woman died of COVID after obtaining the virus on a cruise ship? Probably not, because her unfortunate demise does not fit with the left’s narrative on the effectiveness of the “Fauci Ouchy.”
A 77-year-old woman who traveled on a Carnival cruise ship from Texas to Belize died of COVID-19.
“According to the Belize Tourism Board, twenty-seven persons tested positive for Covid-19 aboard the Carnival Vista cruise ship, which stopped in Belize in early August.
Marilyn Tackett, a retired Sunday school teacher from Oklahoma, boarded the Carnival Vista in Galveston on July 31, “so excited to take her first trip outside the US,” her granddaughter Tara said on a GoFundMe page.
“While on the Caribbean Cruise, she got sick and diagnosed with covid in Belize,” the relative said.
Tackett went on an outing in Roatán the day before she was diagnosed, on August 3, when the ship anchored at the island approximately 40 miles off the northern coast of Honduras, according to the Amandala of Belize.
According to the local news outlet, when the ship docked in Belize the following day, the fully vaccinated woman decided not to join on an adventure in the country, but her children left the ship for the trip. When Tackett’s family returned, she was having trouble breathing, so they contacted the ship’s medical staff, who performed a COVID test, which came up positive, according to the Amandala.
According to the outlet, the ship’s doctor told her she needed to be put on a ventilator and made plans for her to be transported to a private hospital in Belize that required a $5,000 payment before she could be admitted.
Tackett’s insurance did not cover the cost, so her granddaughter reportedly collected funds for her admission to critical care through GoFundMe.
The critically sick lady was eventually flown back to the United States in an air ambulance, but she died of the disease on August 14.
“We just wanted to get on here and thank all of you for your support, love, and prayers. Memaw fought as long as she could,” the family said on its fundraising page, citing Tackett’s nickname.
“To know she’s reunited with lost loved ones and that she’s basking in The Lord’s presence now is a huge comfort.”
“We’ll always miss and love her and continue to keep her legacy alive. We’ll continue to walk in Faith like she taught us and try to spread love and kindness like she did. Please continue to keep her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren in your prayers as we lay her to rest. And please know we love and appreciate you all,” they added.
When the Carnival ship reached Belize City around August 11, it had 27 COVID-19-positive passengers on board, 26 of whom were staff members, the most recorded cases on an American ship since the cruise industry reopened this summer.
The Vista, the first Carnival ship to set sail this year, carried over 4,000 guests, and 99.98 percent of the staff, as well as the overwhelming majority of the passengers, were vaccinated, according to the company.
According to ABC 13, Carnival has denied that Tackett caught the virus on their ship, saying in a statement, “almost certainly did not contract COVID on our ship” and that the staff was dedicated to protecting the guests’ health and safety.
“We are very sorry to hear about the death of a guest who sailed on Carnival Vista. Regrettably, there is a fair amount of disinformation about the circumstances of this matter,” Carnival said in a statement.
“The guest almost certainly did not contract COVID on our ship, and she was assisted with expert medical care on board and was ultimately evacuated from Belize after we provided a resource to her family. We have continued to provide support to her family and are not going to add to their sadness by commenting further,” the statement added.
The company said that it has taken extra health and safety precautions.
Vaccinated passengers must now show both documentation of vaccination and a negative COVID test at check-in, according to the news source. Unvaccinated passengers must be tested twice, once before boarding and once after disembarking.