Adriana Midori Takara, the Brazilian international student in her 30s who died of COVID-19 on Sunday morning, tried “numerous” times to get vaccinated, The Daily Telegraph reports.
In the weeks before falling ill, Takara had tried on more than one occasion to get vaccinated against COVID-19. However, she was repeatedly informed on the NSW Health portal that no appointments were available until October.
Takara contracted the virus from someone she knew. After that person tested positive on Thursday, July 15, Takara and her boyfriend decided to get tested themselves.
The accounting student died 10 days later at Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. Her brother and boyfriend said their goodbyes through a hospital window, while other family members had no choice but to say their goodbyes via Zoom.
“She was unconscious the whole time that she was there and on her last day, Saturday, a few blocks away, the anti-vaxxers were protesting,” Takara’s friend added.
Another friend who knew Takara and her brother for 13 years, Fernanda Batista, wrote in a fundraiser for international student’s funeral that “Adriana is not a number.”
“Adriana was a daughter, sister, aunt, niece a girlfriend, and especially a friend,” Batista wrote.
“An amazing friend, not only my friend but a friend of so many people. Everyone that is lucky enough to have been part of Adriana’s life will remember her kindness and her bright simile forever.
“When you look at the sky from now on, it will be brighter because of Adriana, it will be a reflection of her bright smile.”
So far the fundraiser has amassed around $30,000 in donations which will go towards Takara’s family with the funeral, and with repatriating her ashes back to Brazil.
Compared to previous strains of COVID-19, the Delta variant that’s currently spreading around Sydney is particularly dangerous for young people. Takara’s death is a tragic reminder of that.
Health authorities have been warning us about about the severity of the Delta strain for young people for a few weeks now, but the fact that so many of us are still finding it hard to get vaccinated shows how serious the situation is.
All adult Aussies (yep, even if those of us under 40) are currently able to get the safe and effective AstraZeneca vaccine through a GP. Talk to a doctor to see if it’s right for you.
Alternatively, you can triple-check to see if you’re eligible for the Pfizer vaccine here.
The best vaccine is the first one you can get, and that’ll be our ticket out of this mess.
