CNN's Don Lemon Went Inside a Baton Rouge Hospital Overwhelmed by COVID

The sad reality of our current situation is that every news anchor across the three major cable networks could file a report documenting the hellish conditions for hospital patients and staff alike and it wouldn't change enough hearts and minds to defeat the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, every single person who can be convinced to get vaccinated is one fewer family that will suffer. The latest dispatch from beyond admissions comes from CNN's Don Lemon, who traveled to his hometown of Baton Rouge, La., to document the crush of hospitalized patients as Delta variant cases surge.

It's sadly familiar ground, though hearing someone struggling to breathe say that they aren't anti-vaccine, but were instead too busy to get the shot is uniquely heartbreaking. Inoculation is both free and requires an extremely small time commitment. It should be abundantly clear just how important it is to protect one's self from the virus more than a year into this new era. Please carve out two hours of time to give yourself and others the best chance at remaining healthy. It is not too late.

These reports serve as a PSA. They also provide a much-needed reminder that the people suffering through trial and tragedy are our neighbors who thought they were doing their best and making the right decision before the virus landed on their front door. For obvious reasons the pandemic has been politicized and debated abstractly when the conversation and cameras should have always been trained on the victims and those who care for and about them.