David W. Tubman: “We got Covid. Are we sorry we didn’t get the vaccine? Not at all.”

David and Judy Tubman in her hospital room in New Braunfels, Tex. The Tubmans, who are not vaccinated. Both came down with Covid-19 in July.. Her case was more severe than his.

The Insider:

Hi David. Thanks for talking with The Insider. Let me first ask you a few questions about yourself. How old are you and how old is your wife?

David:

My wife Judy is 64 and I am 70.

The Insider:

And how long have you been married?

David:

40 years today.

The Insider:

Wonderful! Congratulations. You’re retired and she’s a home healthcare nurse, right?

David:

That's right. She's just unemployed for now. Because of back issues, I decided to retire. Physically anyway.

The Insider:

What kind of work were you doing?

David:

I’ve been a contractor since 1978. Primarily signs and lighting, using my truck.

The Insider:

What city do you live in?

David:

We moved from Napa, California to New Braunfels, Texas in June, 2018.

The Insider:

Did you move to be around family?

David:

My reasons for moving were so I could enjoy retirement. The economy and cost of living in Texas are much lower. Because 2 of our 4 children lived in Texas at the time, it was easier to coax my wife to leave her home state of California for the first time in her life.

The Insider:

When did you and Judy get Covid?

David:

Judy believes her first signs of Covid started around July 1st. But we thought she only had a sore throat or mild cold at first. Since it lasted 2 weeks, we began to realize it was bigger than that.

The Insider:

Did she get tested then?

David:

We called around to specifically request an oral Covid test, but when we went to get the test, all they had available were two 6” long nasal test swabs. The medical assistants said that one was for flu and the other was for Covid-19. We did not get it and presumed the worst-case and acted as though we both had Covid anyway, just to be safe.

I should mention that by then, I was also showing signs and symptoms, but they were not anywhere near as severe as hers.

The Insider:

Could you please describe Judy’s illness? In what way were Judy’s symptoms severe?

David:

Judy's initial symptoms were diarrhea, sore throat, and shallow cough. But during the first 10 days or 2 weeks, she was feeling faint, dizzy and didn't want to get up out of bed. On her birthday, July 19th, she had great difficulty standing and walking without me holding onto her, so we went to the emergency room that night.

The Insider:

That sounds very frightening. Did she also lose her sense of taste and smell?

David:

Yes. About a week into it she lost her appetite, taste, and smell.

The Insider:

How long did she stay in the hospital? What happened there?

David:

We weren't concerned until she had difficulty walking from the dizziness. Judy has been prone to random seizures for several years. As a matter of fact, she was approaching a seizure while we were in the emergency room. Her blood pressure and heart rate were excessively low at that point as well. Our biggest lesson was that, once you sense the early symptoms you should get medical attention immediately.

The Insider:

How long was she in the hospital? While Judy was that sick, were you sick too?

David:

I should mention first that when we didn't take the test, we did ask our doctors for possible treatments. I was prescribed Hydroxychloroquine and Azithromycin. Because Judy has had anaphylactic shock In her medical history, she was prescribed Ivermectin and Doxycycline. I should also mention that every treatment, including preventative or monoclonal, also calls for taking the following supplements: zinc, Vitamin C and Vitamin D. The best way to get Vitamin D is to sit in the sun and absorb it through the skin. After Judy was admitted, I decided to sit in the sun for about 2 hours, and looking back, my symptoms began to diminish from that point.

The Insider:

Meaning she was too sick by then to be treated by medicine?

David:

She was ultimately admitted to the ER on the night of July 19th and was in the hospital until around the 12th of August, about 3 weeks. She spent 4 days at a rehab hospital because she was still getting dizzy when she was upright and walking. Not directly from Covid, but because she was laying down for such a long period, her equilibrium needed gradual restoration, along with her heart and circulation. She was released yesterday, August 15th.

The Insider:

I’m glad! Has she totally recovered now?

David:

She is doing remarkably well, but still only walking short distances On the upside, she's lost weight, as I have. As our appetites recover, we are hopefully going to keep the weight down. We can't explain it, but we both feel even better than we did before we got Covid.

The Insider:

Were you sick at the same time as Judy was?

David:

My symptoms began a few days after hers. We honestly thought we were experiencing just a regular flu thing at first. However, once our suspicions leaned towards Covid, we still waited several days to go to the ER. We had learned that the Covid cycle lasts about 28 days typically and we were at the midway point at that time. We expected the symptoms to start to diminish, but they lingered on.

The Insider:

How sick did you get yourself?

David:

Gradually my symptoms worsened. Mine didn’t begin to surface until around July 7th, with a shallow but persistent cough. I didn't have a sore throat like Judy did. Each day seemed to add more symptoms. At first a slight headache and then escalating fatigue. But I was also very busy tending to Judy. I needed to assist her when she needed to get up. I also tried to encourage some sort of nutrition into her. Protein shakes with fruit seemed to be the only thing she could have.

The Insider:

Did you find that the Hydroxychloroquine worked? There’s a debate about that.

David:

Hydroxychloroquine has long been used to treat malaria, which has some identical effects as the Covid virus. Unfortunately, we waited much too long to begin using it to treat the symptoms. It is being tested by several groups as preventative medicines and other treatment or those who already have the virus. My suspicion is that the Big 3 drug companies are mostly pushing the vaccines and motivated by the huge profits derived by them and not amply studying the treatment.

In the hospital, Judy was switched to Remdesivir and also natural immunity offered from blood plasma of prior Covid patients. Her other health issues and heart rate dropping caused them to cease administering the blood plasma and Remdesivir though. Magically, the direct Covid-related symptoms dropped off us both at Day 28.

The Insider:

I was going to ask you about the cost of your treatments. It must have been horribly expensive.

David:

As for our Covid related expenses, both Judy’s and my medications were covered by our insurance at $0 copay. So, it is hard for me to say which worked for me because I can't say it was the medication or just waiting out the virus for 28 days. Specifically Judy’s co-pay bills were $100 a day for the first 5 days on the hospital stay (Ambetter insurance). After that, $0 co-pay and a $0 co-pay on her meds. Since her release the other incidental bills added about another $500, a total of $1,000.

My own expenses which did not involve hospital expenses, were $0 co-pay on medicines (Humana Medicare Advantage).

Judy Tubman was released from a rehab hospital in San Antonio on August 14, the day before the couple's 40th anniversary..

The Insider:

Are you sorry you didn’t get vaccinated? Wouldn’t that have helped you and Judy?

David:

We will never know what if. But I gave our medical reasons which we considered when measured the risks with and without the vaccine. There is risk involved with the vaccine, getting Covid and also all the various treatments out there. We chose the option we believed best for us. We are not critical of what others decide is best for them.

You might refer to us as 'Non-Vaxxers’ rather than the politically charged termed "Anti-Vaxxers," as we have received several FDA-approved approved vaccines in our lifetimes. Although neither of us get the flu shot every season, in this case we had more to consider than just the predominate message that "everybody needs to get the shot."

The Insider:

But the two of you suffered a lot because of Covid. Isn’t that worse? Are you sorry that you didn’t try the vaccine?

David:

Not at all. There are potentially severe risks to every option, and death is present in each option. The biggest problem with a vaccine is there is absolutely no liability or risk to the pharmaceutical companies. The Emergency Use Authorization gave the pharmaceutical companies complete freedom to dispense the drug with no FDA approval. On the other hand, if we take the medication, and related vitamins and zinc, they are risk-reducing factors and if you get Covid, they reduce the seriousness s of the infections.

The Insider:

I always ask people their political views, because this is such a politically charged issue.

David:

I'm purposefully trying to avoid politicizing here, I have developed a personal opinion based on everything I have researched, including the political slant. But again-IF you still feel they overlap, I'll let you decide.

The Insider:

I totally think they overlap for most people. Many people who favor Trump are against vaccines; many liberals who don’t like him favor vaccines. That’s the reality.

David:

Well, have you heard of “Trump Derangement Syndrome?” That’s where everything Trump said or did is wrong. Trump hatred overrules anything that is based on pure logic. I know people who voted for Trump but also favor vaccines and many mask mandates. Once you politicize the issues you create an “Us vs. Them” culture and only division results.

My concerns surrounding the unknown side effects of brand-new vaccines are science- based, not political. But then add the personal aspect of what we’ve seen in our own family and friends dying from the vaccine. When our son gets Covid even after he has had the vaccine is not being political to me.

The Insider:

Tell me more about what has happened with the vaccine to your family and friends.

David:

We have 4 adult children with 12 grandchildren. Our son was the only one to be vaccinated, but he recently got Covid anyway. His wife is also vaccinated. His 3 young children are not yet, but he plans to have them vaccinated when age allows. Our 3 daughters have not elected to be vaccinated.

Our son opted to get the Pfizer vaccine and still contracted Covid anyway. His symptoms lasted about 2 weeks. Mostly headaches and fatigue. Mine lasted longer but were roughly the same symptoms without the vaccine.

My daughter's mother-in-law, age 70, was living in Redding, Calif. She wanted to move closer to my daughter here in Texas, so she recently bought a house nearby and before moving here in June as planned, she decided to get the Pfizer vaccine to be safe around the grandkids. Within 7 to 10 days of receiving the shot, she had a fatal reaction and died unexpectedly.

Also, a very close friend here in Texas, age 77, opted for the J & J vaccine in May, 2021. Within 1 week, he started having dizziness and loss of speech. He was admitted to the hospital and was found to have non-stroke-related brain clots. He was then put into an induced coma for protective therapy for 5 weeks. He began to improve and was let out, presuming that he was past the danger period. Then he died suddenly within days of his release at the end of June.

The Insider:

That’s a lot to have happened.

David:

I know it's said that these fatal reactions are considered ‘rare.’. But when there are 2 in a short time frame to people who are close to you, you take notice. In addition, my son's 'breakthrough Covid means his shot didn't prevent the virus from taking hold, so where's the main reason for getting a non-FDA approved 'shot' that's not been thoroughly tested?

The Insider:

What do you think of the argument that since President Trump has been vaccinated, he should speak out in favor of vaccines?

David:

Trump is primarily responsible for the vaccine. He even issued the Emergency Use Authorization to keep the drug companies from being sued for side effects and death. You should also give credit to Trump for forcing companies to retool and make more ventilators, to make more masks, to provide hospital ships to New York and other cities, to encourage people to get the vaccine; even now he says that. Trump did get vaccinated after he had Covid. Remember when he got it? He was treated with Regeneron, Zinc and Vitamins C and D. His worst symptoms had soon diminished, and he only spent 2 days in the hospital. Everyone should thank Trump for his efforts and especially for the vaccines, which we had just 2 weeks after he lost the election.

The Insider:

I understand your position. But if he helped develop the vaccines, why won’t he speak out now in favor of them?

David:

I think the press and government are doing a great disservice by only talking about how everybody should get the jab. Some people need to know if their bodies can tolerate the side effects and measure the risk of the virus itself. I would expect since Trump was so involved with the vaccine and having taken it himself, he would have no problem telling others to consider it.

The press has cut President Trump off from all social media, including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, You Tube and even including mainstream news. Banks closed his accounts and several corporations have given in to social pressures and trash him at every turn. It would seem odd they would suddenly allow him to speak if it meets their agenda to push vaccines for the drug companies who stand to make billions and billions. After all, even the drug companies withheld the success of the vaccine until after the election was over. Then they ‘suddenly’ found the vaccine?

The Insider:

Are you worried about getting Covid again?

David:

Not at all. I have studied much of the information regarding immunity levels for someone who has natural immunity versus the vaccine and what I have seen indicates natural immunity is 600% stronger than just having vaccine immunity.

The Insider:

Do you wear a mask now?

David:

Yes, at times if it seems appropriate or whenever it is required.I live in Texas. When I go to the hospital or health facility, we are still required to wear a mask. However, our governor and several other states’ governors have banned mask mandates from schools and government facilities. Everyone Is encouraged and free to take that precaution whenever they are in public. I rarely see everyone in masks as I did several months ago.

Regarding mask mandates and vaccination choices, I blame the government for causing confusion in the public. Fear seems to be the motivational tool and logic has taken a back seat. Politics have no place in the decision.

The Insider:

I’m all set. Thank you for doing this interview and being so honest!

SEVERAL DAYS LATER

The Insider:

Now that the FDA has approved the vaccines, will you get vaccinated?

David:

The FDA has just given approval to 1 or more vaccines, but they are still not safety tested by the usual standards according to their own Phase 3 requirements. Phsee 3 safety approval requires there to be tens of thousands of test participants and safety testing that takes several years before issuing any type of FDA safety approval. Even so: I wonder if the FDA has caved to the pressure around them to approve them.