Couple chose to stay in flooded apartment rather than be rescued by Anti-Vaxxers

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As they waited for the rescue boat to arrive, Debra overheard 10 or so tenants crowding the top floor to avoid the flooded apartments below complaining about the COVID-19 vaccine: How they had rejected it and would refuse it if required for access to a temporary hurricane shelter.

Debra instantly feared for her husband, who she said has a number of medical complications that make him particularly vulnerable to a respiratory disease. They were vaccinated as early as possible to protect Robert and had done all they could to stay safe.

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When the boat arrived, Debra told the rescuers she and Robert would stay behind in the hot, leaky apartment. One of the men asked her if she was certain of her decision.

"I said, 'I’m sorry. We can’t,'" Debra said. “I’d rather stay with the water dripping down."

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Debra also worried about her daughter, who was five months pregnant and stranded in the apartment with them. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has noted pregnant women are particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 and at risk of severe illness.

It was an agonizing decision, but Debra couldn't risk both her daughter and future grandchild's health if they boarded the boat and contracted the virus.

Instead, Debra left her husband in the apartment and waded through occasionally chest-deep water, guiding her daughter several blocks to meet other family members. At least if her daughter needed emergency care, she would be on dry land.

Debra then turned around and walked slowly back to her husband.

The couple waited several days for the waters to recede before evacuating to her other daughter's home.

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