Unvaccinated Pastor, Fighting for Life with COVID, Urges: Get Vaxed and Learn from My Story

Michael Foust | ChristianHeadlines.com Contributor | Updated: Jul 27, 2021
Unvaccinated Pastor, Fighting for Life with COVID, Urges: Get Vaxed and Learn from My Story

Unvaccinated Pastor, Fighting for Life with COVID, Urges: Get Vaxed and Learn from My Story

A Texas pastor who was unvaccinated and has fought for his life in a hospital ICU with COVID-19 pneumonia is urging church members and other Christians to "learn from my story" and get vaccinated.

Danny Reeves, the senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Corsicana, Texas, has shared his story on Twitter, saying he "underestimated" COVID-19 and had had to fight to breathe. He was admitted to the hospital on July 16 and remained there on Monday, July 26. On July 17, he tweeted he had faced the "hardest night of my life" and had been on his knees "gasping for air."

"It takes so much out of me," he wrote.

He is 49.

On Monday, Reeves was on his 21st day with COVID-19 symptoms.

Reeves has emphasized vaccines in recent tweets, writing: #PleaseGetVaxed and #LearnFromMyStory. He has been on oxygen. Critics have pointed to a past tweet where he criticized government-mandated masks.

"Life is a process of learning," he wrote on July 17. "At times you're wrong & sometimes U learn U were right. I strive to be a lifelong learner. This has been a wonderful lesson for me. Gods (sic) grace thru our mistakes is His greatest blessing.

"One's public & previous thoughts don't represent a whole person. Seek to understand before U rush to judgement (sic)," he added.

On July 22, he tweeted, "Covid pneumonia is no joke. I inadvertently underestimated it. Pls don't do the same. My healthy body has been ravaged."

Modern medicine, he wrote, "is the creation & blessing from God."

Reeves was admitted to the hospital on July 16, tweeting, "Can't breathe with Covid." On July 23, he said he expected to be in the hospital for at least another week.

Throughout his battle with COVID-19, Reeves has stayed focused on his faith.

"1 Thes - Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for U in Christ Jesus," Reeves wrote Monday.

Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images


Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chroniclethe Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.



Unvaccinated Pastor, Fighting for Life with COVID, Urges: Get Vaxed and Learn from My Story