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A nurse who refused the COVID-19 vaccine has now died after being hospitalized during her battle with the virus.
Natalie Rise, 46, was among numerous unvaccinated patients at the overcapacity hospitals in Idaho -- which have flowed into Spokane, Washington -- prior to her death on August 22, CNN reports.
Her brother, Daryl Rise, said his sister refused to be vaccinated despite a surge in her city, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho, and even after her mother was placed into a coma at a hospital due to COVID-19 prior to her own diagnosis.
"She was telling me not to get vaccinated," Daryl Rise said via CNN. "I think it was from misinformation, I think it was falling into negative social media and bloggers, YouTubers."
The U.S. Centers for Disease reports 54.7% of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated, but Idaho's average is at just 40.8%.
Last week, the state said healthcare providers were allowed to ration care, or decide who is sickest and in need of immediate care, amid the surge in cases and lack of available hospital beds throughout the state.
"This is serious; your ability to receive care in a hospital will likely be affected," the Idaho Department of Health explained the measure on its website via CNN. "It may look very different than how you have received care in the past. Surgeries are being postponed, emergency departments are full, and there may not be any beds for patients to be admitted to the hospital."