Chad Carswell of Burke County chose not to receive a life-saving transplant after Atrium Health told him he must be vaccinated while waiting for a transplant. “Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist’s policy follows the current standard of care in the United States, which is to vaccinate all patients on waiting lists or being evaluated for transplant,” the hospital said. Carswell believes no one should be forced to get the vaccine. He said, “I was born free. I will die free.”
