Once anti-vaxx, New Brunswick woman pleads to unvaccinated not to follow her lead

A New Brunswick woman who was anti-vaxx and spread misinformation about COVID-19 vaccine on social media is now pleading with the unvaccinated to get the shot. 

Linda Methot Hartley, 65, of Grand Falls said she's lucky to be alive after contracting the virus last month.

"The doctor said one-half of a little piece of a thread I was holding for my life," she said Sunday from her hospital bed in Edmundston.

Methot Hartley said she had resisted getting the vaccine and shared anti-vaccination information on her Facebook page because she thought she was doing the right thing.

"People [were] in the road with some signs," she said, admitting to believing anti-vaccination protesters. "They came to Grand Falls, too."

She said she came to believe that COVID-19 vaccination "is not good for us."

Complete reversal

Methot Hartley said she believed that COVID-19 was nothing more than a cold.

Now she has completely changed her views.

"I was home sick as a dog. High fever. [I] was taking Tylenol every four hours."

After testing positive for COVID-19 about a month ago, Methot Hartley was soon admitted to hospital. She was in a coma for about 10 days.

"I'm going to tell you right now that that's why I woke up, so I'm able to tell others about the vaccine. … Don't wait like me."

Contact tracers found that Methot Hartley picked up the virus during a visit with a sick friend, who was also opposed to vaccination. She and her friend thought he just had a cold. 

Shortly before she tested positive, Methot Hartley had a change of heart because she wasn't feeling well and tried to get vaccinated. 

She said she tried to get the shot but was turned away because she didn't have an appointment. She thought it was a walk-in clinic. 

By the time she got an appointment she had already tested positive.

Although she is still in hospital, Methot Hartley received her first vaccine dose on Tuesday. 

Daily struggle

She said it's been a daily struggle for her since she got sick.

"I just started to eat last week. I had a tube in my nose, tube in my throat."

She said she regrets her anti-vaccination stance.

"When you go through something like this — it's nothing to laugh about and make fun … it's not just a little cold, it's a killer cold."

Methot Hartley said she hopes to be released from the hospital in the coming week.