Heartbreak as double-jabbed couple dies of Covid one minute apart while holding hands
Cal Dunham, 59, and wife Linda, 66, died holding hands on Sunday after contracting coronavirus earlier this month. The married couple from Michigan who died from the virus were both fully-vaccinated but had undisclosed underlying health conditions.
Mr and Mrs Dunham were considered high-risk to suffer complications if they contracted the virus.
Relatives said that the couple “gained their angel wings” despite the fact that they’d been taking precautions against the virus and were inoculated against it.
According to their grieving daughter Sarah Dunham, her parents became ill earlier this month during a family camping trip.
Ms Dunham told Fox17: “[My dad] called me before our family camping trip and said he wasn’t feeling good but he thinks it’s just like sinus, and [Linda] caught it and she’s like, he gave me his cold.
“The third day they woke me up and said, ‘We’ve got to go because we don’t feel well.’ So I packed them all up and they left.”
Following this, the married couple were hospitalised within days and placed on ventilators while they battled the virus.
The pair were reportedly wheeled into the same room together where they died while holding hands; Cal passed away at 11.07 am and his wife Linda followed one minute later.
Their death comes following the pair’s inoculation and the fact that their pre-existing health conditions made things even more dire.
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Commenting on their death, daughter Sarah said: “She always joked and said ‘well, you’re going to go before I am, I’ll be right there behind you, I promise.’ And she really was, like she really was right there behind him.”
A few months ago, Cal Dunham updated his Facebook profile picture with a border reading “I got my COVID-19 vaccine”.
The post from May 15, which reflected that he had gotten his vaccine, was met with comments from friends who had also received their jab.
One friend commented “I did as well”, while another wrote “I’m fully vaccinated” to which Mr Dunham commended his friends as being “awesome”.
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It is unclear whether the Grand Rapids couple had received a third booster shot to bolster their immunity against Covid.
A GoFundMe page has been launched for the family by Kendrah DeYoung who has described the late Linda Dunham as a “second mom” who was there for big milestones in her life.
In a Facebook tribute to Linda, Kendrah wrote: “She was there for me during my first heartbreak, my first speeding ticket, decorating my first house, right by my side when I chose my wedding dress, my mistress of ceremony on my wedding day”.
She added: “I’m just shattered by this incredible loss, not only for myself, but for the world! As she absolutely made the world a better place! Mom, you will be sooo missed but celebrated.”
A GoFundMe page has been set up to support the family of the couple (Image: Courtesy of the Dunham family)
Following her parent’s death, Sarah is reportedly angry that people are not taking the virus as seriously as they should be.
She told Fox17: “I’m angry because so many people are like, ‘if I catch COVID, I catch COVID that’s what it is.’ No, it’s not.
“It could be any person; it could be anybody. They did everything right, they did everything to protocol the way it should be done.”
Having a double dose of a COVID-19 vaccination has been scientifically proven to reduce the risk of contracting the illness, and severely reduces the symptoms in inoculated people who do catch it.
According to a study by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), those who are unvaccinated were more than 10 times more likely to be hospitalised, and 11 times more likely to die from COVID-19 than those who had been jabbed.
