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Texas man who declined COVID-19 vaccine speaks out after undergoing double lung transplant

The Texan is hoping to inspire others to get the shot now.

ByGina Sunseri andMeredith Deliso
June 16, 2021, 9:40 PM ET
• 7 min read


Joshua Garza had a chance to get vaccinated against COVID-19 in January but he passed it up, thinking he didn't really need it.

Now, the 43-year-old Texan is hoping to inspire others to get the shot after he became so ill following his COVID-19 diagnosis that he needed a rare double lung transplant to survive.

"COVID ended up attacking my lungs," Garza, of Sugarland, told ABC News.

After testing positive for COVID-19 in late January, Garza's health deteriorated rapidly. On Feb. 2, when he ended up falling while trying to walk, his wife called for an ambulance to take him to the hospital. He was ultimately transferred to Houston Methodist, where he was put on an extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) machine to pump and oxygenate his blood for him.

"It was quick, it was within three weeks, the lungs were already shot," said Garza, who works in the oil and gas industry.