HONOLULU (KHON) – The push to get more people vaccinated continues as COVID-19 cases rise.
According to the CDC, even those who have had the virus should get their shot because some areas have seen an increasing number of people who have caught it twice.
Aaron Mikami is celebrating his 37th birthday and a milestone in his life.
"You definitely take every day that you wake up as a blessing. Truly a blessing," said Mikami, a COVID-19 survivor.
It is a blessing because just six months ago, Mikami went through the battle of a lifetime.
"I quickly declined, wasn't eating a lot, was sleeping a lot and basically I was found in the bathtub of the hotel room that I was quarantining at," said Mikami.
He was positive for COVID-19, rushed to the hospital and put on a ventilator. Mikami said that is something he never wants to go through again and was one of the main reasons he decided to get vaccinated.
The Hawaii Department of Health (DOH) said someone who catches COVID-19 is not immune to the virus, and it is not uncommon for people who caught COVID-19 to catch it again.
"We don't even know how long you'll have good immunity from a natural COVID-19 infection, but we know that the vaccine will give you long-lasting protection and it also is protective against the other variants that we're seeing out there," said Dr. Libby Char, DOH director.
Mikami respects everyone's decision on the vaccine but he hopes others can learn from his experience.
"Everybody is aunty, uncle, brothers, sister, and if there's one thing I can say … let's do it for yourself and the people around you. You never want to lose anybody, especially in this time. For me personally, it's because my family, my friends and for me to get back into my lifestyle again."
As a music producer and manager, Mikami's lifestyle had been impacted by the virus in more ways than one. The COVID-19 pandemic nearly silenced the music industry, but now Mikami hopes he can get back to doing what he loves.
"For the music industry as a whole, we definitely want to see the fans back in full force, selling out concerts, and not just at a 50% capacity kind of thing. We want to see the thousands of you coming out," Mikami said.
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