Friends stress vaccine after Morrisville man dies from COVID he contracted in Nepal

Around 99% of COVID cases and deaths in May and June came from people who were not fully vaccinated, according to data from North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.

The importance of the vaccine is evident to the friends and family of a Morrisville man who died from virus-related complications after contracting it while visiting family in Nepal.

Friends and neighbors of Amit Bharati say he was a young entrepreneur, just beginning his career at 30-years old. Access to the vaccine in places like Nepal is scarce, so he wasn't able to receive it. His friends say this is a prime example of why folks should take advantage of local clinics and get a vaccine.

"Very active, very good guy. Since I've known him, he always wanted to learn something, he wanted to do something," said Rabin Karki of the Nepal Center of North Carolina.

That’s how Karki remembers Bharati.

Bharati was exposed to COVID during his visit to Nepal and suffered severe pneumonia. He was admitted to local hospital but health conditions didn’t improve. Family and friends raised money to airlift him to Duke Hospital in late May, but Bharati died from multiple complications in late June.

Rashik Adhikari, a friend and colleague of Bharati, says he’s devastated over the loss of his friend and doesn’t want others to endure the same pain.

"We've lost an amazing, passionate and really involved friend," he said. "A vaccine could be the difference between being alive or the other alternative. We lost a great friend, a great leader, because at the time, he wasn't able to get access to the vaccine."

Adhikari believes that more people should take advantage of having access that so many around the world do not.

"We are so privileged to be in the United States and have the access to vaccines," he said. "Places like Nepal didn't have access."

Karki says Morrisville is a town with many families from Nepal and India, two countries hit hard by COVID infections and deaths, and where access to a vaccine is hard to come by. That's why the local Nepalese center ran clinics to encourage others to get their shot.​

"We did our vaccination camp and we coordinated with the town of Morrisville," he said. "We just want to encourage people to just get vaccinated."