Viral Video Of Couple's Surprise Proposal During COVID-19 Vaccination Wins Hearts

Hand it to human resilience for trying to remain high-spirited despite a raging pandemic that has changed our world. The internet can't help but gush over a gay couple from South Dakota whose surprise wedding proposal during a COVID-19 vaccination appointment is winning hearts everywhere. When Robbie Vargas-Cortes got to know that his boyfriend of five years Eric Vanderlee was scheduled to give him a vaccine jab, he planned the most special wedding proposal for him. And of course, Vanderlee said yes!

According to CNN, 31-year-old Cortes is a paramedic and EMS supervisor at Sanford Canton-Inwood Medical Center, where Vanderlee reportedly a vaccine administrator. When Vanderlee lifted his boyfriend's shirt to inject him, an engagement ring taped to Cortes' arm stared back at him. The hospital staff around them erupted in cheers, uploading videos of the event online, which then went viral. Congratulations are pouring in for the vaccinated and now engaged couple!

Watch the viral video here: 

https://www.facebook.com/sanfordhealth/videos/2873417049537840/?t=22

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The Happy Couple Reacts To The News

Cortes was quoted saying that the ring had been in his possession for three years, and he had only been waiting for the "right moment" to pop the question to his boyfriend. "We're nearing the end of the pandemic. The vaccine is kind of like a new chapter," he said.

According to reports, Vanderlee lost his father to COVID-19 in 2020, which is when he signed up to be a vaccine administrator. This was one of the reasons Cortes felt a vaccination appointment for the proposal would make things all the more special.

Reacting to the happy occasion, Vanderlee said, "It just kind of dawned on me and I was like, 'absolutely, of course, yes.' It was just an amazing moment after I figured it out."

Also Read: Switzerland: Ninety-Year Old Woman First To Get COVID-19 Vaccine Shot

Other Unique Pandemic Weddings

Though the pandemic has thrown a wrench in regular daily life events, it appears the virus has not been able to dampen the moods of lovebirds. People across the world are continuing to propose to their significant others and getting married to them in ways that can only be described as unique (sometimes even bizarre).

In December 2020, a couple went ahead with their wedding plans despite the bride testing positive for the virus. Though their ceremony wasn't as large scale as the California couple would have wanted to be, it nevertheless looked straight out of a quaint fairytale. See some pictures here.

Recently, another couple in England, intent on getting married ASAP, rearranged their wedding plans in only three hours before the country went into a new schedule of coronavirus regulations. Read about it here. 

Image Credit: CNN + Facebook