ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (WIVB) – Covid-19 does not discriminate, it can affect even the most healthy and active people. Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins found that out the hard way.

Dawkins was in the hospital for four days while battling Covid and experienced some of the worst symptoms of the virus.

“If there’s a checklist for it, it was everything. It was shortness of breath, it was the hot and cold, it was the cough, it was everything. Like the dehydration like all of the body stuff,” Dawkins said on Tuesday after practice.

...

Dawkins opened up about his fight with coronavirus on Tuesday. When he tested positive, Dawkins had already received both doses of the vaccine but was just shy of being fully vaccinated.

“I’m glad I had the vaccine when I had Covid and I wish that I could have been fully vaccinated. I was right before the fully vaccinated point but, you know if I was fully I think it would have been a little bit easier on myself,” Dawkins explained.

“I was in the two week window [of being fully vaccinated], almost fully done. I was like a day or two short and then it hit.”

The reason Dawkins decided to eventually get the vaccinate was because of his family. In February, Dawkins’ son Dil was born premature and that pushed him to get the shots.

“I was just thinking about my family that if I got Covid, I could potentially harm him because it attacks the lungs and I just wanted to make sure my family was protected and also I guess do what was right for myself and for this team,” Dawkins said.

...

And this experience hasn’t just affected his views on the vaccine with his immediate family, it’s also branched out to his extended family.

“Everybody is on board now with getting vaccinated because they don’t want to go through it like how I did,” Dawkins said.

Now it’s about getting back in shape after not only missing so much time but losing so much weight.

Dawkins said he was at 333-334 pounds before Covid and got down to 318. Because of that, head coach Sean McDermott said Dawkins has a “long road ahead” to get back to where they need him to be.

As for his teammates, this could be an eye opener for some players on the fence about getting the vaccine or even a teachable moment as to how this can impact a player.

“Overall guys just want knowledge of exactly what was going on and how it really made me feel. And I just told them the honest truth of what I went through,” Dawkins said.