A Louisiana congresswoman whose husband died of COVID-19 is urging people to get vaccinated

• Rep. Julia Letlow of Louisiana is urging people to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
• Her husband, Luke Letlow, died of COVID-19 last year.
• She says she "would have given everything" to have had a vaccine available before her husband died.

A Republican US congresswoman from Louisiana whose husband died of COVID-19 last year is urging people to get vaccinated against the virus.

Rep. Julia Letlow's husband, Luke Letlow, had just been elected to congress when he died of COVID-19 in December, before he could get a vaccine. Following his death, Julia Letlow took his seat after winning a special election in March.

"He had no preexisting conditions, so there was no reason it had to go down that path," she told "CBS This Morning" on Wednesday.

She said she opted to speak out about her husband's death in hopes of encouraging others to get vaccinated and prevent more deaths.

"People don't want to feel forced into anything, they don't want to be lectured too," she said of Louisiana residents being hesitant to get the COVID-19 vaccine. "I would have given anything - I would have given everything - for that shot to be available to us."

She said it's "heartbreaking" to see people turn down COVID-19 vaccines.

"My prayer is that not one more person has to lose their life to this virus," she said. "It is a horrific way to leave this world. I don't wish it on anyone else. We have the answer; let's use it."