Amanda Kloots, 38, mother to a 1-year-old boy, found an ingenious way to get a vaccine dose without an appointment.
As a single mom, if you get the chance to get the COVID-19 vaccine shot early, would you not take it? Amanda Kloots, 38, the widow of broadway star Nick Cordero, recently announced that she received her first vaccine dose for the virus. Her husband, who was only 41, died because of it. Getting the shot was a "very emotional experience" for the mother-of-one, who lost her husband only seven months ago.
She revealed that she had gone to the vaccination drive on a Friday and waited in her vehicle until all the appointments were over for the day. She waited "in hopes that they had any extra vaccines," she wrote on Instagram. "I have been terrified since Nick has passed, as a single mother, of getting this virus and now I am one step closer to safety," she wrote, as per USA Today.
Cordero died on July 5, 2020, from complications due to COVID-19 after battling the infection for three months. He is survived by his wife and son, Elvis. The 1-year-old boy accompanied his mom when she received the vaccine.
"I was fully prepared to be turned away, but they said they had enough tonight for everyone waiting. I cannot tell you how emotional I was and still am right now. I had Elvis beside me and Live Your Life playing in the car. THANK YOU to the National Guard that was here today volunteering since 5:30 am administering the Pfizer vaccine to willing arms," the mom added.
However, Kloots received some hate and people shamed her for doing the smart thing. "The post that I posted did get some shame," she said on The Talk, according to Yahoo News. "It got a lot of positivity but also got a lot of shame. And I’m not gonna even focus on that shame cause I don’t spend time in my life focusing on negativity, but this post got a lot of shame. The shame got press. That press turned into conversation. That conversation turned into awareness. And then that awareness created a positivity. That is how I roll and that is how I live my life."
The reason she was shamed is that California, where she lives, is officially vaccinating only people who are 65 years of age and older and essential workers. Kloots was accused of using her celebrity status to jump ahead of the line. The mother-of-one explained that she did no such thing but simply waited with two of her friends at a vaccination center to see if they had any unused doses.
"I received so many DMs from people, saying ‘I did not know that you could go wait to see if people didn’t show up for appointments to get this vaccine. I did not know that they throw out vaccines at the end of the day if people don’t show up for their appointment. I did not know that you could get on a waiting list and get possibly called if somebody didn’t show up for an appointment. I didn’t know that this vaccine has a shelf life, that it would be thrown in the trash if it isn’t used," Kloots said. "So that awareness around this topic, I mean, it’s such a beautiful thing, and if my post had to get some shame in order to bring that awareness, I’m happy that that happened," said Kloots.
She also added that she received messages from healthcare workers confirming the information about unused vaccines. She was surprised that people decided to get angry instead of trying to understand. "It just boggles my mind that anyone would rather see the vaccine go to waste than go into an arm," she said.
References:
https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/amanda-kloots-covid19-vaccine-criticism-231541801.html
Cover images source: Getty Images | Photos by (L)Dimitrios Kambouris (R)Noam Galai
