It’s been almost exactly one year since Vermont’s first COVID-19 fatality. The virus has killed more than 200 Vermonters so far. The death toll in the state is small compared to most others, but the loss of each person ripples out through their family, friends and community.
To better understand the Vermonters who died, VPR reached out to the families of many of the fallen. Here are some of their stories.
Around 5 a.m. on March 19, 2020 Holly Barrett-Willard called the nursing home where her great-aunt, Betty LaBombard, lived. The 95-year old was struggling to breathe.
“She was on oxygen, but they didn t think she d make it through the day,” Barrett-Willard told VPR in March 2020.