On a weekday morning in late April, a paramedic from St. Joseph’s Health arrived at Robin Chowdhury’s Paterson home to give him his first dose of Pfizer s COVID vaccine. His father helped the 31-year-old, who has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, sit up in bed for the shot.
Eleven days earlier and a few miles to the east, Judy Rostkowski died at her home in Hasbrouck Heights after testing positive for COVID-19 just the day before. Her daughter had spent months searching in vain for someone to administer a vaccine to her 93-year-old homebound mother. Had I been able to get this vaccine to my mom in February or March she might still be with us today, said Jana Thorson, Rostkowski s daughter.