The pneumonia struck first. Then came two negative COVID-19 tests administered in a long-term care facility, a ventilator and a longing to come home.
By June, Gaylene Kanoyton would lose the woman who raised her â six months before vaccinations arrived to nursing homes and presented a shot of hope in a pandemic thatâs claimed more than 300,000 lives across the country.
âThis is why Iâm dedicated to working so hard,â said Kanoyton, president of the Hampton NAACP and a member of Virginiaâs Vaccine Advisory workgroup. âI donât want anyone to have to go through what I went through.â