Amanda Kloots has revealed she has had the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine after her husband Nick Cordero died having contracted the virus.
The fitness instructor, who is a co-host of US chat show The Talk, revealed she waited in a queue for hours in the hope of getting a leftover vaccine.
Broadway star Cordero died in Los Angeles last July at the age of 41 after spending more than 90 days in hospital.
He had suffered severe medical complications after contracting the coronavirus.
He suffered a succession of health setbacks, including mini-strokes, blood clots and septic infections. He underwent a tracheostomy and had a temporary pacemaker implanted.
Cordero had been on a ventilator and had his right leg amputated.
Kloots, 38, who is mother to son Elvis, one, shared a picture of herself getting the shot on Instagram and wrote: “I just got my COVID 19 vaccine!
“I went to a site and waited in my car until all appointments were over in hopes that they had any extra vaccines.
“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 5:30am administering the Pfizer vaccine to willing arms.
“I have been terrified since Nick has passed, as a single mother of getting this virus and now I am one step closer.
“Thank you to my friends @laurencpresent and @thompoint0 for driving and being by my side.”
After some followers accused her of jumping the queue for a vaccine, as only essential workers and people over 65 years old are currently eligible to book appointments in Los Angeles, she shared a string of videos on her Instagram story.
She said: “I have to address some things that I’m seeing on my recent post, which starts with this:
“First of all, vaccine shaming should not happen. Everyone should be getting this vaccine, and anyone that gets it, we should be celebrating that one more person has got the vaccine.
“Second of all I drove to a vaccination site and I knew that I could possibly be turned away, but I drove, and I waited in a line in the hopes that at the end of the day, at the end of appointments, they may have extra vaccines that would otherwise be thrown out.
“And instead of being thrown out, they were put into an arm, an arm of a surviving single mother that deserves to have an extra vaccine that would have been thrown in the trash.”