A family in Florida is heartbroken and shocked after a fully vaccinated 58-year-old man with no comorbid conditions died of COVID-19.
"He was beautiful, handsome, strong, healthy, kindhearted guy who was loved by so many people,” Jamie Konidare recalled of her husband Vincent Konidare.
Vincent Konidare was a proud father and husband who loved riding his motorcycle, being near the ocean and going on vacations with his family. Jamie and Vincent met in 1985 at the Palm Beach Post, where he worked for 36 years. Now, Vincent’s family is questioning how a man with no preexisting conditions and was fully vaccinated could die from the coronavirus.
"He did what he was supposed to do. He did what he was told to do. He was trying to protect his family and he just felt it was the right thing to do and he felt that if he did get COVID he would not die, that it would save him,” said Jamie Konidare.
The Centers for Disease Control reports that as of Oct. 4, out of the more than 185,000,000 fully vaccinated Americans, 6,617 people have died from COVID-19. That amounts to one out of every 25,000 fully vaccinated Americans dying from the virus. None of the companies that created the COVID-19 vaccine have ever claimed to be completely effective at preventing death from COVID-19.
Jamie Konidare now has the following message to everyone in the community, regardless of their vaccination status:
“I would tell that person to go ahead and get vaccinated, because I still feel like it’s the right thing to do, but to not let down your guard. You still need to wear your mask. You still need to stay away from super spreader events and follow all the other guidelines because it’s not a guarantee that you will not get sick,” Konidare said.