His father had been vaccinated and recently got his third shot, but he’d also had a kidney transplant a few years ago, which Collins thought may have left him more vulnerable.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued guidance on September 24 allowing third doses of the Pfizer/BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine to be administered to some adults — including people over 65 and younger people with underlying health conditions.

His father seemed like he’d gotten a mild case at first, but after a few days his condition worsened and he had to go to the hospital and had to go on a ventilator, Collins said.

Collins said his father wasn’t conscious when he got to visit him in the hospital.

“So that was the only time I got to see him is to say goodbye to him,” Collins said.