The 'Talk' co-host's husband, Nick Cordero, died due to COVID-19 back in July.
Amanda Kloots is speaking out after she received backlash for getting her first COVID-19 vaccine.
The Talk co-host first celebrated and thanked volunteers at the vaccination sites for administering the first dose. She then took to Instagram Story to address the criticism she got and explain how she obtained the vaccine. Kloots' late husband, Nick Cordero, died of COVID-19 complications last July.
"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," she wrote on her post on Friday. "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."
Kloots -- wearing a custom embroidered "Elvis" face mask by Ahida Correale -- also thanked the National Guard for "volunteering since 5:30am administering the Pfizer vaccine to willing arms." The fitness instructor also admitted that she has "been terrified since Nick has passed, as a single mother, of getting this virus and now I am one step closer to safety."
In Los Angeles county, only healthcare workers, long-term care facility residents, and persons age 65 and over are actively being vaccinated. However a number of people not in the phase one group have been waiting in lines in hopes to get any leftover shots at the end of the day.
"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," Kloots passionately said in her Instagram Story. "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," she continued. "So, sorry that I am getting a little emotional, but this was a very emotional experience for me. I was perfectly fine being turned away tonight if that was the case. I was actually prepared to be turned away. I was giving it a shot, and luckily the shot worked and they had availability and they were happy to have people there waiting with willing arms."
She continued by expressing that she "was happy to be one of those willing arms," asking people to please "not vaccine-shame me on my photo after this day where I am so grateful to have this first step in getting vaccinated against this virus."
She also posted another Instagram Story which stated that her waiting in line, with a baby in the car that should be in bed, "is not celebrity privilege."
Kloots has been open about her grief and hard times since her husband died. Speaking to ET last month ahead of her debut on The Talk, she shared she was grateful for fans' support throughout Cordero's battle with the coronavirus, and was looking forward to sharing more about herself on the daytime talk show.
"Honestly, the social media army that formed around me during that time, it was so beautiful," she expressed. "I would never have gotten through everything without them and I did share a lot of myself and a lot of experiences, and so they do know me, but I think in watching The Talk you'll get to know me even more. You'll get to know a little bit more about me and I look forward to that."
She also said that Cordero would have been her biggest supporter when it came to her new gig. "Oh, he would be like, 'Babe! Oh my god!'" she said with a laugh. "He'd be like, 'I'm not surprised, go get 'em.' He was my ultimate cheerleader, he really, really was. He inspired me to start my own fitness business, he encouraged that change in my life. I know he's right beside me today through this."
For more on Kloots, see below.
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