Father and son die from COVID-19 within days of each other

VICTORY, N.Y. (AP) — A New York family, who all contracted COVID-19, has suffered the loss of a father and son to the virus within a few days of each other.

Rick Martin, 57, of Victory, died on Oct. 27 and his son, Jake Martin, 27, died on Nov. 2, The Times Union reported on Friday.

Rick Martin’s wife and Jake Martin’s mother, Julie Martin, said she does not know which one of her family members was infected first, but after three days, she and her son, Ben Martin, who were both vaccinated, began to feel better. But Rick and Jack, who were unvaccinated, were getting worse.

“It’s a cautionary tale that I don’t want to accentuate,” she said. “My husband and son were vaccine-hesitant. They didn’t have any physical health problems and they were not at particular risk.”

Research from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that vaccines significantly reduce the chance of contracting COVID-19 and also lower the risk of life-threatening complications from breakthrough cases in vaccinated people.

Martin said that after she dropped her family members off at the hospital, she was barred from going in with them because she also had coronavirus and was in quarantine.

It was the last time she saw them before their conditions steadily worsened. Ultimately, her husband was put on a ventilator and died two days later. Her son suffered a ruptured lung and died six days after his father, the newspaper said.

Martin said that the tragedy of Rick and Jake has inspired others in her family to get vaccinated.