Nurse whose unvaccinated grandmother died of COVID-19: ‘People have turned a medical issue into too much politics’

Days before she was hospitalized with COVID-19, Arlene Boetcher tossed around a football with her great-grandchildren. Though 85, Boetcher was sprightly and energetic, her son, Gary Eckstein said. But within a week of her hospitalization, Boetcher died due to complications from the virus, Eckstein said. She had declined to get the vaccine. “It’s kind of a joke. We were always talking about how she would outlive any of us,” said Eckstein, who was vaccinated as soon as he was eligible. Eckstein, 61, lives in Kenosha and teaches part-time in the Chicago area at the College of Lake County. He was ...