Vaccine shaming has reached new levels. The family of a reportedly fully vaccinated Illinois woman is blaming unvaccinated Americans for her death from COVID-19.
Candace Kay Ayers, 66, died on September 3 at St. John’s Hospital in Springfield, Illinois. Ayers, along with her husband Terry, reportedly received the Moderna vaccine which utlizes messenger RNA technology.
“She was preceded in death by more than 4,531,799 others infected with covid-19,” her obituary reads. “She was vaccinated but was infected by others who chose not to be. The cost was her life.”
Family members believe that she contracted COVID-19 — despite being vaccinated — on a July trip to Mississippi when she and her husband went to visit a friend whose husband had passed away from the same Chinese virus. In truth, the family doesn’t know where she was infected with the virus.
The family appears to want to make a political statement out of Ayer’s death: “We want to hold every segment of the population accountable and responsible for where we’re at today,” her son Marc, told Fox News.
In addition to the Chinese virus, Ayers reportedly suffered from rheumatoid arthritis — an autoimmune disease which attacks the body’s joints. It is unclear whether this condition may have exacerbated her COVID-19 infection.
“This all could have been avoided,” Marc Ayers told CNN.
“This could have been prevented by a few acts of kindness. They were in a state that had one of the lowest vaccination rates in the country. Getting a vaccine and wearing a mask for others … had this been done, she would be here today.”
In an early August Facebook post, just after his mother’s diagnosis, Marc Ayers — who is also an animal rights activist — let unvaccinated people know exactly what he thought of them.
“If you’re able to get vaccinated and/or wear a mask but refuse to, just know that your selfish actions are threating (sic) the lives of others,” Ayers posted.
“Both of my parents are fully vaccinated (along with myself and my sister). We’re a family that believes in science and the recommendations of experts in the medical community. We were responsible, we wore masks indoors, and were so happy to have received a full vaccine so we could exit this pandemic and move on with our lives. Unfortunately some of you bought into the political nature of this crisis and threatened the lives of my family.”
Really, Mr. Ayers? You’re accusing others of putting the “political nature of this crisis” in play? Instead of blaming the unvaccinated, perhaps you could better use your energy finding out why the vaccine your mother took didn’t work. The reason to get vaccinated is to protect you from the disease, is it not?
People grieve in different ways, of course. If it helps Marc Ayers and his family to use his mother’s death in this way, he should go for it. It’s entirely possible that his mother even approved of how her obituary read.
But he shouldn’t be surprised when others question him about his motives.
