Obituary Blames Illinois Woman's Virus Death On The Unvaccinated

SPRINGFIELD, IL — An Illinois woman’s obituary didn’t take long to point out how she died.

In the first paragraph, just after stating her name and residence, the obituary for Candace Ayers of Springfield, stated “she was preceded in death by more than 4,531,799 others infected with COVID-19. She was vaccinated, but was infected by others who chose not to be. The cost was her life.”

Ayers, who was 66 at the time of her Sept. 3 death, was firmly pro-vaccination, and couldn’t understand why so many people aren’t, several media reports that cite The State Journal-Register state.

“This whole thing is so preventable,” her 36-year-old son, Marc Ayers, told the Journal-Register.

“People have politicized this and made it about politics. These are the people who have perpetuated the cycle of pain for our family and so many others.”

Family members have said they believe Ayers caught the coronavirus while on a 4-day trip to Mississippi in mid-July to visit a friend whose spouse died of the virus. They thought she would be safe due to her getting the vaccine months earlier, but both she and her husband tested positive shortly after their visit to the Southern state, which has among the lowest vaccination rates in the country.

Despite slightly improved numbers in recent weeks, Mississippi’s vaccination rate remains in the bottom five, a Becker’s Hospital Review report updated on Thursday shows.

The Magnolia State has little more than 1.2 million people fully vaccinated, accounting for just 41.49 percent of the population, according to Becker’s Hospital Review.

Upon returning to Illinois, Ayers ended up in a hospital for a month, including three weeks on a ventilator. After her family made the difficult decision to remove her from the ventilator, she died within minutes.

Ayers’ husband developed only mild symptoms and recovered, family members told the Journal-Register. They believe she suffered more severe symptoms, and ultimately her death, because she had rheumatoid arthritis and was at a higher risk.

Tributes have poured in from people touched by the directness of the obituary published by Birsch Funeral Home in Springfield.

One, posted from Carmen Poce on Thursday, seemed to have touched a nerve.

“I was very touched by your mom’s obituary,” Poce wrote. “I am also immunocompromised because of rheumatoid arthritis and like her, I thought I was pretty protected after receiving the two shots of the COVID-19 vaccine, wearing a mask to go out and keeping away from public places.”

“Reading your story made me realize how vulnerable I am and how quickly life could change for my entire family.”