Holdouts cost our mom her life: obit

It was a chilling start to an obituary for an Illinois mom.

“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,” says the death notice for Candace Cay Ayers.

Ayers, of Springfield, succumbed Sept. 3 after her family believes she caught the virus while visiting an unvaccinated friend in Mississippi, NBC’s “Today” show reported.

Ayers had received both doses of the Moderna vaccine when she became eligible — but she suffered from rheumatoid arthritis and was immunocompromised, which experts now believe may increase risk for breakthrough infections. She tested positive for the virus within days of returning from the trip.

At the time of her trip in July, her family believed such cases were rare.

“We did everything that we were advised to do,” her son, Marc, told “Today.” “I wish there was better science out at the time that said maybe they should stay home, maybe these precautions are good for regular people, but [not] for the immunocompromised. I wish doctors had not cleared my mom to travel to Mississippi.”

While preparing her obituary, Ayers’ relatives decided they wanted to share a message they believe Ayers would have approved of.

“Mom was a fighter . . . and mom was so angry at people for not getting vaccinated and not wearing a mask,” Marc said. “Mom was very vocal about people who just refused to take those precautions, and so we thought it was a good idea to put that in the obituary and make a statement out of it.”