Fighting Diphtheria

Thank you for Perri Klass’ “The Plague Among Children” (October 2021). As a little girl, I remember my grandmother telling me about her best friend, the mother of twin infants and a daughter almost old enough for school. When diphtheria tore through their small Kansas town, all three children choked to death as an entire generation was virtually wiped out. Following their funerals, the young woman jumped to her death off a bridge over a railroad track. Grandma pointed out her grave, located next to three small headstones at the local cemetery. Most old cemeteries have numerous headstones that share common death dates, the heartbreaking evidence of what happens to many unvaccinated children.

— Kris Aaron | Cambridge, Wisconsin