Letters to the Editor: Anti-vaccine lies are killing good people. This family shows how
To the editor: Yes, the word “despair” was in the headline for the article on the tragedies that have befallen the Reyes family because of the pandemic, and I was getting a little suspicious of the exclusive use of past-tense descriptions of poor Anthony Reyes Jr. But when I came to the buried lede — that high schooler Anthony Jr. took his life after his father died of COVID-19 — it was like I stepped on an emotional land mine, and the lump is still in my throat as I write this.
No condolences can assuage the doubled grief of the Reyes family, and the sorrow I feel from reading about their loss cannot compare to what they are experiencing. But I would like also to express my growing anger at those who spread disinformation about the lifesaving vaccines, which could have spared this family and so many others from this torment.
Young Anthony was a sweeter, kinder, better person than I will ever be — but any guilt he may have felt for his father’s death was misplaced, and his family’s loss of both men is on the hands of malicious liars.
John Kluge, North Hollywood
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To the editor: Reading reporter Brittany Mejia’s Column One article, I couldn’t help thinking of the Reyes family’s pain as a result of COVID-19 and how we all will have to cope with life in the future.
We have to help one another get through the months and years ahead. One way is to be kind to your friends, family members, neighbors and co-workers. You don’t know what circumstances they’re dealing with in their lives.
Kudos to Mejia for the excellent job of reporting on the sad circumstances with which the Reyes family struggles.
Helen Lotos, Corona del Mar
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To the editor: I was in tears by the end of this Column One and can only hope that reading it will prompt some anti-vaxxers to get the jab as soon as possible.
That both Anthonys, father and son, would likely still be alive if the father had gotten vaccinated is heartbreaking.
Jennifer Schuster, Los Alamitos
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To the editor: Why did it take The Times 10 paragraphs and, in the print edition, not until the article jumped inside the paper to mention that it’s primarily the unvaccinated and unboosted who have to worry about dying or being hospitalized because of the Omicron variant?
This vital fact should to be pointed out sooner or, even better, in the headline.
Too many media outlets go on and on about the hospitalization rates without or very slight mention of the importance of being fully vaccinated in order to stay out of the hospital. If public health officials want people to be fully vaccinated and remain out of the hospital, it is imperative that media outlets communicate this clearly and with priority in their content.
David Turner, Torrance
