Marcie's Loving Legacy

At nine years old, my sister Marcie contracted a now vaccine-preventable disease that caused permanent challenges living as an adult. She hoped to be one of the very first to receive the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as it became available because she understood the trajectory of someone's life unprotected from a virulent virus. But last August she succumbed to a sudden massive stroke. When I learned in the hospital that she tested positive for COVID antibodies it became clear that at some point she had contracted a second insidious virus in her life, one that could have been prevented had the vaccine been available. As vaccine refusal and COVID cases are on the rise in all 50 states, won’t you please donate to Voices for Vaccines, a national nonprofit that helps raise social awareness and immunization rates. My sister’s story is tragic, but no more tragic than so many who refuse a lifesaving vaccine. Do it for yourself, an elder, a neighbor’s child, an immunocompromised family member. As a vaccine advocate, Marcie would thank you.