Compassion for COVID-19 deaths of unvaccinated people in U.S. begins to dry up: The Atlantic

Special: Battle Against Novel Coronavirus

As the majority of COVID deaths are occurring among the unvaccinated now in the United States, the compassion extended to the virus's victims is no longer universal. Sometimes, in place of condolences, loved ones receive scorn, The Atlantic magazine reported on Tuesday.

Many deaths are "likely preventable," said the report. "Websites, message boards, and social-media accounts have cropped up as forums to insult the unvaccinated dead. They scour social-media pages for 'covidiots' and screenshot their photos and posts, turning them into memes."

"I have people reaching out to me confiding on a more one-on-one level that they're struggling and they want to talk about their loss, but they don't feel safe. They're afraid they will be attacked or they're afraid of their loved one being attacked," Kristin Urquiza, who co-founded Marked by COVID, was quoted as saying.

The organization is a grassroots group that advocates for those affected by the pandemic and was founded after Urquiza's dad died of COVID in June 2020.

As a result, many obituaries and memorial posts on social media have concealed the true story, and instead, referred to pneumonia or other complications that stemmed from COVID-19 without invoking the coronavirus itself, according to the report, adding that no cause of death is given sometimes.