An email arrived from a reader that posed a serious problem, a general one of which I was only vaguely aware. It deals with an issue deeply intimate to all family life. It affects the crucial cultural matter of the prolongation of legacy and human life itself.
Her niece is expecting a baby. The child is due in three weeks, which means that it will be around for Thanksgiving holidays. Instead of treating this as a glorious opportunity for the extended family to marvel with delight over new life, hearts lifted all around, the mother is treating family as nothing more than walking and talking disease vectors.
On the advice of her pediatrician, she is banning anyone from getting near the baby unless they have fully four shots: D-Tap, Covid, flu, and RSV. This is because the baby cannot be vaccinated with D-Tap for two months. The entire family is being told this and people are trying to figure out what to do.
Some will refuse and be relegated to Zoom contact. Some will be masked and gloved. Others will go along and risk injury to themselves for absolutely no reason.
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