There wasn’t a big blowup. It just came down to a simple event: I got married earlier this month and in order to attend my intimate wedding, my friends and family had to be
double vaccinated, no exceptions. Aside from elderly family members attending, including my parents, the venue required proof of vaccination to enter. My cousins are refusing to take the
COVID-19 vaccine, and so, through my mother, they declined my wedding invitation. My mom, a retired nurse, has been fielding most of the conversations about their vaccine status so I’ve been spared from the uncomfortable and frustrating talks in which a woman who devoted her career to medicine and saving people’s lives has had to try to convince her sister’s offspring to believe in science. Aside from a brief appearance at my wedding, where my baby cousin stood outside the venue and said a quick congratulations, I haven’t seen my cousins at all, or spoken to them. But I know that my older cousin may lose her job because of her refusal to get the vaccine, and that their decision has fractured our relationship, and put a permanent splinter in our family.