A Southwest Airlines flight attendant has died of COVID-19 at the young age of 36, leaving behind a bright legacy and a heartbroken family.
Vaccinated Southwest Airlines Flight Attendant Dies Of COVID-19
Maurice “Reggie” Shepperson, a New Yorker who joined Southwest Airlines in 2014, contracted COVID-19 in July. It is not clear how or where he contracted it. He was double-vaccinated.
Shepperson spent a month in a Las Vegas hospital fighting it, including being placed on a ventilator. Sadly, he lost the battle last Tuesday. It isn’t clear if he had any pre-existing conditions that made COVID-19 hit him harder.
A colleague at Southwest Airlines told USA Today that he faithfully wore a mask, wiped down surfaces, and took hygeine precautions very seriously. She has started a GoFundMe campaign to raise funeral expenses, noting:
Reggie was a flight attendant for Southwest Airlines and he loved his job! His personality, wit and humor were just a few characteristics that everyone adored. He was one of the kindest most giving people I’ve ever known. If you needed him, he’d be there with no questions asked. Now he needs you to help make his transition a bit easier on his mom, Dawn, whom he loved dearly.
His mother, Dawn Shepperson, noted:
“It hurt me so bad because it was just so quick. I didn’t have time to really even acknowledge what is going on. This is mind-blowing. It’s not real. It’s not real. It’s not real.”
Sadly, this is real. It’s also a reminder that our days are numbered and to cherish time with family and friends while we still can. In June, Shepperson and his mother took a trip to Hawaii together.
A Southwest spokesperson added:
“We are heartbroken over the loss; the Southwest Family is supporting each other, and our Employee’s family, during this difficult time. Out of respect for Reggie’s family, we do not have additional details to share.”
Breakthrough Cases – Wait, He Was Vaccinated?!
Before anyone turns this into a debate over the efficacy of vaccines, read this story which recently appeared in The Atlantic:
Full vaccination (with the mRNA vaccines, at least) is about 88 percent effective at preventing symptomatic disease caused by Delta. Breakthrough infections are possible but affect only 0.01 to 0.29 percent of fully vaccinated people, according to data from the Kaiser Family Foundation. Breakthroughs might seem common—0.29 percent of 166 million fully vaccinated Americans still means almost 500,000 breakthroughs—but they are relatively rare.
And though they might feel miserable, they are much milder than equivalent infections in unvaccinated people: Full vaccination is 96 percent effective at preventing hospitalizations from Delta, and unvaccinated people make up more than 95 percent of COVID-19 patients in American hospital beds. The vaccines are working, and working well. Vaccinated people are indisputably safer than unvaccinated people.
I’m not willing to entertain discussion here that the COVID-19 vaccine is somehow dangerous or not effective because of rare deaths amongst vaccinated people that were expected to occur from the very start.
As I’ve said before, vaccines are not our salvation, but a very effective tool in our tool kit to coexist with coronavirus. Don’t read this story as a justification to avoid the vaccine, which offers immense protection from both COVID-19 and a severe case of COVID-19 in case of a breakthrough.
CONCLUSION
I send my love to the Shepperson family today. Losing a son is something no mother should ever have to bear. COVID-19 is a tragic way to die and a reminder that we are still fighting a lethal virus.
image: Facebook
It’s important not to jump to conclusions here, as we do not (and may never) know the entire story. Did this poor man have underlying conditions? What else was going on (if anything)? There is probably more to this, but (understandably) those sorts of details are private and inappropriate to share publicly.
This is a sad story, but likely somewhat of a one-off that should not dissuade anyone from being vaccinated. The numbers don’t lie; even if you get it, your odds of being hospitalized or dying from it are miniscule. But, as is the case with being killed by lightning or in a plane crash, the odds are not absolute zero.
Dont get the Jab!
Don’t be an idiot.
Let him be an idiot and let Darwinism do its job.
Matthew – At a certain point on these stories you should just turn off the comments so that the deranged sociopaths among us do not get another vehicle to spew their inane thoughts.
It is tragic that this young man died. It seems he did everything he could to remain safe, and he should be honored for those steps.
And thank you for accurately reporting that there never was, nor can than be, a 100% level of protection. The Delta variant is aggressive and the presence of more variants will stress the vaccine, and the health system.
Please: get vaccinated!
The only respectful action I can think of is to offer the grieving mother prayer and gratitude for raising such a hard working son.
This will happen again and again. The vaccine will not make you bulletproof.
If 200 million Americans get the vaccine, it could be that eventually 25 million will get Covid-19, of which 3 million will get it between now and 12/31/2022. Of those 3 million, 3,000 will die and 15,000 will have either serious symptoms and/or long term symptoms.
On the other hand, the 100 million Americans who won’t get the vaccine, it could be that eventually 50 million will get Covid-19, or which 20 million will get it between now and 12/31/2022. Of those 20 million, 100,000 will die and 500,000 will have either serious and/or long term symptoms.
I’d rather be in the pool with 3,000 dead rather than the pool with half as many people but 100,000 dead.
Most of us sane folks would…but there are the freedumb types out there who will obstinately be in the latter camp. Have fun people…
3 million people died in the U.S. in 2019. Most of these deaths or long term complications are for people who would have died of pneumonia or the flu this year. Young people do die from undiagnosed heart conditions. Covid of whatever variant has been hyped up and exaggerated for political purposes. If the world didn’t shut down in 2020, we’d be in no worse position. The same people who died would have died. The people who didn’t die wouldn’t have died. Vaccines have risks that outweigh the benefit for many people. I never got a flu vaccine despite 60K dying a year from the flu. The flu shot didn’t work for many people who had it because of various variants every year. Covid is the same. It might lower the risk but not substantially as Covid has no symptoms or is mild for 95% of people to begin with and vaccines can make people sick. Someone had an injury which required surgery 30 years ago. There was no pain for 20 years and right after getting vaccinated for Covid this person had mobility limiting pain in that area the next day and for the past 4 months. Nothing changed in lifestyle except getting the vaccine.
In 2019, 2.85M died in the US (not 3M).
In 2020, 3.36M died in the US.
That is 510,000 more deaths.
370,000 Americans died of Covid-19 in 2020.
621,000 Americans died of Covid-19 in 2020 and the first 7 1/2 months in 2021.
That is almost like 9/11 except 9/11 every Monday through Saturday, week after week.
4% less white population in the US vs. 2010 got you triggered bro?
Just move to Marjorie Taylor Qanon’s district in rural GA and find your happy place
I’m sorry this flight attendant has lost his life and now the mother has to bury her child which no parent should have to do.
However this article is based on the supposition that this person died from COVID instead of dying with COVID. Before COVID people dropped dead or where hospitalized suddenly all the time. Now all of a sudden we are in a pandemic and if a person is hospitalized, in need of oxygen, on a ventilator, and dies then it is safe to assume COVID killed them. COVID isn’t the only cause of death simply because we are in a pandemic there are a lot of other reasons that could have caused this persons death. Breakthrough cases do happen but unless this person had an autopsy and you have access to those records then you don’t know what the actual cause of death was.
I’m not an anit-vaxxer, I’m fully vaccinated with the 2 dose Pfizer I just tired of all the assumptions and misinformation the media puts out there about who has died from COVID when you don’t have the facts. Dying from COVID and dying with COVID is two completely different things. It is not different than saying a person with cancer died from cancer but the real reason they died is they choked on a piece of chicken and were asphyxiated. Was it the cancer that killed them or was it the fact they they couldn’t breath because something was lodged in their throat.
Thank you for your responsible commentary on the importance of vaccination
Very sad and I think we all agree this man didn’t deserve it.
It should have been an a-hole like UA-NYC or me before this guy. That would have made the country a better place taking one of us judgemental bastards out instead of this guy.
I do my moral duty by getting vaxxed to protect my friends, family, and co-workers…you’re just an anti-vaxxing prick, should probably go first TBH
Odds are you have very few friends if you act in person like you do here and your family is just waiting for you to pass so they get your money. How about my $100,000 against your $10,000 I’m fully vaccinated since March with 2 Moderna shots. Matt will gladly hold the cash if we can agree on terms I would think.
Don’t give me that “moral duty” nonsense. It’s also your moral duty to give every dollar away you don’t need to live on to those who can use it. Trust me, we are both the same type assholes, only difference is I admit it.
So you want to make a wager big man or not?
Amen to that.