Letter from the Editor: Jessica Berg Wilson's obituary carried anti-vaccine message, as family wishe

An obituary published in The Sunday Oregonian last weekend caused quite a stir. The obituary for Jessica Berg Wilson, a Seattle woman who was born and raised in Portland, said she had died of “Vaccine-Induced Thrombotic Thrombocytopenia (VITT).”

The notice went on to include details of Wilson’s life and upbringing, her career and her family. Within the obituary were several paragraphs that criticized “heavy-handed vaccine mandates” and blamed them for her death.

VITT, the blood-clotting problem cited as the cause of death, is a known, extremely rare side effect of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine used in the United States. After millions of doses, just four cases have been reported, according to a news article by reporter Aimee Green.

Obituaries and death notices are paid announcements placed by families or their representatives. They are handled by the advertising department, which is entirely separate from the newsroom, and fall under guidelines for advertisements.