When H. Scott Apley died at 45 of covid-19, he became a face of vaccine refusal by the political right. A GoFundMe drive for his wife and baby son drew scorn as the Dickinson City Council member’s social media posts circulated.
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In national news coverage and the online firestorm that followed, Apley was a lightning rod for the country’s frustration as it struggles to bring the virus under control. To many, his fatal illness was a consequence of sometimes skeptical and even hostile GOP statements on immunization, as millions of eligible Americans — disproportionately Republican — have yet to get their first shots.
But for others who knew Apley, only one story mattered: His family was suffering, and now, with cruel comments and laughing emoji, strangers from out-of-state were piling on. In Apley’s political sphere, some said the tragedy was only entrenching people’s divisions over the vaccines and a resurging virus — much less sending people soul-searching about their beliefs or their party’s messaging.
“Everyone already has an opinion, and it didn’t change because of Scott,” said Marco Roberts, the Houston-based chairman of the Log Cabin Republicans of Texas.
