When reporting on car accident deaths, it used to be standard practice in many local newsrooms to indicate whether the victims were wearing their seat belts. Editors leaned on public safety, public record and public education as arguments when explaining that decision to distraught family members who felt as if journalists were shaming the victims.
That is, of course, not what journalists were trying to do. Instead, they were sharing publicly available information because it was relevant. It was a time when many states were legislating seat-belt usage, and when automobiles had very few other safety features.
These days, editors are asking the same question when it comes to the vaccination status of a person who died of COVID-19.
