Dear Editor:
Most of us are pretty much fed up with COVID-19, and just as much with those people who refuse to get vaccinated! Reasons vary from taking away freedom of choice, freedom of association and, of course, freedom of religion. Others say it is, believe it or not, a worldwide governmental conspiracy designed to implant all citizens with a nanochip for whatever reason.
Then there are others who claim the vaccine doesn’t work anyway, and will cause all kinds of adverse side-effects. We know of the blood clotting possibility of one in anywhere from sixty to a hundred thousand, but now there are rumours of it causing hair loss among seniors! Oh dear! Lockdowns, stay-at-home orders, and quarantine all work. The problem is those people not following the measures only expedite its spread, and allow the virus to flourish.
All these skeptics will latch on to whatever holds their fancy. The medical truth is vaccines work. The tuberculosis vaccine, the polio vaccine, the influenza vaccine, the malaria vaccine, and yes the COVID vaccine – they all work!
There must be other factors involved in these skeptics’ resistance, and personally I believe the media is playing a huge role in this. Every report on whatever channel you watch, or every news report you read, contain some element of “but.” Vaccines work, “but there is the possibility of another shortage.” COVID numbers are dropping, “but ICU hospital beds are near capacity.” Cases in retirement and nursing homes are few, “but younger people are now the primary focus.” We’re getting a handle on COVID, “but new variants come along that current vaccines may not be able to handle.” Vaccine effectiveness is over 80 to 95%π, “but even after the vaccine, individuals may still get COVID.”
If our message is to reach as many people as possible, these statements do not help. All they do is to sensationalize the negative, playing right into the hands of these skeptics. If we hope to outlive this pandemic, we have got to act in unison, with all elements of communication pointing in the positive direction.
Look media, stop the proliferation of “buts,” put aside your need for sensationalism with your scenarios of doom and get on with the primary responsibility of us all; eliminating this disease with measures that work.
To paraphrase Winston Churchill from his historic Battle of Britain address, we cannot allow the “few” to dictate the lives of the “many.” My apologies, Mr. Churchill, no buts about it!
Ron Johnson,
Mount Forest