Get your vaccine, please. Our country, economy, lifestyle depend on it.

To the Editor:

The post by Sue Speck of Vernon compels me to write this letter. I respect that Ms. Speck put thought and effort into her letter, however I must contradict some content.

True, you can be infected after vaccination. Efficacy of vaccines is in the 90th+ %. Thus, 5-10% (vaccine-dependent) may become infected. However, infections are mild, not life-threatening. Most other vaccines have 50-60% efficacy, making Covid vaccines unusually reliable.

Covid morbidity is about 1%, but life-long organ and other bodily damage is common. It wreaks havoc on the respiratory system, damaging lungs, for one example. Ms. Speck cites one “authority,” Geert Bossche, who opposes the vaccines. First, there are hundreds of authorities that disagree with him. Furthermore, the far-right “The Liberty Beacon” reports “Bossche bases his views on unproven hypotheses.” That author states, this has “hallmarks of a drug-company astroturf campaign.”

Bossche’s claims to expertise are not supported by his history. This all comes from a writer who opposes the vaccine himself! Untrue, these vaccines were “developed in 9 months.” Covid has long been expected and predicted by scientists worldwide. Fact: the last president was briefed to expect this pandemic. Scientists don’t stop after each new virus, they work nonstop on ways to halt transmission of possible mutants.

Long-term vaccine effects? We don’t have time to wait and see. But, we do know many possible long-term effects of Covid. Scientific studies were done, worldwide, under standard testing principles. Fauci fought premature acceptance throughout 2020 and now staunchly resists opening too quickly.

Pharma is protected from all lawsuits for “unintentional” mistakes, not just Covid vaccines. This is not news! There are very few historical instances of successful lawsuits of Pharma. That Insurance may refuse covering vaccine deaths is patently false. The insurance company accused of this states, “The Covid-19 vaccination in no way negatively impacts your current insurance policies or valid group benefits coverage, nor does it factor into new insurance applications you may apply for,” Manulife says.

I want to make one point about the J&J vaccine. I understand resistance due to possible blood clots. But science indicates this is rare (>1 in 1,000,000) and applies to women of childbearing age. The maternal mortality rate in childbirth is 17 per 100,000 births. We won’t quit bearing children because of this, will we?

Bossche’s claim that Covid mutates every 10 hours may/may not be true. But what’s true is, if we don’t achieve “herd immunity” before the virus mutates beyond our vaccines, we are in deep trouble. The way to “herd immunity” is having the illness, or vaccine, before those resulting immunities are surpassed by virus mutations.

Translation: if you have not had Covid-19 or the vaccines, America can never get to “normal” because a new pandemic will emerge. It’s a vicious cycle. Get your vaccine, please. Our country, economy, lifestyle depend on it. To use an old expression: if you aren’t part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.

Patt Reid

Byram Township