Re: Re: 'How can so many be duped?" [Village News, Benson letter, 11/1 8/21]

I will refer to Benson as the author. The author purports to have “read the science of COVID-19.” However, there’s no indication of that in her letter. For instance, the author begins by incorrectly stating that prior vaccines were well tested for years before use. The Salk polio vaccine certainly was not. It did take them over a year, but it wasn’t because they were more meticulous. That was in 1953: their problem was they didn’t have the computers and specialized software to rapidly collate and analyze their test data like we have today. And how do you think their test approach would go over today? Their study base consisted of 623,972 school children, half of whom were given this untested vaccine! See “A calculated risk”: the Salk polio vaccine field trials of 1954 (PMC/NCBI).

I will have to agree with the author that we received a lot of misinformation from the government, not only regarding COVID-19, but also most everything else. By government I mean the Trump administration.

The author, throughout, refers to COVID-19 as being 99% survivable: actually it’s closer to 98%, and that figure is improving as more people get vaccinated. However, I want to emphasize this point: surviving is not the same as recovering. “About 33% of COVID-19 patients... continue to complain months later of symptoms like fatigue, loss of smell and taste, and ‘brain fog.’” See “A Third of COVID Survivors Have Long-Haul Symptoms” (WebMd, 2/19/21).

The author provides some made-up government quotes, including “Government said once we get the vaccine it would prevent us from getting the CCP virus.” The government said no such thing. Note: CCP was Trump’s term for COVID-19. What government does do is publish the effectiveness rating of the vaccines: Moderna and Pfizer vaccines tests indicate they are over 90% effective in preventing severe cases of the virus, and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine about 85%. Over time, those figures start to drop and booster shots are recommended. And President Biden did not say vaccination would be voluntary. What he said is that he would not call for a nationwide mandate.

The author notes that “the hospitals aren’t overloaded, but we are still wearing a mask.” That’s true here because the majority of us have been vaccinated and are following the COVID-19 protocols. It isn’t the case everywhere in America. “Hospitals in the southern United States are running dangerously low on space in intensive care units, as the Delta variant has led to spikes in coronavirus cases not seen since last year’s deadly winter wave.” See “Covid Hospitalizations Hit Crisis Levels in Southern I.C.U.s” (New York Times, 9/14/21).

The author finishes with a false analogy between abortion and vaccination: “My body, my choice.” That certainly applies to abortion, since no one else’s health or life is affected. It absolutely does not apply to anyone flouting the COVID-19 protocols: they have the potential to put the health and lives of themselves and anyone they come in contact with at risk.

There’s been a lot of clamor these days about our personal rights. But concomitant with those rights are our personal responsibilities. The best way to insure our personal rights is to fulfill our responsibilities.

John H. Terrell