State’s low vaccination rate reinforces old prejudices
I have greatly appreciated your anointing the very top of your front page in bold red ink the frightening stats on how we Georgians have responded to the pandemic. The Oct. 1 issue addresses our disaster: 42nd rank in the U.S. vaccinated rate, 9th in U.S. deaths the past 7 days, and 11th in the U.S. death rate during this pandemic.
When I moved to North Carolina in 1968, my mother from Massachusetts questioned why I would want to live in such an ignorant and backward state. When I moved to Atlanta 38 years ago, she scratched her head once again. When I recently asked a lifelong buddy from a Boston suburb if he thought we in Georgia were ignorant by our response to the pandemic, he responded, “The thought crossed my mind.”
Massachusetts ranks 5th in U.S. full vaccination rates. New Hampshire, you know, the “Live Free or Die” state, ranks 10th in full vaccination rates. So not only are we sickening and killing ourselves, but we are also reinforcing old prejudices and perceptions of who we are as people.
TIM SCHNABEL, MONROE
Freedoms lost due to the unvaccinated
It’s unconscionable. Whose rights are being violated? Mine. When actions cause multiple deaths unnecessarily, isn’t that criminal? Even murder? When does their freedom cause mine to be lost?
As a middle-80′s diabetic person with high blood pressure, I can’t feel “free” to go anywhere where people gather. For 15 months, I’ve been at home, with afternoon walks to help save my sanity as a short, wonderful respite. Again, staying at home is a bitter pill that is totally unnecessary if everyone is vaccinated.
How are the anti-vaxxed’s rights stronger, better and more valid than mine? I have had my two vaccinations and am not killing anyone.
M.J. BROWNLEE, SANDY SPRINGS
