Dear Editor:
I’m writing to respond to recent contributors to the Letters to the Editor section who are apparently vaccine-hesitant.
I do agree that one of the freedoms we all enjoy in our society is the ability to make our own decisions about whether we want to get vaccinated or not, and if so when. But those writers are wrong if they believe their personal choice has no impact on the rest of us.
Every one of us who makes the choice to delay vaccination or not to get vaccinated at all is helping to keep the COVID risk pool that much larger. COVID will only continue to spread in our community if it can find unvaccinated hosts to land on. The smaller and smaller that we collectively make that pool, the less chance it will find a foothold, the safer we will all be, and the sooner all of us and all of our businesses and institutions can fully return to a normal life. People will get their jobs and lives back sooner, and with more certainty that we won’t have to go back into some kind of lockdown again.
We are all collaborators here, and we all need to work together constructively.
My wife and I and all of our kids have already had both doses. I made that personal choice to protect myself, to protect my family, but also very much to do my part to protect my community. I am incredibly proud of the how rapidly the majority of Wellington and Dufferin residents have decided to trust science and do the same thing. Also, a big shout out to the hard-working people at public health and the countless volunteers who have chipped in to help.
This has taken 125 lives so far in Wellington-Dufferin and done so much lasting damage to the livelihood and mental health of so many of our residents. Please do the responsible thing and get vaccinated. It’s easy to do, and we all need you to step up.
Paul Taylor,
Elora