Letters to the Editor

 

September 16, 2021



To the editor,

The best source of reliable information about the COVID vaccines is the internet site Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. When you access this site, you can submit your e-mail address to receive free vaccine updates. If you still have questions or concerns, you can submit them by e-mail to cdc.gov, or phone the CDC at 1-800-232-4636.

At the present time, the COVID virus can only exist in a living cell of a susceptible human. Getting the vaccine makes you much less susceptible, and even if you do get infected, you would be much less likely to die. The vaccines are safe, effective, and free.

As long as there is a significant number of susceptible people to infect, the virus can thrive and multiply. The more it multiplies, the greater the risk of new mutations with increased transmissibility and / or virulence. The disease could become more severe and life-threatening in younger people than it is now. Also, the present vaccines might not protect people as well, or at all, necessitating getting different vaccines to cover the new mutations.

All people eligible to get the vaccine should get it. We want to decrease the chances for the virus to find new people to infect, and to decrease the chances that the infection will get worse. If only one life is saved, it would be worth getting the vaccine. Nobody likes the COVID restrictions we have had, and we all want to see them end. The best way to get back to our former lives is to get vaccinated. As we have seen in Garfield County this summer, it is easier to put out a small fire than a big one.

The best health care outcome is that an adverse event never happens. I care a lot about everyone in Garfield County, I want you all to stay healthy.

Ray Cardwell, MD (retired)

Edmonds, Wash.

 
 

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