Dr. Anita Sircar, seen in the emergency room of a Torrance hospital, wrote an op-ed article in the L.A. Times urging folks to get vaccinated in opposition to COVID-19. (Los Angeles Times)
To the editor: Why are we nonetheless permitting folks to keep away from getting vaccinated? (“As a doctor in a COVID unit, I’m running out of compassion for the unvaccinated. Get the shot,” Opinion, Aug. 17)
In 1905, the U.S. Supreme Court dominated in Jacobson vs. Massachusetts {that a} legislation requiring folks to get vaccinated in opposition to smallpox or pay a high quality was constitutional. Plaintiff Henning Jacobson argued to the courtroom that “compulsion to introduce disease into a healthy system is a violation of liberty.” Sound acquainted?
The Court dominated, “Upon the principle of self-defense, of paramount necessity, a community has the right to protect itself against an epidemic of disease which threatens the safety of its members.”
Cities and states have the power now to mandate vaccinations in opposition to COVID-19. For those that refuse, the fines might be collected on an rising schedule that may make it too burdensome for folks to keep away from vaccinations. Exemptions might be allowed for folks with provable medical or spiritual objections.
We have the power to finish this epidemic, and it’s time we used it.
Paul Weissman, Pasadena
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To the editor: Thank you a lot for publishing Dr. Anita Sircar’s op-ed article.
My coronary heart goes out to all the medical doctors and nurses who’ve handled and are nonetheless treating unvaccinated sufferers, for whom I now not really feel any sympathy. I simply really feel anger at their selfishness. They refuse to get vaccinated, and plenty of additionally don’t put on masks or social distance as a result of they need “their freedom.”
Meanwhile, “their freedom” is jeopardizing the continued well being of everybody else and “our freedom” to stay wholesome. I now not have any persistence with these folks and don’t really feel sympathy for them once they lose their lives due to their steadfast ignorance and selfishness.
They are placing all these healthcare staff and everybody else’s life in danger. It’s unconscionable.
Lilla Russell, Long Beach
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To the editor: I so appreciated Dr. Sircar’s piece. Her heartbreaking and candid letter to unvaccinated people in our society resonated with me, not solely as a fellow human being, but additionally as a nurse for almost 40 years.
My mom was additionally a nurse. Based not solely on her schooling and profession but additionally as a polio survivor, she believed that vaccines had been important to sickness prevention and well being upkeep. She was right, and I’ve lived my life so grateful for vaccines which have been rigorously developed for our well being and wellness.
To echo Dr. Sircar’s plea to all who’re unvaccinated, please get the shot. The sooner we’re all vaccinated, the sooner we are going to get by this pandemic.
Gwen Wysocki, Redlands
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To the editor: As a heart specialist who routinely cares for sufferers at excessive threat from COVID-19, I’ve discovered it difficult to persuade some sufferers to obtain the vaccine. When a logical clarification of the medical details fails to persuade, I’ve had some success with the following argument:
We are in a battle in opposition to a lethal enemy. Those who stay unvaccinated are usually not simply refusing to be a part of the battle, they’re sheltering and feeding the enemy, selling its proliferation and strengthening its potential to assault everybody else.
Please attempt to discover the braveness to be citizen and get vaccinated.
Paul Maher, MD, Pasadena
This story initially appeared in Los Angeles Times.
