To the Citizens of Watertown,
Watertown Public Schools is now forcing a COVID vaccine mandate on all WPS staff, even though, according to school committee members that I emailed, 96-98% of their staff are already vaccinated. The schools have already achieved herd immunity. Clearly, this new mandate is targeting the handful of people who do not want to try this new vaccine.
There is plenty of evidence, both anecdotally and statistically, showing that some people have been severely injured or even killed by the new COVID vaccines. This is not a conspiracy theory, it’s a fact. I have 3 family members who all developed a muscular disorder called Poly Mialga Rhumatica (PMR), after receiving one of the shots, and which causes them constant pain. I also know a mother who suddenly developed Bell’s Palsy, which weakens and can paralyze facial muscles, after receiving a COVID shot.
Here is the most recent summary of adverse side effects from the COVID19 vaccines (up until Oct 29, 2021) taken directly from the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS), which Healthcare providers, vaccine manufacturers and the public can use to report negative effects on patients post-vaccination. Please also note that VAERS is a highly underutilized tool by Doctors, and has been shown to underreport the majority of adverse side effects caused by vaccines. [Editor’s Note: VAERS collects reports of adverse effects of a vaccine but the reports have not necessarily been verified to be linked to the vaccine. Anyone can make a report to VAERS. Info in side effects is the side effects can be seen on this CDC web page.]
Event Category
Events Reported Death 7,086 Life Threatening 298 Permanent Disability 75 Congenital Anomaly / Birth Defect 5 Hospitalized 2,476 Existing Hospitalization Prolonged 12 Emergency Room 1,825 Office Visit 608
I’ve read stories and have seen photos of perfectly healthy, fit young people becoming physically paralyzed, severely sick and even dying after taking one of these shots. So why is this vaccine being forced upon healthy people?
And now, the Superintendent of WPS, Ms. Jeanne Galdston, along with the Watertown Educators Association has decided for those handful of non-vaccinated WPS employees that they must put this potentially harmful substance in their bodies or face termination. Wait, I take that back. These employees will face “unpaid leave,” which conveniently allows WPS to essentially fire these employees for making a decision about their own personal health and bodies. According to Anne Paxton, an attorney and policy director at the Unemployment Law Project, those employees put on unpaid leave would likely not be eligible to collect unemployment, as their non-compliance of a vaccine mandate would be considered “misconduct.”
If people want to try a new vaccine, that’s their prerogative. But important decisions about our bodies and how we take care of our health should NOT be mandated to us. Especially when there is real risk of serious harm from this vaccine.
Not everyone can rightfully apply for a medical or religious exemption. The potential harm that can be caused by these new injections should be reason enough to prohibit covid vaccine mandates. The coercion by the Watertown School Committee, Superintendent and Teachers Union is unconscionable. Forcing the WPS employees to choose between this injection and their job is total manipulation, and such a mandate completely eliminates your employees ability to give true consent.
I have a few questions to ask the School Committee at their meeting this Monday November 8 at 7pm in the Town Hall. So far, the School Committee and Superintendent have ignored similar questions I posed to them twice this past week:
Will you pay workers compensation to any of the employees that are forced by your mandate to receive a vaccine if they become seriously injured? Will Watertown Public Schools and the Watertown Educators Association cover any medical or funeral costs that might occur for the healthy employees you are forcing to take this vaccine if they are harmed or die?
Sincerely yours,
Meghan O’Connell
Watertown resident since 2013
This is 100% lies, and I’m shocked that the Watertown News would print it.
Feel free to provide your objections or counterpoints
That is your responsibility as a journalist.
Will you print any content as “letter to the editor” no matter how wrong or misleading? If so, this may as well be Facebook.
Y’all should be ashamed to publish this opinion piece full of lies and misleading statements. You are not under any obligation to print a letter like this. Some people will think it is true and actually believe the statements made. Ssome will not understand that this is just one person’s opinion and opinions do not require facts. This is one of those opinions that throws the facts out the window. She is making a lot of this up. The paper should know that.
Bottom line, this is not our call. If this is the requirement to work in WPS, then it is the requirement. If an employee does not want up comply, they are free to seek employment elsewhere. Their choice.
Agreed. This is pathetic and irresponsible to post, and she didn’t even get the name of the superintendent right. Please stop spreading lies.
Which part is lies? The part where people have been harmed and have even died from the vaccine? Nope, not a lie, as I personally know several seriously harmed and VAERS itself shows deaths due to the COVID vaccine.
Or the part where WPS is manipulating its employees to put a potentially harmful chemical in their bodies by threatening to put them on unpaid leave? Also, sadly, not a lie.
Dear Meghan,
Stand your ground.
regards,
Elan
Just about your whole letter was a lie. The Pfizer vaccine was filly approved in August, first of all.
There is little to no evidence that the vaccines have made people sick or die. Millions have taken it with few to no side effects at all. We have not reached hetd immunity anywhere is this country. If we had, it would have be reported. This is the biggest lie you have told and very irresponsible. People will think this is a fact. when It is your opinion and there is nothing to back up your opinion.
Besides, it is not your call. The superintendent has every right to mandate vaccines or regular testing and stict mandates for those who refuse. Every business has employment requirements. This is one. Don’ t like it, you are free to find employment elsewhere.
The city of Watertown doesn’t have a state-issued licence to practice medicine, so they have no legal authority to make anyone take any FDA-regulated drug, including any of the Covid “vaccines” (actually an injection of RNA gene therapy).
This vaccine has proven to be more than safe. Not being vaccinated is more of a risk to the school community. It is that simple. If school employees do not want to be vaccinated, they can look for employment elsewhere.
No long term tests of these Covid vaccinations.
Their long term effects are not known.
They were rushed to market.
This may be understandable, but it does not prove they are safe.
They have not undergone the same rigorous testing standards that all other APPROVED vaccines have. All but one are still technically in clinical trials. Nobody should be forced to be a test in this experiment.
The Pfizer vaccine was fully approved on August 23, 2021. (See link to FDA press release below.) The Moderna vaccine has not yet received full approval. (See marketing status on DailyMed website below.)
https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-first-covid-19-vaccine
https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=e0651c7a-2fe2-459d-a766-0d59e919f058
ah yes, that is true– that one was approved. Moderna & J&J have not been.
The statistics quote in this letter actually counter the author’s claim – of over 200 million vaccines given, there have been only about 12,000 adverse events reported. That’s evidence that the vaccines are safe, not dangerous.
Even though adverse events are about as rare as a healthy person dying from COVID, would you force a person to take the vaccine who did not feel comfortable doing so?
All vaccines cause adverse effects and even deaths. Are you going to be the one to tell someone else what to put into their body, at the risk that it might harm them? Why is natural immunity suddenly non-existent?
Meghan…you go, girl!
Yes, the vaccines don’t permanently harm the majority of people that take them, but the fact that the vaccine can and has seriously harmed and killed some people means, to me, that it ethically should not be mandated for people to take. People must be able to choose for themselves if they want to put this new shot into their bodies.
This Disclaimer about VAERS Data shows why it should not be used the way the author of the piece used it.
“VAERS accepts reports of adverse events and reactions that occur following vaccination. Healthcare providers, vaccine manufacturers, and the public can submit reports to the system. While very important in monitoring vaccine safety, VAERS reports alone cannot be used to determine if a vaccine caused or contributed to an adverse event or illness. The reports may contain information that is incomplete, inaccurate, coincidental, or unverifiable. In large part, reports to VAERS are voluntary, which means they are subject to biases. This creates specific limitations on how the data can be used scientifically. Data from VAERS reports should always be interpreted with these limitations in mind. The strengths of VAERS are that it is national in scope and can quickly provide an early warning of a safety problem with a vaccine. As part of CDC and FDA’s multi-system approach to post-licensure vaccine safety monitoring, VAERS is designed to rapidly detect unusual or unexpected patterns of adverse events, also known as “safety signals.” If a safety signal is found in VAERS, further studies can be done in safety systems such as the CDC’s Vaccine Safety Datalink (VSD) or the Clinical Immunization Safety Assessment (CISA) project. These systems do not have the same scientific limitations as VAERS, and can better assess health risks and possible connections between adverse events and a vaccine.
Key considerations and limitations of VAERS data:
* Vaccine providers are encouraged to report any clinically significant health problem following vaccination to VAERS, whether or not they believe the vaccine was the cause.
* Reports may include incomplete, inaccurate, coincidental and unverified information.
* The number of reports alone cannot be interpreted or used to reach conclusions about the existence, severity, frequency, or rates of problems associated with vaccines.
* VAERS data is limited to vaccine adverse event reports received between 1990 and the most recent date for which data are available.
* VAERS data do not represent all known safety information for a vaccine and should be interpreted in the context of other scientific information.
VAERS data available to the public include only the initial report data to VAERS. Updated data which contains data from medical records and corrections reported during follow up are used by the government for analysis. However, for numerous reasons including data consistency, these amended data are not available to the public.”
Source of disclaimer: https://vaers.hhs.gov/data.html
Alright, yes, there is the disclaimer.
Even though they say reports “MAY include incomplete, inaccurate, coincidental and unverified information,” it does not preclude the reports from being non-coincidental or accurate, either.
I do believe that these reports should definitely be investigated completely and thoroughly to see what potential harms they may or may not be causing.
Apparently, most vaccines will cause adverse reactions and some have caused death, too. So it would not be unusual if the new COVID vaccine does the same.
The question is: who has the right to force someone else to take a vaccine, knowing full well it could potentially harm them?
To answer your question, I suggest you read the Supreme Court decision of
“JACOBSON v. MASSACHUSETTS.”
Here is the primary source link: https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/usrep/usrep197/usrep197011/usrep197011.pdf
And after that read Supreme Court Decision in JOHN DOES 1–3, ET AL. v. JANET T. MILLS, GOVERNOR OF MAINE, ET AL.
here is the primary source link for that one:
https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/21a90_6j37.pdf
The only actual data here is without context. VAERS reports any deaths within a certain period after getting the vaccine, but doesn’t attribute cause unless it’s explicitly not from the vaccine (car accident, etc); that means that while some of those deaths may well be linked, others are almost certainly entirely coincidental. But more importantly, you didn’t provide a percentage. 8000 deaths sounds like a lot until you realize that it’s less than 0.0022 of the recipients, hugely below many numbers (including your chances of death if you catch COVID unvaccinated).
Everything else in this email, including your “family members,” is pure anecdote. Can’t imagine why the Superintendent and Committee are ignoring you.
The chances of death for people under 34 from covid is the same, under 1%.
People who don’t want to take the experimental vaccine are making a choice about their own health. Most people who felt they were at risk have taken the shot by now.
So why do you want to force healthy people who are most likely already immune to covid to take this vaccine? Who would that benefit?
On the flip side, vaccines in general are known to cause harm and death in a small portion of the population, which is why contacts with pharma companies preclude them from being sued when (not if) someone is harmed by their product.
Are you comfortable making someone take an injection that may cause them serious harm or death, when they otherwise would have been healthy and alive?
It’s “Unconstitutional”. Get yourself an ACLU lawyer and sue the crap out of em. This virus kills mostly elderly and immune compromised people.. so don’t make your problem my problem!!! People have a “RIGHT” to not get the vaccine. Bravo, stand your ground and don’t cave to societies little dinks!!!!!!
I don’t work for WPS anymore (left years ago). But I do hope the employees there will stand up for themselves and their colleagues.
Pretty soon it will be the kids they are requiring to take this “emergency use” vaccine…. even though kids have a virtual zero chance of harm from the virus.
What will happen when parents don’t want to experiment on their children? Or when kids with disabilities do not qualify to receive the shot? Are they all just going to be kicked out of school?
Forcing employees to accept invasive medical procedures under duress is an extremely dangerous precedent to establish.
You might want to research the ACLU’s stance on mandates before you suggest recruiting them.
“Do vaccine mandates violate civil liberties? Some who have refused vaccination claim as much.
We disagree.
At the ACLU, we are not shy about defending civil liberties, even when they are very unpopular. But we see no civil liberties problem with requiring Covid-19 vaccines in most circumstances.”
Ms. O’Connell is correct.
The hardcore push for vaccinations long ago became nothing but a *political power play* by the Left to show its muscle and coercive capabilities. In other words, submit to us or else.
How do we know this?
Because the Left has not shown even the tiniest bit of concern that illegal immigrants are pouring over the border by the hundreds of thousands and even millions, and there are barely any checks to see if they have Covid (or any other disease) or have had the Covid vaccinations.
One wonders if they’re even vaccinated for the older vaccinations all we Americans have had.
Moreover, these illegal immigrants are bused and flown around the country and let loose into the general American population without having received a Covid vaccination.
Ever heard a Democrat publicly worry about this or do something about it? No, you have not.
In fact, these illegal immigrants are lawbreakers but the Democrats really don’t care, whereas if you are a citizen and break the vaccination orders of the government you are a bad person and will lose your job.
You see the double standard. Even the Federal government itself is breaking immigration laws.
Also consider that every “Sanctuary City” is official inviting in unvaccinated people, and yet it does not bother the Democrats one bit.
The hypocrisy is stunning.
“None are so blind as those who refuse to see.”
Anybody who thinks people are lying for talking about the serious side effects they’ve gotten from the covid vaccine can see for themselves the many healthcare provider or client reports that have been submitted about the vaccine here:
https://www.medalerts.org/vaersdb/index.php
It’s an easier way to search the VAERS database and it also shows the actual doctors or clients notes about the symptoms.
I’m not making stuff up, folks.
I fully support free speech and respect when others have differing opinions. However, it is irresponsible of Watertown News to not post other factual information with this article given how misleading this opinion is. Like one of the commenter’s above noted, it is quite easy to see what science-based websites explain regarding VAERS data . . . in fact, it’s in the FIRST sentence of their website. We should all do our homework before posting misleading information, including the author and the publisher. Lastly, it is no coincidence that public and private organizations across the country are following a similar path of vaccine mandates. That is because it is proven to save lives of individuals – both those who have the vaccine and those who are unable to.
You are absolutely right that it is no coincidence that public and private organizations are mandating the vaccine. A lot of manipulation has happened to get us to this point.
It is also no coincidence that former FDA workers have gone on to work for pharmaceutical companies.
“In fact, 9 out of the last 10 FDA commissioners—representing nearly four decades of agency leadership—have gone on to work for pharmaceutical companies.
On its own, Gottlieb’s move from FDA commissioner to Pfizer board member isn’t necessarily a problem for the FDA. There’s nothing illegal about the move… However, when it happens again and again—as it has for the past 38 years—it raises the specter of conflict of interest. The perception of a so-called “revolving door”—a chummy agreement between big drug companies and the regulators who approve their products for sale—undermines trust in the FDA.”
https://qz.com/1656529/yet-another-fda-commissioner-joins-the-pharmaceutical-industry/
The amount of conflict of interest involved in everything surrounding this vaccine is pretty incredible, if you choose to look into it.
Conflict of interest? Don’t go down that road considering the last administration that was in the Oval Office. Or the amount of characters currently holding office in congress.
All good reply’s to the letter.
My question is why would someone go so far out of their way to misconstrue the facts?
There are forces both outside and inside the country who are convincing vulnerable minds that the government is out to harm them for no reason.
It is absolutely reasonable to question if something put out by the government is true or not. After all the T-Rump administration not only let the virus into the country and then spread it around, but they hindered the CDC from doing anything about it. All the damage resulting from Covid-19 was because of government failure to act. Mandates save lives. Mandates help restore a functional economy. This is why they need to be used. It’s not an attack on liberty. Just the opposite. It’s to protect our liberties. Megan, I hope you will see that.
I want to know when natural immunity and herd immunity suddenly became non-existent.
If as many people are taking the new vaccine as the CDC shows (believe it was around 67% recently) and most people have already been infected by covid and majority recovered (again based on CDC stats), then it would stand to reason that we are well past the pandemic phase by now. So why force people to try this new vaccine who do not want it or need it?
One comment per story unless you sign your full name
It is insufficient and disingenuous to state “Feel free to provide your objections or counterpoints” as a response to false news. By not making it clear that the the “information” and “facts” are false lends a certain credence to them. Responsible journalism means refuting disinformation or misinformation, not brushing it aside. .At a bare minimum, this kind of screed demands printing countervailing information. I expect better from the Watertown News.
A reminder, only one comment per story if you don’t sign your full name.
I am quite worried about the notion that somebody with such a poor understanding of data and science, and such deficient reasoning skills would be teaching our kids.
Okay, now do the VAERS data vs. actual COVID
I was under the impression that every life had to be saved from the deadly disease…. Hence why lockdowns, isolation and total economic destruction occurred.
But we don’t care about the lives that will be ruined or taken by the vaccine?
Got it.
Look, a lot of this conversation comes down to philosophical queries, which basically are impossible to answer correctly because we all will have a different idea of what is “right,” “good,” “just,” etc.
People who don’t want a vax know they are potentially risking serious harm and even death by a wild virus. Do people know they are risking the same by the vaccine?
And if a person is naturally immune to a disease, why would they have to take a vaccine?
All questions to ponder…
I do not agree with the editorial judgment that allowed this column to be published. You are giving a mouthpiece to misconstrued information taken out of context during a public health crisis. When someone yells “fire” in a crowded movie theater, they can be prosecuted. The same should apply to anyone who spreads misinformation.
Please correct me if I am wrong but in science, I believe every single piece of data is supposed to be investigated in order to discover the truth. If people are pretending like there is zero harm being caused by the vaccine, then those people cannot claim to be believers in science.
I am correcting you. You ARE wrong! You don’t investigate rumors or outliers or conspiracy theories and treat them like real science!!!! Listen to mainstream science, get vaccinated, and knock it off!
This entire feed and conversation is infuriating. How can you argue that the risks of this vaccine are worse than this deadly pandemic that has already killed far more than 750,000 people in the USA?
Worldwide, scientists has studied, investigated and responded to this pandemic with . . . . Yes, vaccines! Vaccines and a tremendous amount of new knowledge, all of which is confirming that people should not get infected with this virus. You clearly do not understand anything about what you are arguing about, so best to stop spreading uninformed misinformation. There is already a tremendous amount of truth and knowledge about Covid-19 and vaccines generated by the scientific community. If you do not understand all of the clear scientifc findings that are publicly available, ask someone who does understand to explain it to you.
If you are so against medicine, I hope that you do not clog up already busy clinics, doctor’s offices and hospitals by expecting them to take care of you after you scorn science and spread conspiracy theories.
Agree with other responders here. Knock it off!
If we are to have freedom of speech, opposing thoughts to taking the vax should definitely be posted. The mainstream media is so in the tank for the big Pharma companies because they get so much advertising money from them. If you do watch the mainstream TV news and shows, keep track of how many times they say for example, this is brought to you by Pfizer or some of the other big ones – too numerous to mention. Sad to say many of our legislators also receive a huge portion of their campaign finances from big Pharma, so they are easily swayed to go along with whatever drugs they want to push. Fauci’s involvement with the gain of function experiments in the Wuhan lab have been brought forth and there is proof, but again you won’t hear of all the proof because of all the interconnected media and reps in Congress. Hopefully this info will come forth and force him to either resign or be indicted for his crimes against humanity, especially for his deadly experiments on orphans and Beagle puppies. No one is reporting the actual bad effects on thousands of people either in our newspapers or TV; they don’t want people to be aware of all the facts so that they can make their own informed choice. Big Pharma is making billions of dollars on pushing their “so-called” vaccines and giving kickbacks to promote them. I heard recently that Canada has ordered enough of the vaccines to go through 2024 and are getting a kickback on each one. The incentives to push the vaccines is coming from too many of these companies and congress. It would be interesting to see how many of our congressional reps have bought stocks in these companies. Did you know that members of Congress, White House staff and criminals in jail are not mandated to take the shots, but jail house guards are required to take them. Does that make a lot of sense?? And as mentioned, the illegals forcing their way across the borders are not given them either before they are shuttled around the country in the dead of night, causing more infections wherever they are landed. The inequity of the vaccine mandates is horrific. We are making our dedicated nurses, police and fire personnel, teachers and so many others who put themselves out there during the height of the pandemic make critical decisions on their livelihoods if they refuse to take the jab. We are changing them from heroes to zeros. What a great way to thank them for their caring for us – right? There are many treatments available at a much lesser cost, but we wouldn’t want to interfere with the profits people are making on the newest treatments being offered at much higher prices, would we? Open your minds, people. Don’t be sheeple believing the government is always here to help you.
Dear editors of Watertown News — you have officially turned your publication into a NextDoor thread. Congratulations.
Lets get down to the nitty gritty. The vaccine isn’t stopping the spread of the virus! We all know there have been adverse reactions the only argument is how many and is it worth the risk. The plain reality is that this vaccine isn’t stopping the spreas of the viris. The latest statistics for 2 weeks in October show in MA 44% and 38% of people testing positive are already vaxed. So what’s the scientific point of making every get the shot? We were told when this was rolled out we could get herd immunity. We now know that’s not true. Vaxed people carry the same viral load as unvaccinated people. So if isn’t stopping the spread, what’s the reason for the mandate? This makes zero sense and it’s saddening that people want to exert power of others just because they can. A study out of Columbia university suggest 100 million people in this country have already had COVID and we know now that they possess a stronger broader range of protection than the vaccinated. They don’t need the shot either. These strong arm tactics are unnecessary and unethical.
It is slowly being revealed that it is true that vaccinated people do carry the virus and are capable of spreading it. So if they are also spreading it, this is not helping to control the virus. Did you all know that Biden also exempted the post office employees from taking the jab? Could it be because the postal union endorsed Biden when he was running for office? As the saying goes, “Rules for Thee but not for Me”. Sadly, that’s how the government now rolls. We don’t know the long-term effects of these experimental vaccines and people should be allowed to make their own decisions on their health. If they’ve had COVID, they have natural immunities and their is evidence now that those immunities might help with other future viruses. The vaccines are temporary as admitted by the government. Some people have medical reasons, such as retinal implants and others to avoid the vaccines. For them not to have a choice is against our fundamental rights.
This thread is filled with misinformation and does not serve the purpose of an enlightened public debate.
Unfortunately, certain Americans, under the guise of Freedom of Speech, are spreading politically motivated propaganda. They make assertions without vetting the “facts” they present. Their “facts” are designed to sow division and chaos. They are harming our nation and our communities. It is patently irresponsible.
To my fellow Watertowners: Please get your information from reliable sources that uphold journalistic standards of proof. Our country is being damaged by misinformation that spreads like wildfire in the internet era.
I stand with the commenters demanding the end to body autonomy and will put my boot on the neck of any child we want to force vaccinate. As of November 576 children in the 0-17 age group have died since January 2020. That is 0.0007% of all deaths. If we don’t protect the age groups already eligible for free vaccinations and able to mask up on top, then what are we really doing! Let’s gather in the streets together and hunt down the unwashed among us.
It is wonderful that different points of view are expressed and published. So many who against this letter think their opinion is the only one that matters. I am sure it is difficult to read this person’s concern when you are so much smarter (attitude is loud and clear). Many people have concerns about treatments in healthcare and it should be encouraged. Why is there not testing for antibodies to COVID-19 after exposure (done without diseases) to cancel out the need for the vaccine and why is the list of potential side effects not allowed to be even discussed as so many of the readers here suggest.
There is a big difference between opinion and science based fact. Kyrie Irving thinks the Earth is flat. That is his opinion. But it has been scientifically proven to be untrue.
The preponderance of medical opinion says that vaccination will help us end this pandemic. While I am sure the science on this and other viruses will be evolving for years and perhaps decades, at this time I am inclined to listen to medical professionals and not Tucker Carlson.
Thank you, Mary.
I’m truly amazed at how many people think I’m just making up lies and/or am stupid for disagreeing with a medical mandate and for trying to warn people about the potential serious side effects that mainstream media won’t talk about.
This thread is a Qanon feeding frenzy, as is the pile of lies and idiocy O’Connell calls a letter.
At what point will Charlie Breitrose take accountability for his actions?
at what point are you going to actually tell us which part of my letter is lies? and then show proof to refute it?
From the VAERS website itself:
VAERS data are from a passive surveillance system and represent unverified reports of health events that occur after vaccination.
VAERS data should be used with caution as numbers and conditions do not reflect data collected during follow-up. Note that the inclusion of events in VAERS data does not infer causality.
Would you believe a doctor who was injured by the vaccine? If you are open to reading these testimonies from physicians, look at this compilation of letters that was recently submitted to the FDA, CDC and HHS by a law firm.
https://www.sirillp.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Letter-on-Behalf-of-Physicians-Regarding-Covid-19-Vaccine-Injuri-fee0f6941b97b076398c4e8607f573b0.pdf
For goodness sakes, lay off the Watertown news and Charlie Breitrose.
This is letter to the editor and should be printed. Mr Breitrose is no more of a medical expert than those commenting about this letter. He cannot and should not assess the medical validity of all submitted opinions. This paper allows people to express their opinions as it should. Trying to stop discussion by declaring that a differing opinion is ‘misinformation’ limits the free exchange of information and the possibility that one side can be convinced with opposing facts that they are incorrect. Furthermore, assuming that people go to the Letters to the Editor section of the Watertown news for their definitive medical information is misguided in my opinion.
A free exchange of ideas and opinions is a healthy thing and we should have more of it. Keep up the good work Mr Breitrose! It is much appreciated.
On this, we agree. Despite the nonsense this letter attempts to present as “facts”, Charlie did the right thing by printing it. And the deluge of medical and scientific data posted in response shows clearly how crazy the original letter’s assertions are!
I love all the scientists, lawyers, and doctors in this thread!!!!
Meghan, I’m sorry to hear 3 of your family members developed Poly Mialga Rhumatica. All of you have my sympathy. I hope they recover completely and quickly.
Unfortunately the anti-vax movement is driven by fear. This is the LCD. The brain says “If we ignore facts, then maybe the situation will disappear, and I will not be reminded of my mortality.” One cannot argue against it because fear is more powerful than most things, and is at the root of many other things. Fear is the easiest thing to weaponize and the hardest thing to overcome. Sadder still is 750,000 Americans are dead. Others will face lifetime disabilities. And there will be a resulting mental health crisis that we have only seen glimpses of through the experiences of the front-line workers. This saddest part is that a lot of this was preventable. We really failed to take care of our own.
You’re free to make your point, but a couple little things:
– As many have said, the VAERS data is unvalidated, and isn’t a good measure to judge vaccination risk by. .02% of vaccinations did not result in death, as the VAERS data suggests. That is wildly skewed – it would mean 3.8 million Americans would have died from the vaccine. You’d know if 3.8 million Americans had died from the vaccine.
– Even using the skewed VAERS data, the risk of death by COVID to the unvaccinated would STILL be much higher than the risk of death by vaccination. You cherry picked a statistical defense of this above, but you didn’t go by risk to the unvaccinated, you limited it to younger age, and you tried to say under 1% is the same as .02%. It isn’t a convincing argument, especially when it is made with such obviously skewed data to begin with.
I actually think we are already pretty safe with our relatively high voluntary vaccination rate, and I am not enthusiastic about forcing vaccines on everyone. But the riskier decision is clearly to remain unvaccinated, and I think your fear of vaccination is more overblown than fears about Covid resurgence in schools.