Thomas Oatway | Vaccines, Budgets and Darwin

Letters to the Editor
Letters to the Editor
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Republicans in Congress are targeting discretionary spending, including the Centers for Disease Control, for budget cuts. This will put Americans at risk, especially when we get the next pandemic. And we will.

(As of the writing of this letter) COVID-19 cases are currently 102,171,644 in the U.S. The CDC lists the number of deaths as 1,103,615. This is about 1% chance of dying from COVID. Do not believe those who will advertise the chance of avoiding death as 99.4%. 

In Los Angeles County, the over-65 age group is well-protected from COVID. More than 95% have had one dose, 88.5% had the primary series, and 42% got their updated booster. Seniors have been pretty responsible except for getting their boosters. Nationally the death rate for long-term care residents is about 25%. There is no excuse for not fully vaccinating this demographic group.

Vaccines are estimated to have avoided 3 million COVID deaths in the U.S. Now there are two prominent Republicans who are vying to capture the anti-vax vote: Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis. Both have been caught on video advocating COVID vaccinations, which is unsurprising. Truth-telling is not a characteristic of “George Santos” Republicans.

You may hear claims that more vaccinated Americans are dying of COVID than the unvaccinated. Discount this claim. With more than 80% of Americans having had at least one shot, the numbers of unvaccinated individuals are a small minority of potential cases. And with the small percentage (15%) of those who received an updated Omicron booster, there is more opportunity for COVID to infect and kill in the vaccinated group. 

Finally, there are many more deaths of Republicans than Democrats from COVID since the introduction of vaccines in April 2021. Excess deaths attributed to COVID in Ohio and Florida are 76% higher for Republicans than Democrats. Darwin’s Theory is being proven correct (again).

Thomas Oatway

Valencia

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