Editor:
Re: Vaccine card is divisive, Sept. 2.
I would like to respond to a PAN letter claiming that the proposed “vaccine card is divisive” and “a direct violation of our Charter of Rights and Freedoms.”
During the past several weeks there have been up to 800 new, daily infections, with a majority of those in people who are unvaccinated.
Even fully vaccinated people can be asymptomatic. There have been protests recently against wearing masks inside and being vaccinated at several provincial health facilities where healthcare workers have been treating COVID patients, most of whom have chosen not to be vaccinated; this is disrespectful to front-line workers and hazardous for patients.
Having a vaccine passport is a civic responsibility which saves lives, similar to having a driver’s licence, wearing a helmet on a motorbike and bicycle, using a seatbelt in a car and stopping at pedestrian crossings and stop signs. Our health authorities have determined wearing a mask and being vaccinated are public-safety issues. It is puzzling how some can rationalize individual freedom over public concerns.
Dr. Bonnie Henry called COVID-19 a “pandemic of the unvaccinated.”
The longer the public is not vaccinated (exceptions being medical reasons and children), the more likely COVID variants will develop which are even more aggressive. Is it really worth the individual and collective risk not to follow health regulations?
A. Leering, White Rock
