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Wednesday, February 3, 2021 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
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A bit of winter…
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We cannot win
‘war against COVID’
By Wyatt Woods
Guest Columnist
PHOTO BY JERRY BALDOCK
The Three Sisters put on their winter coat — but so far things have remained pretty mild and dry down
on the flats. The forecast doesn’t hold much in the way of new snowfall.
Letters to the Editor…
The Nugget welcomes contributions from its readers, which must include the writer¾s name, address and
phone number. Letters to the Editor is an open forum for the community and contains unsolicited opinions
not necessarily shared by the Editor. The Nugget reserves the right to edit, omit, respond or ask for a
response to letters submitted to the Editor. Letters should be no longer than 300 words. Unpublished items
are not acknowledged or returned. The deadline for all letters is 10 a.m. Monday.
To the Editor:
Yesterday I experienced us at our best.
Because of my age, I qualified for a
COVID vaccination. We were given clear,
explicit instructions on how to find the site
(fairgrounds). When we arrived, though the
line of cars was long, there was clear signage
and both National Guard and volunteer aides.
The lines were orderly and there was an assis-
tant at each junction. The person who adminis-
tered my shot appeared to be about my age but
she had volunteered as <it was the right thing
to do.=
This is our community at its best. This
could be every community. Ours is a rich
country 4 rich in resources, rich because of
our diversity (ethnic, sexual orientation, even
our differing perspectives re: policy). But our
virulent internal divisiveness will keep us from
EVER being great.
Janice Druian
s
s
s
To the Editor:
The business community is so important to
Sisters9 economy, but climate change brings
extremely dry conditions extending and exac-
erbating fire season, which threaten normal
life and business operations here. That9s why
See LETTERS on page 12
Sisters Weather Forecast
Courtesy of the National Weather Service, Pendleton, Oregon
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
AM Snow Showers
Partly Cloudy
Partly Cloudy
Sunny
40/24
46/31
47/29
51/31
Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Partly Cloudy
Partly Cloudy
Partly Cloudy
50/26
46/26
44/27
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It9s perfectly OK if some
people contract COVID.
There, I said it. Someone
needs to say it. Heck, a lot
of people need to say it out
loud so that the collective
mentality can evolve around
this disease.
Hold on! Don9t get all
riled up. I said that it9s
OK for some people to get
COVID. Not everyone.
Sure, COVID poses a
mortal threat to a certain
percentage of our popula-
tion. My 90-year-old grand-
mother may not make it
to her next birthday if she
got food poisoning, so she
should definitely avoid
contracting COVID. My
68-year-old mother has
Type 2 diabetes and some
other health conditions that
make her a pretty good tar-
get for COVID as well. It9s
possible that if she con-
tracted COVID, then she
may witness a lengthy hos-
pital stay or may eventually
become a victim of COVID.
My grandmother and
my mother are two lovely
ladies who should take daily
health precautions (wash-
ing hands, etc.) to avoid
infectious diseases, and
they should certainly get
a COVID vaccine as soon
as possible. Once readily
available, I suspect that we
will treat the COVID vac-
cine in the same manner
that we do the flu vaccine,
and those who choose to do
so will get their annual shot
(and yes, I realize it9s not a
flu, it9s not a cold 4 but it
is a virus).
Unfortunately, society
has drunk a strange Kool-
Aid served up by policy
makers who have focused
on herd immunity, primarily
through vaccination, as the
only solution to <winning
the war against COVID=
and as a requirement to
returning to something
resembling normal daily
life.
Please read this next
sentence very carefully and
then repeat it to yourself
and those around you: We
cannot win a war against
COVID.
Herd immunity is
unlikely to be achieved
for even a short period of
time. It is highly likely that
this disease will be a part
of most of our lives for
the distant future because,
like it9s closest viral rela-
tives, the common cold, it
mutates quickly. You have
likely read stories by now
about COVID variants pop-
ping up around the globe.
Today9s vaccines will prob-
ably be ineffective next year
and may be replaced annu-
ally by new vaccines that
would be effective against
new variants.
Now that vaccines are
becoming available, I feel
that we should focus our
efforts and public health
messaging to ensure that
vulnerable people such
as the elderly, immune-
compromised, and people
with serious pre-existing
health conditions have the
opportunity to become
vaccinated.
Afterward, there is no
reason that society should
not be able to return to <life
as usual= before COVID.
Politicians and policy-
makers will cater to our
collective thinking and cre-
ate policies to make them-
selves popular so that they
can get your vote. It became
popular to fight and win the
war on COVID. The man-
ner in which this war has
been carried out is having
a disastrous effect on the
economy and on people9s
abilities to work in order
feed their families. While
people stay holed up in
their homes ordering their
livelihoods off of Amazon,
businesses close their doors
daily 4 and permanently.
The war on COVID
sounds like valiant effort
and a brave fight to win, but
sadly the war is mere fic-
tion. Furthermore, any fight
to be won against COVID
requires money, real money
produced through a healthy
economy and an influx of
tax dollars.
Let9s change our think-
ing and dialogue around
COVID so that we witness
progressive policy change
that protects the right
people and witnesses the
return to the <old normal=
4 except with an annual
COVID shot at your local
pharmacy.
Opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the writer and
are not necessarily shared by the Editor or The Nugget Newspaper.