A4
THE ASTORIAN • SATuRdAy, SEpTEmbER 18, 2021
OPINION
editor@dailyastorian.com
KARI BORGEN
publisher
DERRICK DePLEDGE
Editor
Founded in 1873
SHANNON ARLINT
Circulation manager
JOHN D. BRUIJN
production manager
CARL EARL
Systems manager
OUR VIEW
The unvaccinated prolong the pain
ne of the small comforts of
the coronavirus pandemic
is knowing most people in
Clatsop County did the right thing
and got vaccinated.
The county’s 62% vaccination
rate places us in the top half of Ore-
gon counties and above the national
mark.
We should try to keep that prog-
ress in mind as we watch with frus-
tration while the unvaccinated pro-
long the pain.
Over the summer, the county
recorded the highest number of new
virus cases, hospitalizations and
deaths than at any point during the
pandemic.
Several of the virus deaths were
at care homes — places we knew
were the most vulnerable 18 months
ago.
The surge of virus cases driven by
the delta variant was mostly among
the unvaccinated, but it left a strain
across our health care system.
Columbia Memorial Hospital in
Astoria canceled elective surger-
ies. The hospital’s CEO said sev-
eral patients who did not have the
virus died because they could not be
transferred to other hospitals for spe-
cialized care.
We are certain our community
will look back at this summer with
regret.
Vaccines against COVID-19 have
been available to anyone who wants
one for months. Data show that peo-
ple who are vaccinated are far less
likely to get seriously ill or die from
the virus.
We are skeptical of government
mandates and believe people should
vigorously question authority. But
we also recognize expertise. The
overwhelming consensus among
public health and medical experts is
that the vaccines are safe and effec-
tive and harmful side effects are
rare.
In a country as large and diverse
as the United States, where individ-
ual liberty is cherished, we accept
that a sliver of our population is
unable to get vaccinated because of
O
Hailey Hoffman/The Astorian
A new survey found that 1 in 5 Oregonians don’t plan on getting vaccinated against COVID-19.
VACCINE mANdATES ARE EXTRAORdINARy
INTRuSIONS ON INdIVIduAL LIbERTy, buT WITH
THE uNVACCINATEd dRIVING A dEATH TOLL THAT
HAS SuRpASSEd 650,000 IN THE uNITEd STATES, THE
GOVERNmENT HAS AN ObLIGATION TO CONFRONT
THE pubLIC HEALTH RISKS TO EVERyONE.
medical reasons or unwilling to get
vaccinated because of sincerely held
religious beliefs.
But too many people have made
vaccine resistance an extension
of their political identities. A new
survey by the Oregon Values and
Beliefs Center found that 1 in 5 Ore-
gonians don’t plan to get vaccinated.
Like our politics, the dividing
lines over vaccines are often urban
and rural, blue and red, income and
education. At root, though, is a dis-
turbing assault on expertise.
Pushed to the edge of the cliff
by political opportunists who have
undermined trust in our institutions,
many jumped into the darkness of
misinformation and conspiracy.
As the virus spread on the North
Coast over the past several weeks,
we learned of loved ones, friends,
co-workers and familiar faces in our
neighborhoods who got sick. Some
were hospitalized. Some have died.
Our hearts tell us to absolve — to
understand that good people can be
led to bad water. Our heads tell us
absolution is not enough.
The U.S. Supreme Court, in
Jacobson v. Massachusetts, ruled in
1905 that states can enact compul-
sory vaccination laws to protect pub-
lic health. Cambridge had required
vaccination against smallpox during
an epidemic, but was challenged by
a minister who claimed his rights
were violated after he was fined for
refusing the vaccine. The court held
that individual liberty is not absolute
and does not outweigh the authority
of the state.
While we prefer that people
choose to get vaccinated against
COVID-19 — like most in our
county already have done — we
reluctantly agree with Gov. Kate
Brown and President Joe Biden
that vaccine mandates are neces-
sary. Brown’s order applies to health
care workers and teachers and staff
at K-12 schools. Biden’s direc-
tive covers businesses with 100 or
more workers, but allows workers to
choose weekly testing for the virus
over vaccination.
Vaccine mandates are extraordi-
nary intrusions on individual liberty,
but with the unvaccinated driving a
death toll that has surpassed 650,000
in the United States, the government
has an obligation to confront the
public health risks to everyone.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Unmentioned
U
nmentioned in Mark Mix’s guest col-
umn (The Astorian, Sept. 7) were
union details:
• higher pay
• 40-hour work week
• five-day work week
• holiday and sick leave pay
• overtime pay (1.5 regular pay after 40
hours per week)
• health care benefits
• Pension, retirement, life insurance
structures
• appropriate termination protections
• negotiators to address management
structure
Then Mix breathlessly declares: Oh
dear, union dues!
R.D. SMITH
Gearhart
Compare
uring World War II, the U.S. civil-
ian population supported the war
effort by reducing consumption of materi-
als needed by the military. This effort was
conducted through rationing: ration cou-
pon books were issued to families to con-
serve on food, shoes, metals, paper, tires,
cars and nylon.
Some personal freedom was postponed
to ensure the freedom of our nation.
Compare that support effort to the cur-
rent war effort against COVID-19. Anti-
mask and anti-vaccination fixations —
based on misinformation and fear — give
the enemy time and victims to transmog-
rify into perhaps a more lethal and even
more contagious variant.
Are you waiting for a COVID variant
that produces 50% mortality in the host
species?
DAVID FITCH
Astoria
D
Protect yourselves
’m certain that many of us have received
unwanted phone calls over the past nine
months. Whether they be spam, spoofing,
sales or charity, please continue to ignore
these calls by not picking up and engaging
the caller.
If you do not recognize the number,
let it go to voicemail. More often than
not, there will be no message left. This is
a nationwide scam network that has sto-
len millions of dollars from unsuspecting
citizens.
Be diligent and screen your calls. I have
received over 240 of these calls since last
January. Protect yourselves!
ROBERT POTTER
Astoria
I
LETTERS WELCOME
Letters should be exclusive to The Astorian. Letters should
be fewer than 250 words and must include the writer’s name,
address and phone number. You will be contacted to confirm
authorship. All letters are subject to editing for space, grammar
and factual accuracy. Only two letters per writer are allowed
each month. Letters written in response to other letter writers
should address the issue at hand and should refer to the head-
line and date the letter was published. Discourse should be civil.
Send via email to editor@dailyastorian.com, online at bit.ly/
astorianletters, in person at 949 Exchange St. in Astoria or mail
to Letters to the Editor, P.O. Box 210, Astoria, OR., 97103.