Wednesday, September 1, 2021
A4
OPINION
VOICE of the CHIEFTAIN
Getting the
vaccine is
worth a look in
light of spike
H
ere we go again.
Events are starting to fall
by the wayside for the second
year in a row in the wake of coronavi-
rus. In just the past two weeks, Juni-
per Jam, Oregon’s Alpenfest and Hells
Canyon Mule Days are among the can-
cellations. Events at the Josephy Cen-
ter have been altered, too, as have
sporting events. It’s likely more may
be on the way.
The cases, as we have written in this
publication, are coming at a rate not
yet seen in Wallowa County during the
pandemic. The month of August alone
has been the worst of the pandemic.
The Oregon Health Authority’s Aug.
2 report (which would have included
any reported cases in the final two
days of July and the first of August)
had one case, which put the county at
239.
Since then, there have been 166
cases, with single days seeing the
count as high as 16.
By comparison’s sake, there were
more cases during the month of
August 2021 than there were from
the time the first case was reported in
April 2020 through late-April 2021.
There have also been more since
July 19, when the county reported its
200th case, as there had been prior to
that day.
Worse is hospitals statewide are
being filled to the brim, and COVID-
19 is the major reason. Hospitals
statewide are more than 90% full,
and 1,120 of those patients have
COVID-19.
There’s no disputing the numbers.
What has been in dispute since it
came out in December has been the
COVID-19 vaccine and what people
are to do.
This publication has been consistent
in its stance that it ultimately is the
right of each individual to make that
decision — to jab or not jab — and to
be well-informed when doing so.
We still stand by those points, and
as such, are not fans of mandates that
force people with concerns to either
get the shot or lose their job. We are
glad there are exemptions for those
with medical concerns or religious
convictions.
But, we would also encourage those
who have not yet received a shot to, at
the very least, look into it. Even those
who, to this point, have been staunchly
against it.
When researching, though, don’t
just listen blindly to talking heads in
the media. Look at the data. Talk to a
doctor or nurse. Review what is on the
CDC website. Read a medical publica-
tion such as the New England Journal
of Medicine. Weigh the risks.
Then decide.
This is not a push to say “do it.” We
are not here to tell you what to do or to
be the mouthpiece of the OHA, beat-
ing their drum and pushing everyone
to get vaccinated. We are simply say-
ing, given the unprecedented spike and
the hospital resources being tapped,
it’s worth considering.
LETTERS to the EDITOR
Early warning system a
better solution
In response to a thoughtful letter
by Evan Bryan concerning south-end
evacuation plans of the lake, I want
to argue that to funnel traffic involv-
ing large RVs, camping trailers and rigs
pulling boats over Lake Shore Road (a
road already busy in summer with local
and short-term rental traffic, a roadside
there used for parking docks, trailers
and numerous cars) is a lack of local
awareness and reasonable planning.
Lake Shore Road has narrow pas-
sages, drops steeply at its northern end
and then joins Old Ski Run Road with
more traffic. The road then proceeds
toward town through a series of 15
mph, 90-degree turns, another bottle-
neck. How would any emergency vehi-
cle called to Lake Shore Road to fight
fire, etc. possibly have access?
It seems absurd to insist that a multi-
million dollar road rebuild is more log-
ical than implementing a modern ear-
ly-warning system and an evacuation
plan over two lanes of good road to the
east.
The main benefactors of road
rebuilding will be contractors and an
asphalt batch plant!
Boyd McAvoy
Joseph
Mandates are nonsensical,
require scrutiny
The recent mask and vaccine man-
dates issued by the state of Oregon are
nonsensical and require intense scru-
tiny by the public. It is at this time that
many of us are questioning our ability
to stand firm in the face of social cas-
tigation and, potentially, legal reper-
cussions for refusing to kowtow to the
authoritarian regime.
This is no longer a discussion about
public health. If masks work, we can
mask. If vaccines work, those who
want to protect themselves have that
option. The personal choice to vacci-
nate based on preference and risk tol-
erance has been taken from us and is
being wielded as a political tool to
demand conformity, and I for one will
have none of it.
If we are unable, or unwilling, to
come together as a community in
defense of the liberties of our fellow
community members and countrymen,
we will see this overreach of power
extend much further than it has already.
“First they came for the communists,
and I did not speak out — because I
was not a communist; Then they came
for the socialists, and I did not speak
out — because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade union-
ists, and I did not speak out — because
I was not a trade unionist; Then they
came for the Jews, and I did not speak
out — because I was not a Jew; Then
they came for me — and there was no
one left to speak out for me.” — Martin
Niemöller, 1946
Rebecca Patton
Enterprise
Mandates are more than a
‘local issue’
In reference to the opinion page
“Voice of the Chieftain” on Aug. 18, I
EDITORIALS: Unsigned editorials are the opinion of the Wallowa County Chieftain editorial board. Other
columns, letters and cartoons on this page express the opinions of the authors and not necessarily that of
the Wallowa County Chieftain.
LETTERS: The Wallowa County Chieftain welcomes original letters of 400 words or less on public issues
and public policies for publication in the newspaper and on our website. The newspaper reserves the
right to withhold letters that address concerns about individual services and products or letters that
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VOLUME 134
would like to offer an alternate opin-
ion (everyone is entitled to an opin-
ion). Mask mandate is more than just a
“local issue” — it is a national health
issue impacting almost everyone. Nor
is it a partisan issue. There are exam-
ples of mandates addressing the health
and safety of the nation such as seat
belts, no smoking in public places, pre-
scriptions required for drugs, etc.
The Journal of the American Medi-
cal Association reviewed data from 10
previous studies conclude mask wear-
ing substantially reduces spread of
coronavirus. Overall, the authors found
mask wearing’s main benefit is source
control, which protects others by reduc-
ing the number of respiratory droplets
released, rather than respiratory pro-
tection, which protects the wearer. In
a publication of the Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences of the
U.S., researchers poured over at least
150 other studies, models and findings
to draw their conclusion: “The avail-
able evidence suggests that near-uni-
versal adoption of nonmedical masks
when out in public, in combination
with complementary public health mea-
sures, could successfully reduce virus
reproduction.”
Wallowa County is not immune from
the pandemic. When facts and science
are ignored in favor of misinforma-
tion from unqualified sources, are local
officials acting irresponsibly? Masks
are proven to protect the public. And
yes, it is unfair to place students and
school officials in a conflicting situa-
tion when local officials assume a per-
sonal agenda.
David Ebbert
Enterprise
Editor, Ronald Bond, rbond@wallowa.com
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