Letter to the Editor: A Note to the Vaccine Doubting Thomases

I recently found vaccination records from when my family received polio vaccines. It took at least six years of receiving the vaccine before it was safe for us not to get polio. Polio is highly present in Afghanistan and Pakistan, and because so few are vaccinated, the disease continues to spread.

Because of vaccines, most of us don’t get measles, mumps or rubella. We are safe from the effects of chicken pox and shingles. Yes, there are some breakthrough cases, but not many.

Without the research of doctors and scientists, these diseases would still be here. Don’t be so quick to say they don’t know what they are doing. Every virus is a new virus, just like polio, and it takes time to understand the disease. That is why it took at least six years of receiving the polio vaccine before we were safe.

Please: If you haven’t received the COVID-19 vaccination, please do so. You will be helping to end the spread of this highly contagious virus. And the longer we resist doing this, the more it will continue to morph into new strains and continue to infect more people. This isn’t a political plea; it is a humanitarian request. 

And don’t forget those masks. It has been proven that masks help to protect you and those around you from getting this very smart virus. Let’s show this virus who is in charge!

Janet Johnson

Ellison Bay, Wisconsin