Vaccines defeat killers
Many people equate avoiding the covid vaccines to their freedom as a citizen. Their right to choose. I can see their point.
However, let's not forget the great freedom we all have enjoyed for many decades. The freedom from polio, smallpox and many other terrible illnesses. This freedom is due to vaccines used to defeat these killers. Covid vaccines are no different.
Think about it! And good health to you and your loved ones.
JEFF TAYLOR
Little Rock
Just get vaccinated
Was President Donald Trump trying to kill Americans? What a ridiculous question.
Well, was he trying to get us to put government microchips inside our bodies? That is crazy talk.
OK, then, why was he so insistent on getting a covid vaccine developed? Because he knew how deadly the pandemic was turning. He also knew this country's history on go-slow rules and regulations and how that could make it years before we'd get a vaccine we need right now. That's why he pushed "Warp Speed"--and should maybe get the Medal of Freedom for accomplishing that goal in time nobody thought remotely possible.
Then, why are the vaccines President Trump warp sped to availability now treated like an enemy invasion?
That question is far above my thinking grade. This isn't: Our own state and our neighbor directly north are sadly some of the worst in the nation in lack of vaccinations taken and in recent increase in infections. And nationwide, something north of 98 percent of all new hospitalizations and deaths are people who have not had their shots.
Our own Republican governor--and the one in Utah--are breaking ranks and urging their "red" states to get the shots.
And the other night I saw Sean Hannity say that he's had the shots and thinks that's what we should do.
There are many things to express our political disagreements about. Lifesaving vaccines should not be one of them. Fight political/ideological battles on other grounds--not on one that's so obviously stacked against all mankind if we allow it to be.
Get vaccinated. Please ...
GEORGE SEGRAVES
Diamond City
Show shots' benefits
Every time I see a TV story about getting a covid vaccine, the video shows a bare arm with someone jabbing a needle into flesh. Sometimes the jab looks pretty hard.
No one likes to get a shot, but in the case of the covid vaccines, I think it is a very good idea. My husband and I got our vaccines as soon as possible.
If the TV or newspaper story showed happy people going to a movie or visiting grandkids again, that would show the benefits of protecting yourself or others by getting the shot, not the brief unpleasant prick in your arm.
JANET CLEARY
Tumbling Shoals
For the safety of all
For nearly 40 years I have enjoyed playing music weekly with a group of friends numbering as high as 40 people at times. Recently the question of how to conduct ourselves during the pandemic has become a bone of contention, so two physicians and two registered nurses in the group have come up with the following guidelines:
1.) To attend a session of the music group you must confirm that you have been vaccinated. Please be prepared to respond without rancor or argument. It's not a hard question; yes or no will answer it. This is not a topic for debate. It's the way it is. If you've not been vaccinated for any reason, do not come. You will not be welcome.
Note: Refusal to confirm or deny vaccination will be considered a "no." In fact, refusing to confirm when you have been vaccinated is, in some ways, worse, and will stand as a poor testament to your degree of empathy and integrity.
The following are a matter of trust. We will assume you have the honesty and integrity to conform with the following on your honor:
2.) If you have fever you will not attend.
3.) If you are actively sneezing or coughing, these are respiratory symptoms and you will not attend.
4.) If you've been exposed to a possible covid sufferer, you will not attend for 10 days.
Thank you all for your attention, and I hope and trust all is well with each of you.
GENE REID
Little Rock
Comparison merited
Dana Kelley's column last Friday argues that Republican voting laws are needed for fraud protection and should not be compared to Jim Crow laws of the past as President Biden has done. What he does not say is that there was no evidence of widespread fraud in 2020 after multiple recounts in several states and 60-plus court cases. Even Arizona cannot find any evidence after months of staring at ballots and tearing apart voting machines. So why all this fraud legislation?
Another thing he fails to mention is that it seems every new Republican law passed makes it more restrictive than in 2020, hence the comparison to Jim Crow-era laws. I believe the real reason for all this nonsense is that The Donald lost by almost 8 million votes, and thus the need for The Big Lie.
What is dangerous for democracy is new laws in some states that give Republican legislatures the power to overturn an election. For this reason alone, the Electoral College should be abolished.
ED PARKS
Rogers