Letter to the Editor

To the Editor:

If vaccines are the only way to get rid of this horrible disease – and they are – we all need to get vaccinated.

I can remember being in a church basement when I was little and getting the Salk vaccine to prevent polio. People got vaccinated then not only to protect themselves, but to protect others. That’s one of the reasons my husband and I were vaccinated. We are caregivers for my 92-year-old mother-in-law. But there are other reasons. My husband is high risk. I could be as well: I’m an asthmatic and if I were to have breathing problems, I probably wouldn’t be here anymore.

We were going to have our school reunion in person this year for the classes of 1940 through 1978 but decided not to do it. There’s too much risk for people in that age group, who could get COVID-19 in a big, crowded room because not everyone would be wearing masks.

If I am told to wear a mask, I will, and so will our employees. It’s the neighborly thing to do to keep everyone around us safe because we can’t be sure if the people around us are vaccinated.

Please consider getting vaccinated – for crying out loud, it’s free. We have seen people dying because of something they could have prevented. I don’t want to see that happen to anyone else in our community. This is something you can’t see and you don’t know when and if it is going to hit you. And for those of you who are vaccinated, please talk to your family and friends about getting vaccinated, too.

Thank you for listening.

Mary Ann Jackson, Bladensburg