In search of COVID-friendly cafés
Re: “Café, gym look to defy B.C. vaccine edict,” Aug. 26.
I hope the TC will let us know about any other restaurants whose owners have no intention of following the COVID vaccine regulations.
I’m sure the 10 per cent who vehemently oppose vaccines will be pleased to know where they’re welcome. And the rest of us will be grateful to know which places we should avoid.
After all, we don’t know what other public-health regulations these restaurateurs can find excuses to ignore.
Liz Pogue
West Shore
Disappointed in our coverage
Re: “Café, gym look to defy B.C. vaccine edict,” Aug. 26.
Why would the Times Colonist give valuable front-page space to two non-compliant businesses with non-vaccinated owners?
You disappoint me.
Margaret Boardman
Victoria
Consider well-being of customers
Re: “Café, gym look to defy B.C. vaccine edict,” Aug. 26.
I find it irresponsible and unfortunate that the café and gym mentioned in this report would not be more interested in protecting the health and well-being of their customers and staff than the inconvenience and sensitivity of asking customers of their vaccination status.
I however appreciate them informing me and the public of their intentions so I can avoid patronizing their establishments.
John Martin
Nanaimo
Your choices bring consequences
The author of a recent letter offered the non sequitur that the government was relieving people of the right to do as they wished with their own bodies. This fallacy has been repeated ad nauseum.
It seems to me that those who drag out the “my body, my choice” mantra appear to believe that this position is a one-way street.
So, yes, you have the right to refuse to be vaccinated, however, we, on the other side of this coin, lay equal claim to our bodies, our choices, and our choices involve taking necessary steps and actions to ensure that our health remains secure.
Unfortunately for you and your side, we significantly outnumber you, so our actions are going to cause you and yours a good deal of inconvenience.
I am not going to go down the road of arguing, as many have, that with claim to rights comes responsibility. I am simply going to point out to you that choices entail consequences; but you and yours don’t want that.
You seem to expect, not just that there won’t be consequences to your decisions, but, more astonishingly, that there shouldn’t be any.
You seem to believe that you and yours should enjoy unfettered freedom to choose and act as you see fit, irrespective of the impact on the rest of us.
I can assure you that that is not the case; that if you find yourself being inconvenienced, blocked and frustrated, recognize that you have brought this on yourself.
So, go about your business, but do not rage like a spoiled child, who isn’t getting their way, when you run up against the front that the rest of us are erecting to protect ourselves.
Bruce Simmons
Duncan
The unvaccinated should stay at home
Re: “We’ve all been scared by the government,” letter, Aug. 26.
Sorry, but I don’t need the government to tell me that a respiratory virus responsible for the deaths of 4½ million people, and counting, is a scary bug.
Most reasonably intelligent people understand the threat this virus poses and have acted accordingly to protect themselves and those around them.
The letter-writer also stated that people have a right to do what they want with their own bodies. I agree to a point, but this right is not absolute and ends where your choices result in danger to others.
You don’t want to wear a mask, wash your hands or get vaccinated?
Great, no problem, but I suggest that it is you who needs to stay home and not the vast majority of the population who have acted responsibly and with consideration for their fellow Canadians.
You and those who share your views are a tiny minority and not in any way representative of informed public sentiment.
Len Dafoe
Nanoose Bay
Don’t confuse rights with privileges
Another letter was published regarding people’s rights to do what they want with their bodies and, although I don’t necessarily support all of the moves of the government during the covid pandemic, it does make me wonder how some people use the word “right.”
Maybe you’re correct regarding your own body, however is it a “right” to go to a concert, theatre or even a restaurant? Is that really a “right,” or is that a privilege?
Is it your “right” to fill ICUs and emergency departments and possibly have others’ surgeries and tests cancelled again? To have our health-care workers and support workers exhausted, mentally and physically?
Interesting that it’s always the comment that the people who are “scared” should stay home.
However, let’s change that to the people who are concerned and then wonder why, in a democracy, that the 74-plus per cent of people who have voted, by way of injection in the arm, are the ones who are expected to stay home?
So, again my question, are people talking about a “right” or are they talking about a privilege?
Gail Blais
Sooke
Freedom of choice vs. vaccine mandates
As a retired registered nurse, I have been carefully following the daily changes in COVID-19 news.
In my experience and practice, if a patient had an upcoming procedure, it was their physician’s responsibility or my responsibility to educate them on the reason for the procedure as well as the risks.
Then we acquired from the patient or guardian what is called an “Informed Consent.” Never did I coerce a patient to sign a consent against their will.
Now we have Dr. Bonnie Henry mandating vaccines for all or else our freedom will be taken away to enjoy the things we like to do.
Now, reluctant individuals are being coerced to get vaccinated. One has to wonder if this is an ethical move on the government’s behalf. Now, being vaccinated, they will have their freedom — not because of choice but of the fear that all freedoms will be taken away from them.
My concern is around our loss of making an informed consent and the freedom to do so. Will this become a regular action in other areas of our lives? Our freedom of choice must be protected.
Wendy Campbell
Saanich
Many health crises are avoidable
I am double vaccinated — I am not an “anti-vaxxer” or “conspiracy theorist.”
Vaccinated people can still get and carry COVID-19, presumably at a lower rate and with less risk of death. Even a 100 per cent vaccination rate will not result in “herd immunity.”
As the waves of this global pandemic roll on, the purpose of the vaccine is to reduce hospitalization rates so that medical staff can deal effectively with other daily health crises — many of which are preventable.
How many alcohol-related injuries, hospitalizations and deaths happen every day?
How many victims of big pharma (that has, for unfathomable profit, manufactured and perpetuated an opioid crisis for years) are being hospitalized repeatedly and are dying terrible deaths every day?
In 2018, 65 per cent of the Canadian population was overweight. How many people are clogging up our hospitals with preventable heart attacks, heart disease, strokes and diabetes every day?
The numbers we hear about COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths are scary, but are only one of the stressors on our health-care system.
I challenge Dr. Bonnie Henry and Health Minister Adrian Dix to include and compare the numbers on all preventable illnesses, hospitalizations and deaths in their daily reports so we get a better picture of the real threats to public health.
We would all benefit by reflecting and taking personal responsibility for our health and well-being instead of occupying our time with fear-mongering and finger-pointing.
Dianne Dennis
Saanich
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