Letters to the Editor: Getting a dishonest faith-based vaccine exemption is ungodly
To the editor: Several things struck me as deeply flawed about the industry of bogus religious exemption certificates for people trying to evade COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
One, very few religions ban vaccines. Organizations that sell the “certificates” and copy-and-paste wording are not acting in a religious way. They are bowing to ignorance and greed.
Two, we have a pandemic roaring, and in California alone, 80,000 people have died of COVID-19. Getting vaccinated will end the pandemic; people should recognize this and not believe misinformation.
Three, we need firefighters, police officers, doctors, nurses and others who are first responders to be vaccinated. If they can’t do that, they should find another job.
Finally, perhaps we need to eliminate the religious exemption altogether. It is too often used as an excuse and is causing headaches for employers when they have much more important matters to address.
People, please support your family and your country, and get vaccinated.
Linda Randolph, Los Angeles
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To the editor: I understand that we are all tired of the pandemic and of wearing masks. But I fail to understand why so many people refuse to get vaccinated, despite the fact that the overwhelming majority of those who are now getting infected and hospitalized are precisely the people who refuse vaccination.
Without vaccines, smallpox would still be ravaging humanity, as would polio, childhood measles and many other potentially fatal diseases. Are the vaccine refusers simply misinformed or ignorant of the dangers? Do they consider themselves superior and immune? What is it?
I sometimes feel that the willfully unvaccinated who contract COVID-19 should be denied hospital care, but I cannot be so lacking in compassion. Would that the willfully unvaccinated could have such compassion for the rest of us and the healthcare workers who labor so tirelessly to save them.
Maureen Sheehy, Van Nuys
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To the editor: The Orange County Sheriff’s Department has maintained statistics on religious exemption requests it has granted. But it disavows knowledge of how many have been denied.
Could that anomaly reflect a potential lose-lose in releasing denial stats?
If the number of denials is too low, health-and-safety advocates will call for an investigation. If the number is too high, religiously affiliated law firms stand ready to wreak litigious havoc.
Might the sheriff find it expedient to abide willful ignorance on how many religious exemption requests it has denied?
Betty Turner, Sherman Oaks
