Letters to the Editor: Other countries have reduced COVID-19 deaths without a vaccine. Why won’t we?

To the editor: If pharmaceutical giant Pfizer’s experimental COVID-19 vaccine indeed proves to be 90% effective, thereby reducing deaths in the United States by that much, we’ll have similar death rates as Finland and Norway.

What kind of vaccine is being used there? None, but they enjoy governments and populations that act rationally by taking steps to protect themselves, their families and their neighbors.

Mark Tracy, Carlsbad

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To the editor: The media’s upchuck over the reported 90% efficacy of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine candidate is like saying Tiger Woods sank a 20-foot putt for a seven on the hole. Details, please.

The Pfizer vaccine is a new type of technology that’s never been used before. Dr. Jonas Salk announced his polio vaccine on national radio in March 1953. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration did not approve the vaccine until 1955.

Experts caution that questions remain about the experimental vaccine’s safety, its lasting effect and what groups may benefit the most or the least. That Pfizer says these questions may take up to two years to answer means we are looking at early 2023 until we know for sure about safety and efficacy.

That being the timeline should force us to acknowledge that daily COVID-19 deaths have stabilized for the past two months, and it’s time to reopen everything with no restrictions.

Bob Munson, Newbury Park

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To the editor: President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris could help the cause by getting injected with the vaccine on TV. Previously, they undermined public confidence in a vaccine.

Peter Corrigan, Arcadia