Let’s hope we accept value of COVID vaccine sooner than we did wisdom of seat belts

Buckle up and get vaccinated

The September/October issue of “The Saturday Evening Post” carries a reprint of a July 16, 1955, article: “How to Avoid Sudden Death.” The subject recounts how the writer’s life was “saved-by-the belt,” one of more than 40 stories reported that year illustrating the value of wearing seat belts, referred to as a “common sense preventative against the nation’s most destructive epidemic disease.”

It continues: “To gain acceptance, the seat belts must overcome widespread lack of information and some misinformation...It will hardly be surprising, therefore, if this new revolution is a reluctant one. Unembellished common sense has never been a popular automobile accessory, and safety in all its forms has always been more energetically preached than practiced.”

Hmm, sound familiar? It took another half century for seat belts to gain universal acceptance. As our hospitals and ICUs refill, let’s hope common sense kicks in much, much sooner to combat our nation’s newest, destructive epidemic disease. The COVID vaccine is free and readily obtained.

Herb Zimmerman

Bluffton

Who’s the doctor here?

Preventable disease is killing hundreds of thousands of Americans, and many political leaders block public health measures based on liberty. Are they correct?

In 1777, hundreds of soldiers died from smallpox, so Gen. George Washington mandated the smallpox vaccine.

In 1901, a pastor said mandatory public health measures (during a smallpox epidemic) violated his liberty. The U.S. Supreme Court in Jacobson v. Massachusetts said the rights of the individual may, at times, under the pressure of great dangers, be subjected to such restraint.

In 1922, the parents of a Texas student refused to follow public health policy based on freedom. In Zucht vs. King et al, the U.S. Supreme Court said the ordinances confer not arbitrary power, but the discretion required to protect public health.

Need more? Measles killed an average of 593,282 people per year in the 20th century (CDC.gov). In 2000, that number was 81, a 99.98 percent decrease because public health policy works.

In 1777, Washington listened to medical advice. Today, all three branches of state government are not only gutting public health policy, but they treat doctors as freedom-stealing traitors. Have a Smith fracture? A pancoast tumor? COVID?

Don’t look to us. Call a politician.

Charles A. Trant, M.D.

Florence

What the world needs now

Has friendship become a passe word in our fast-paced, troubled world?

Webster’s describes a friend this way, “ A person on the same side in a struggle. An ally, supporter.”

My pastor’s recent sermon on Christian friendship caused me to reflect on just how much society has forgotten why friends are important.

Historic best-sellers such as Dale Carnegie’s 1936 book “How to Win Friends and Influence People,” John Steinbeck’s 1937 book “Of Mice and Men,” and King/Taylor’s inspiring lyrics “You’ve Got a Friend” seem a distant past.

“Psychology Today”, states that strong friendships are a critical aspect of most people’s emotional well-being and are associated with greater happiness, self-esteem and sense of purpose; so how do we apply this desirable mentality to our daily lives?

Here is what the professionals suggest: Be there! Listen! Determine needs! Make physical contact! Don’t be judgmental! Be respectful. Be loyal. Finally, as we aspire to be another’s friend, be reminded and encouraged by Mr. Roger’s famous lines: “ Won’t you be my neighbor?” and “ I like you just the way you are!”

Earle Everett

Hilton Head

Masking saves lives

Well, the South Carolina Supreme Court has joined Governor McMaster in making known its lack of feelings for the children of South Carolina. As the CDC and the FDA have stated numerous times that mask-wearing will in fact help control the spread of COVID-19, the governor and the Supreme Court continue to ignore the experts and substitute their own feeble beliefs for the facts. Thank God we have such all knowing parties to show us the way. Unmasked children pose a serious risk to non-vaccinated children as well as to children and teachers who may have underlying conditions. So the decision to mask or not is left to the parents who may or may not be vaccinated, and may or may not believe the experts on masking. For the sake of your children and their teachers, I hope to God your decision is right although knowledge and science say that masking saves lives.

Joe Malcolm

Lancaster