Diatribe unnecessary

I have seldom read a more contemptuous letter on this page than writer Harry Herget’s recent diatribe against all who have chosen not to receive the covid-19 vaccine. From conjuring up his fantasy of hospitals establishing “leper-like” wards for the unvaccinated to labeling them as “terrorists” possessing “the moral baseness of serial killers,” the disdain in his missive is nearly palpable. The staff has degraded itself by publishing such vitriol that contributes nothing constructive to the public vaccination discourse.

Mr. Herget apparently exercised his right to give informed consent and has received a covid-19 vaccine. Good for him. It is just and proper that he has the freedom to make that choice. Autonomy in making one’s own medical decisions is a fundamental human right. Without it, every person risks being an experimental pawn subject to the whims of medical overlords. But by appointing himself an authoritative arbiter of vaccine truth, Mr. Herget wishes to deny the same right of informed consent he himself has exercised to all others who have weighed the vaccine evidence and found it wanting.

It is certainly possible that one day another viral pathogen will inflict a heavy toll on the U.S. Depending on the quality of vaccine offerings at that time, it is not inconceivable that Mr. Herget just might then find himself on the receiving end of slings and arrows from vaccine proponents.

JIM BARRE JR.

Fayetteville