LETTER: Senator shouldn’t give Covid advice until he gets facts right

To Ozaukee Press:

Sen. Ron Johnson says that because he tested positive for Covid-19 in fall, he doesn’t plan to get the vaccine.

The fact is that doctors don’t know what kind of immunity people have after having Covid-19. Johnson might be immune for years – or until the end of next month.

Johnson says that if a person is fully vaccinated, it shouldn’t matter if his neighbor isn’t. It has been more than a year, and despite heroic efforts, the disease is still with us, in new forms. Covid-19, a coronavirus, is really good at mutating, and some of the variants are much more contagious than the original disease. As long as there are susceptible, warm bodies for the virus to jump into, it will keep going and keep mutating.

Johnson is worried that the vaccines aren’t fully approved. It’s true that they’ve only gotten emergency approval, but there’s no reason to believe that they won’t be given full approval when the dust settles.  

This vaccine was developed really fast, but coronaviruses are not new; some cause colds and some cause much more serious illnesses. Scientists have been working to understand them for a decade and more, so they were not starting at zero when Covid-19 arrived.

Private citizen Johnson can say whatever he wants to. Senator Johnson has an obligation to get the facts straight when he speaks publicly—an obligation he hasn’t been taking too seriously lately.

Kate Redmond
Oostburg