Your letters for Oct. 4

The problem with parity

Re: It’s quality, not quantity for female civic candidates, Sept. 27

This article was disappointing. Why are women running for elected office first defined by their gender?

We are an educated population of 1.34 million that must work together to innovate and scale new successes. Relegating candidates to their gender identity undermines the integrity of the votes they receive—and how hard they work to earn them.

Cornelia Wiebe leads with a business mind and is running a campaign in Ward 8 fuelled by grit, hustle, and duct tape. Her tenacity and pragmatism are what should earn her a seat at council — not her gender.

I think is time to respect that woman want to hold positions of power — the big job, the big title — because their skills, experience, and strength of character have earned it. It’s cheapened when an achievement can (and too often is) relegated to a conversation of gender parity.

Jennifer Sanford, Calgary

In defence of the decision

I am one of those ‘unvaccinated’ individuals who – according to many who have written letters – is either ‘selfish, uneducated, a conspiracy-theorist, evangelical-Christian, or part of a far-right extremist group promoting violence and hate speech. They believe I deserve to be triaged last if I get COVID. All because I chose to exercise my right in what once was a democratic ‘free’ country, to not get this experimental injection they call a ‘vaccine’.

I am none of the above and I have not protested anywhere, least of all in front of a hospital. I do, in fact, believe this virus is serious, contagious, and deadly to some with co-morbidities. I am not an ‘anti-vaxxer’, am fully updated with all required vaccines. I also happen to think the vaccine is somewhat effective, although clinical studies are ongoing – and so the conclusive answer is yet to be determined.

But, I also know there are alternative treatments not being debated, discussed or prescribed despite proper clinical trials. The CDC decided not to record any side effects of this vaccine unless a person has been hospitalized or died. Similarly, the FDA went against its own protocols with approval of a vaccine that would otherwise take several years of clinical trials to be deemed safe.

To all you hard-liners out there who think someone like me should be refused medical attention, or forced to take this vaccine I would say this: I am an RN with over 40 years in the health-care field. Never once would I have considered not giving you the care you deserved. It wouldn’t matter to me if you were black or white, LGBTQ, have different religious beliefs, was an alcoholic, smoker, or otherwise.

There are a lot of baseless assumptions and judgments being made about those who have chosen to be unvaccinated. Everyone has their own story and they have the right to choose.

Katie Oddie, Calgary

Why should there be equal footing for patients?

Re: The unvaccinated deserve our care, compassion, Opinion, Sept. 28

I read Licia Corbella’s column in which she said treatment for COVID patients should be on a par with any other type of patient. She cites a number of diseases that could, to a degree, fall into the realm of self-inflicted. There is, however, a vast difference. People with cirrhosis of the liver do not go out in the community and spread it to others, neither do people who are drug-addicted or diabetic, who have lung cancer because they were heavy smokers, or the athlete who tears their ACL.

People who are not vaccinated, for whatever reason, are continuing to spread the virus at an alarming rate, pushing up the number of hospitalizations and deaths.  Everyone in health care is going all out to look after these folks, so they can survive a very deadly disease. In doing so, they have essentially deserted care to other Albertans who require surgeries for joint replacements, biopsies, colonoscopies. Even life-saving transplant surgeries are cancelled.

How do we decide who is more important, who should live or who should not? The choice seems to be non-vaccinated people. I can’t help but wonder if that should be the case.

Diane Chalupiak, Calgary

Break it down to one individual who may suffer

Last week, I was at the Canadian Blood Services facility, donating platelets for an 80-year-old lady with aplastic anemia for whom I’m an exact match. I’m pleased and proud to live in a country that values the life of someone of her age and has a health-care system able to help her.

However, what happens if she, perhaps, suffers an accident and has to be sent to intensive care? And it’s already full to overflowing, primarily with young individuals who have refused to be vaccinated?

Is it ‘right’ that she’ll be sacrificed because of the incompetence of our UCP government combined with the colossal ignorance of those who refuse to do something as simple and common sense as getting a vaccination?

A little bit of me will die should that happen; and another little bit of the society that makes Canada one of the best places in the world to live will also die. And a big chunk will be taken from the souls of the medical personnel tasked with making the decisions that the stupidity of others has forced them to.

Doug James, Calgary

Lives may depend on hard lockdown

Re: Kenney rejects calls for lockdown; Premier says measure would punish people already vaccinated, Sept. 27

Once again, and for a deadly fourth time, Premier Kenney doesn’t get it.

Having 20 per cent of 2.8 million adult Albertans (560,000) unvaccinated people running around the province risking infecting each other, and up to 20 per cent of them (112,000) getting sick and up to 20 per cent (or 22,000) going to hospital, is far worse for vaccinated people than any lockdown.

The COVID-19 patients have overrun the hospitals and the ICUs, blocking access for the vaccinated 80 per cent for cancer, heart, kidney, or any other life-saving treatments. Not only the COVID patients, but hundreds of fully vaccinated people will die or be disabled from other treatable diseases because of this.

We need a firebreak lockdown now. With or without this premier. Our lives depend on it.

Claude Stevenson, Calgary

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