Sir, – The thought expressed in Saturday's Irish Times, that people who hadn't taken a Covid vaccine now felt vindicated, fails to pass any kind of logic test ("Lifting of restrictions in Ireland greeted as vindication by those who refused vaccine", News, February 12th).
Put simply, if everyone had that same attitude, we would still be living with the extreme effects of the pandemic.
The Irish Times gave over 1,500 words to an article whose central thesis could be disproved in one sentence. I would respectfully suggest that the media outlets concentrate on alternative views, opinions and ideas, rather than alternative facts. – Yours, etc,
PAUL DILLON,
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Dublin 6W.
A chara, – I am writing to express my astonishment at the way certain views were published unchallenged in the article concerning those who, having refused the Covid vaccine, now feel “vindicated” by the lifting of restrictions in Ireland.
To present views that the vaccines are “experimental” or “the greatest power-grab ever”, without clarification or context, is tantamount to presenting them as fact, given that the person quoted is a practising medical professional.
Later paragraphs in the article reiterate views from this same person about the vaccine impacting heart-health or fertility, concerns that have been comprehensively and repeatedly refuted by science.
Dismissing the severity of the impact of Covid infection in young children is also highly irresponsible – for example, an unvaccinated child is far more likely to develop myocarditis from Covid infection than from the vaccine. The science exists to prove this.
I am disappointed to see The Irish Times presenting such views without comment or clarification. – Is mise,
EMMA JANE KENNEDY,
Urrugne,
France.
Sir, – I welcome the decision to give a platform to those who are opposed to the Covid vaccines campaign, not because I agree with them but because I vehemently disagree with their position.
At the end of the article, GP Pat Morrissey turns philosophical: “blind obedience to authority is the greatest enemy of the truth, and I can see that they want to throttle the truth”.
On the subject of truth, I fully agree with John Stuart Mill (On Liberty, 1859) when he considers the benefits of having our views challenged, since it reminds us of all the valid reasons we hold our beliefs, and why the opposing views are weak and unconvincing: “even if the received opinion be not only true, but the whole truth; unless it is vigorously and earnestly contested, it will be held in the manner of a prejudice, with little comprehension or feeling of its rational grounds”.
And speaking of John Stuart Mill, another quote from On Liberty is also pertinent to this debate: “A person may cause evil to others not only by his actions but by his inaction, and in either case he is justly accountable to them for the injury.” – Yours, etc,
Dr VITTORIO BUFACCHI,
Department of Philosophy,
University College Cork.
Sir, – The article by Ronan McGreevy and David Raleigh was timely. I think I had lost sight of those who chose not to take the Covid vaccine for what they felt were fair and genuine concerns for themselves. I remain very pro-Covid vaccination, and I don’t agree with many of the views expressed in this article.
But it brought me back to a more balanced regard for those who clearly gave it considered and careful thought not to avail of the vaccine. We have to allow for dialogue on both sides of the argument.
And less of the sometimes over-the-top hype and hysteria of the pro-vaccine views. – Yours, etc,
ELIZABETH FENNELLY,
Malahide,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – I was disappointed to read the recent piece published in your paper on those who chose not to get vaccinated and their misgivings about our pandemic response.
Concern about safety of vaccines, mask use and treatments for Covid-19 remain contentious issues but ones that the scientific community have reached a general consensus about.
Platforming marginal and discredited views (especially without challenge) creates a false equivalency that is damaging to society.
As a healthcare professional, I feel an obligation to question and inform individuals accurately when I encounter such views, and I would presume The Irish Times would feel a similar obligation to its readers. – Yours, etc,
MARTIN MAURICE
O’DONNELL,
Limerick.