LETTER TO THE EDITOR
As a physician’s assistant I’ve lost many patients over 35 years. Not once did I ask or care about party affiliation. Each patient left behind loved ones – from young children to spouses, to grandparents. None of that has changed. However, this January, we’re losing a couple of thousand Americans per day to the virus – and those losses are disproportionately Republicans. The unvaccinated are more likely to get virus illness, and when they do will get it, they’re way more likely to die from it. A study released November 8, 2021, by Texas Health and Human Services – revealed: “unvaccinated people were 40 times more likely to experience virus-associated deaths than fully vaccinated people”.
According to a Gallup poll released September 29, 2021, 92% of Democrats were at least partially vaccinated, compared to 56% of Republicans. Translation – the pandemic is taking the lives of Republicans at a disproportionately higher rate than Democrats. Consider the implications for upcoming elections! If Donald Trump had received merely 76,514 more votes across Wisconsin, Georgia, Arizona, and Nevada, he would still be president. The Republican party needs more voters, not fewer. As I write this, per the CDC, the nation lost 2348 more American lives on January 7th. The party of Lincoln can’t survive or thrive in national elections if it continues to kill off its own base.
Mark VanLaeys. 723 Racine St, Delavan, WI 53115.
