My Response to a Misinformed, Published Rebuttal to my Op-Ed
In response to my letter to the editor published at BayToday.ca last week, the paper published a rebuttal to my piece on Sunday.
Unfortunately it was very inaccurate, contained misinformation and likely fuelled more hatred. Today I am posting my response:
Dear Editor,
After writing a fact-based and referenced letter to the editor on January 5th, Mr. Wilkinson attempted to provide inaccurate statistics to stir up more hatred to this group that has already been recklessly targeted by many this week, including our own Prime Minister.
While claiming that the unvaccinated are selfishly responsible for delayed cancer treatments and other procedures, he omits the fact that on January 9th, only 457 (or 18.9%) of the 2,419 current COVID-related hospitalized patients in Ontario were unvaccinated. This percentage is very close to what this segment represents in the general population. Fully vaccinated individuals were occupying three times this amount (1,353 beds). False claims of selfishness lead to more hatred towards this group that simply made a different medical choice but that are clearly not disportionaly taking up hospital space. (Source: Daily Epidemiology Report from Public Health Ontario on January 9th)
Mr. Wilkinson has claimed that unvaccinated people are misinformed while himself incorrectly (and without reference) claims that this group currently has a four times higher chance of being hospitalized. Sunday’s numbers showed that in our hospitals, there were: 16.62 patients per 100,000 individuals in the unvaccinated population and 11.88 patients per 100,000 individuals in the fully vaccinated population. These ratios have been very consistent in the previous days as well. As I stated in my earlier letter, vaccinated people do tend to receive a slight benefit in hospitalization risk however it is not even close to as high as Mr. Wilkinson states. The minor difference in hospitalization rates does not warrant the discrimination or the hatred directed at this group thus far.
Mr. Wilkinson claims that I misrepresented the fact that vaccinated people are overrepresented in the daily case counts of COVID. But that is an indisputable fact when considering per capita figures. Per 100,000 individuals, fully vaccinated people have been more likely to test positive for COVID in every daily report for the last ten days (source: Daily Epidemiology Summary). On January 9th, there were 64.34 new cases per 100,000 unvaccinated individuals and 83.51 new cases per 100,000 fully vaccinated individuals. This is clear evidence that unvaccinated people are not responsible for this recent wave of unprecedented cases. And it could be an indication that they are not more likely to spread this virus to others and should not be fired or barred from society for their choice.
Mr. Willkinson claims that he does not hate this group while making the defamatory claim that they are all “anti-vaxxers”. Every unvaccinated person I know has taken every vaccine offered to them since childhood and have given their children all their regular inoculations. Many educated people have analyzed the data and information regarding their COVID risk and vaccination risk and have decided that vaccination is not right for them at this time. Continuing to paint this group with such an inaccurate and dangerous label is what leads to more hatred and division. It is the last thing that will help this group be reached by health professionals, to convince some of them that they would benefit from the vaccine. If anything long-term vaccine hesitancy can only grow with such division and trust-eroding innacurate statistics.
Yes vaccines save lives. This is especially true among the elderly and vulnerable. Yes they may be our best defense for this group. But false claims will not help with confidence. Unrealistic benchmarks to end the pandemic such as vaccinating 100% of people and unnecessary scapegoating, are the reasons why we can’t find a way out of this never-ending pandemic.
Réjean Venne
West Nipissing