Safety Worth the Effort

To the Editor:

A letter in the September 24 issue of the Record, headed “COVID thoughts,” begins by pointing out that just 6% of COVID deaths occur in people with no other health problems, while 96% had other serious illnesses. (Slight problem with the previous writer’s arithmetic here.) The whole tone of the letter suggests that COVID is no big deal, relative to the inconvenience of social distancing, masking, staying at home, etc. to avoid contracting or spreading the disease. Although the people who

die as a result of contracting COVID, whether or not there are aggravating health factors, are no longer suffering, their loved ones, relatives, friends and, in fact, our whole society have been grievously impacted. Some percent of the dead might have died soon even if they did not contract COVID. However, a lot of them would have lived a lot longer if they could have avoided getting this disease. The fairly successful efforts of our society to limit promulgation of COVID by following inconvenient practices is thoroughly justified. I am personally quite happy to continue taking these measures which have been proven to be beneficial in prolonging my life and yours. My life has certainly changed, but the changes have been well worth the effort because I am still alive.

Arnold Romberg La Grange