Trump and vaccines, the unvaccinated, Gyrodyne, flag cartoon

Should society pay for unvaccinated?

The logic of "my body, my choice" regarding abortion cannot be compared with the vaccine in this instance because it only affects those making that choice ["I have a right not to get the vaccine," Letters, April 28]. However, if one chooses not to get vaccinated, ignoring scientific data and professional advice about how it affects the spread and mutation of this virus, if that person becomes infected, the healthcare providers and insurance companies should have the right to withhold treatment. Should society have to pay for his choice?

Rose Munch, Fort Salonga

It should be one’s patriotic duty and mandatory for every citizen to have a government-issued identification. Currently, you need such documentation to obtain COVID-19 testing or vaccination.

Think about the consequences if we experience another, more contagious pandemic and a good part of the population is not vaccinated.

Chet Gerstenbluth, Plainview

Yes, we all have rights, but think of the next person. Get the COVID-19 vaccine for the one you love, not just for you. If we all can get this vaccine and build up herd immunity, we can really turn the corner on this, and start to bring back some normalcy to our lives.

I too was hesitant at first about getting the vaccine, thinking of the time we received the polio vaccine in 1953 — and how long it took to perfect it and rid our country of polio. I thought about technology then and now, and I realized how far medicine and technology have come. We all need to do this to protect the ones we love . . . and ourselves.

Camille Morselli, Islip Terrace

Gyrodyne must disclose sewers plan

Smithtown officials and Gyrodyne boosters have been pushing the narrative that if we swallow the pill of the Gyrodyne mega-development, we will be rewarded with sewers for Lake Avenue and beyond ["Gyrodyne deserves Smithtown approval," Letters, May 12]. Smithtown spent millions of dollars installing sewer lines to nowhere, on the premise they would connect to Gyrodyne’s sewage treatment plant.

Everyone assumes that Gyrodyne’s plant will service the surrounding community — everyone, that is, except Gyrodyne LLC. Gyrodyne has proposed no such plans to allow its sewage plant to service the community — it’s been nearly a year since Gyrodyne received preliminary approvals for the plant without the capacity to service the community or plans to connect to Lake Avenue.

Gyrodyne recently submitted its final environmental impact statement to Smithtown without the larger treatment plant. And recently, I confronted Gyrodyne’s lawyer in a public session of the county’s planning commission, asking if Gyrodyne will commit to allow use of its treatment plant for Lake Avenue and the surrounding community. I demanded, repeatedly, that he set the record straight. To me, his silence spoke volumes. It’s time that boosters of this project come clean on the issue of sewers.

James Bouklas, Smithtown

Editor’s note: The writer is president of the civic association We Are Smithtown.

Trump shouldn’t get credit for vaccines

A reader suggested former President Donald Trump get credit for Operation Warp Speed. In my opinion, if Trump had paid more attention in the beginning of COVID-19 instead of saying it was a bad flu and will disappear, people would have been wearing masks sooner and not attended superspreader rallies. He should not get credit for the vaccines.

Kathleen Teleglow, Holbrook

Confederate flag cartoon is deplorable

I found Matt Davies’ political cartoon, which uses the Confederate flag as its background, to be deplorable [May 14]. I am old enough to remember the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., his beautiful, inspiring speeches advocating that all people be treated with dignity and equality and judged on the content of their character and not the color of their skin. I believe in the First Amendment and people’s right to discuss issues such as what schools teach. They should be able to do that and voice their concerns without being labeled with a Confederate flag and all its implications of supporting slavery.

Catherine Crimmins, Floral Park

So, according to Matt Davies’ cartoon, anyone who’s against Critical Race Theory and wokeness and believes that this "white privilege" nonsense is indeed fake must fly the Confederate flag, right? Identity politics divides. It doesn’t unite.

Joe Cesare, Copiague