COVID-19 vaccines: ‘Our path to freedom’

Vaccination mandates and mask requirements are not assaults on our freedom — they are our path to freedom.

Freedom to see our friends and relatives; freedom to travel safely; freedom to continue our children’s education; freedom from a life-threatening disease; freedom from premature death for our parents and grandparents; freedom to attend concerts and sporting events; freedom from fear; freedom for our hospitals and health care workers to treat other critical emergencies and illnesses; freedom to take a loved one out to dinner; and freedom for economic recovery. And not least, the freedom to smile openly and hug each other once again.

The path may be inconvenient, littered with misleading anti-vaccine obstacles, and posted with dead-end side trails to quack cures and conspiracy theories, but the more of us who walk this path the sooner we will all be able to reclaim the important freedoms of our daily lives.

Robert Olander, Seattle

*** This article has been archived for your research. The original version from The Seattle Times can be found here ***