To the editor:

If the government, your employer, or your school forces you to get the Covid vaccine, they are taking away your freedom … your freedom to easily catch Covid-19 and your freedom to get seriously ill and possibly even die from it. They are taking away your freedom to spread it to family, friends, classmates, and anyone you might come in contact with, and they will pass it on, too. They might be asymptomatic or they might get very sick. In any case, their family life will be disrupted for weeks, as yours will.

Why would you want this freedom? Why take the risk? Patriotic Americans care more about public health and well-being than their precious personal freedoms. If you want this blasted disease to go away, wear your masks, get your vaccinations, and get your booster shot as soon as you’re able. They may not be perfect, but they’re our only defense. We need this disease to be gone, and as long as people hold on to their stubbornness and baseless excuses, it will linger on, and this affects every single one of us.

Debra Sjogren

New Ulm