It’s time for people to do the right thing for our society as a whole — and not for individual wants and needs. It has been tiring to hear negative things about being vaccinated because people want to exercise their right. Well, along with rights come responsibilities. We all have a right to be safe and we all share a responsibility to make that happen.

Schools and health care facilities who are mandating mask wearing after researching scientific evidence showing that this will help ensure our safety are being faced with yelling and swearing. Is this the behavior of a civilized society?

The chairperson of the Maine Republican Party recently blamed Democrats for the economy and unemployment rate, which by the way is lower than that of the nation, and praised states with Republican governors for their role in creating jobs. Two Republican states, Florida and Texas, are responsible for a 40% nationwide increase in COVID.

What is hurting the economy is the pandemic and until it is under control, things will not get better overall. Florida is running out of ventilators and the governor was not even aware of this when questioned by a reporter.

Individuals who are thinking only of their rights and what is best for them are just plain selfish. People need to put aside their selfishness and act in a way that will help everyone to be safe and that means getting vaccinated.

Dorothy DAlessandro

Waterville