Impatience can be a risky business

THE old and vulnerable have not “had their day” (“Time for the young,” Letters, May 23). They have been confined and restricted as have us all. We have all made sacrifices to prevent the spread of a disease that kills and often severely damages survivors. To become complacent now risks fresh outbreaks so consider this. Disconnect the idea that vulnerable and old are a single class and consider who else fits into the vulnerable category. A short list would include people with high blood pressure, heart issues, asthmatics, diabetics, the overweight, smokers, cancer patients, emphysema sufferers as a start. That list doesn’t just involve the elderly.

To have done the hard yards and then surrender to impatience risks clusters that would shut down businesses again and result in an endless yoyo effect of closures and openings that would cause the general public to be anxious about patronising those businesses anyway. There would be short-term gain for significant loss and uncertainty. Employment issues can be eventually solved but losing loved ones cannot.

Bridget Landrell

West Hobart