Consider accurate COVID data

There are facts and there are facts. People interpret them as they see fit, even cherry picking them to match a certain belief.

To date worldwide there have been roughly 147.9 million COVID cases; 127 million people have recovered and there have been 3.2 million deaths.

This gives you a one in 46 chance of dying if you get the disease. Of course, these are total figures across the whole world and include all ages, and all countries with varying levels of health care.

Some countries have death rates much higher than others. And we know from data that people in the age groups above 50 have increased risks.

Vaccination has been assessed as a viable option to reduce the chances of dying from the disease. Vaccination's efficacy rate in reducing the symptoms of COVID are 90 per cent or above.

People may choose to gamble having assessed the risks especially given that Australia has all but eliminated COVID 19 within its borders. However, bear in mind that the disease is so virulent and continually creating new variants, that any outbreak quickly spreads exponentially.

Australian governments and health professionals have worked hard to get our country relatively safe. Any complacency can have horrendous consequences and that is why careful monitoring of Australians returning home and visitors arriving is in place.

If there is an outbreak, we are not immune. We can’t rely on our body to cope unaided given there is that one in 46 chance of dying from the disease if you get it.

The chance may seem remote and you may think that even if there was an outbreak it would be unlikely to affect you, or you wouldn’t suffer the effects if you got it.

But what about your friends or relatives? Is the gamble of not getting vaccinated worth it? Side-effects from the vaccination, including death, have been shown to be exceedingly rare and the risk of dying is miniscule compared to dying from COVID. It is important to look at accurate data when commenting on this subject, or when making your own choice as to whether you should get vaccinated or not.

Greg Tuck, Warragul

It’s not only a memorable family history but also a revealing ‘life and times’ saga covering more than a century from the late 19th to the early 21st. In her foreword, Sheryl alludes to stories that only now can be told without offence to living persons, but the spice is well distributed through three generations.

The grinding poverty of life for working people is starkly evident in many of the stories, as is the curse of drink and, most of all, the heavy burdens formerly borne by women.

Tragedy, from infant mortality through lives ruined by war service or lost by accident, to callous infidelity, leaves its indelible mark.

Yet love, humour, generosity, selflessness and courage abound too. One truly remarkable story is that of Shirley’s younger sister Betty, who survived tuberculosis, removal of one lung and years in hospital, in the course of which she met and later married Ted, who was similarly afflicted. They raised a small family, had a happy, even idyllic, life and Betty lived to nearly 80.

I very warmly recommend ‘A Cottage in Kent Street’. It’s a handsomely produced book, which will amply repay readers with its local and historical interest, and its vivid depiction of a large slice of real life.

John Hart, Warragul

The Baw Baw Shire administration has announced a property rate increase of 1.5 percent for the coming financial year. Sounds good doesn't it, very palatable.

Of course, the Victorian Valuer General now reviews property values each year, whereas in other years, your local governemnt was responsible for employing an independent valuer to assess property values every three years.

Now, with a raging real estate market, look out.

The question needs to be asked, when the property market falls in a heap and prices fall, will our rate bills fall accordingly?

This is the danger in gearing to a racing price spiral.

Councils should be mindful of the old adage, “here today, gone tomorrow ."

Ian Honey, Warragul