Letter to the Editor: New York’s COVID-19 Restrictions Have Become Excessive
While I fully support Pleasantville Music Festival Executive Director Bruce Figler and Mayor Peter Scherer’s decision not to hold the 2021 Pleasantville Music Festival due to New York State’s COVID-19 restrictions making such events financially unviable, I do not support the state’s continued COVID-19 policies on events such as these because basic math proves they’re no longer needed. Now is the time to terminate these policies and let Pleasantville people party!
If it’s okay to ride on overcrowded subways, buses, trains and planes, why isn’t it okay for some fun in the sanitizing sun, sitting on a baking field on a hot July day at the Pleasantville Music Festival when transmission rates are lower than 1 in 10,000 for vaccinated people? That’s the height of absurdity!
Based on the New York Post’s story of 5,800 vaccinated individuals out of 66 million getting COVID-19 two weeks or later after their final shot, we can calculate the rate of transmission of vaccinated Americans at 1 out of every 11,379 people, compared to the rate of unvaccinated Americans, which is 1 out of every 10.39 people. (New York City calculates to 1 out of 11 unvaccinated people.) In other words, the rate of transmission of vaccinated people to the rate of transmission of unvaccinated people is 1/1,098th, proving that the vaccinations have done their job and now it’s time for us to go back to our lives.
Additionally, as of today, at least 40 percent of New York State’s residents have had one shot, and if current rates of weekly vaccination continue, by July 10, 88 percent of us will have at least that one shot and 72 percent of us will be fully vaccinated, plus two weeks.
All the Pleasantville Music Festival needs to do is to require individuals be fully vaccinated, plus two weeks, and we can have some fun in the sun and do what we do best – have fun!
Albany, it’s time to let our Pleasantville people party!
Mark Markarian
Pleasantville
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