I am a high school student writing in response to two anonymous letters from the December 2, 2021 Jewish Link issue that I believe are misleading and potentially life-threatening.

The first anonymous letter (“It’s Time for Kids to Return to Normalcy, With or Without the Vaccine”) discouraged COVID vaccinations for children. This is appalling because vaccinations save lives. According to CDC and The New York Times there have been more than  700,000 deaths in the United States due to COVID-19. In Sanhedrin 4:5 it says וכל המקיים נפש אחת מעלה עליו הכתוב כאילו קיים עולם מלא: “A person who saves a life is as though they have saved a world.” I understand that people are nervous to vaccinate themselves and their children because there might be a possibility of unknown side effects. Also, because the vaccine was made quickly for emergency use, people might be skeptical about getting it. However, the vaccine has been proven to be much safer than getting and spreading COVID-19. Moreover, the number of deaths from COVID-19 is astounding. The vaccine is the most effective way that we know today to stop deaths.

Another potentially life-threatening letter was published in the paper discussing LGBTQ people in our community (“Objection to JQY Ad”) This letter was saying that being LGBTQ is firmly not allowed in the Torah. This makes LGBTQ people in our community feel threatened and unable to be themselves. When they feel this way, they become mentally unhealthy and may even attempt suicide. According to researchers at the UCLA School of Law, nearly a third of young LGBTQ people have attempted suicide. We as a community can easily save lives by welcoming every single person into the Jewish community, thereby saving many entire worlds.