I agree with Heather Stroud (Gazette, December 29) that we need to stand together in the face of the threat from Covid-19. Unfortunately her conclusions are based on false premises and no constructive alternative to vaccines or current treatments is suggested.
Rights and responsibilities go together. What does she propose the unvaccinated to do to reduce the risk of spreading Covid and ensure that they do not continue disproportionately to occupy intensive care beds those on the NHS waiting lists need?
She expresses no concern for those who have died of Covid unnecessarily because they were not vaccinated. Children have died of Covid, others have long Covid.
Side effects of vaccines are listed online and daily deaths from Covid reported. So far 51.7 million in the UK have chosen to be vaccinated.
People have, as she suggests, agreed on a code of behaviour based on common sense. There is no evidence that when legislation is valid it is a start of a totalitarian state. The requirement worldwide for a certificate of vaccination against smallpox for international travel led to the eradication of a terrible disease, not the proliferation of totalitarianism.
Ann Gray, Kirkbymoorside
Do your civic duty
I respect Heather Stroud’s right to decide not to have the vaccine (December 29). What I cannot accept is her attempt to undermine the credibility of vaccination and her efforts to turn her individual stance into some sort of ‘crusade’.
Yes the development of the vaccines was rapid but this was a triumph by dedicated researchers not a justification for criticism. All the vaccines were rigorously tested and approved for use by independent medical authorities before they were released. Remember too that people were dying in their droves. We could not wait 10 years for the ‘perfect’ test result.
Does Ms Stroud have some unique medical knowledge that is superior to the work of thousands of scientists? Deciding whether to be vaccinated is not a personal choice without consequences. Vaccination greatly reduces the chance that you will infect others. Unless there are specific medical reasons for not being vaccinated it is a selfish act that puts more pressure on the over-stretched NHS. It is estimated that nearly 9 out of 10 patients now in hospital are not vaccinated.
In the light of these facts Ms Stroud’s comments about ‘staying together’ and ‘standing in the park’ are puerile. If you want to stay together do your civic duty and take the vaccine.
Michael Gwilliam, Norton
Morally wrong?
Following the recent public consultation via Zoom webinar by Harmony Energy, I wonder at what point would Harmony consider walking away from the Old Malton solar proposal? Their presentation was delivered in a manner that implied the plan was a given, and not a proposal at all; even when questions were posted this was a very one-sided “consultation” with no room for alternative narratives.
Notwithstanding the money that Harmony stands to make, at what point would they consider it morally wrong to pursue this proposal, at the expense of Eden Farm’s tenants; a family, whose livelihood, wellbeing, and mental health are being ignored.
We all understand the need for renewable energy sources, but not at the cost of sacrificing prime agricultural land that the UK is reliant upon. 
The site may well be convenient for Harmony, but building on Eden Farm, officially categorised as having some of the best and most versatile agricultural land in the country would constitute a misuse of an invaluable resource. 
Solar panels do not benefit from such prime soil, the food we eat however, does.
I’m sure there are plenty of landowners with lower grade land who would consent to giving up farming for the income offered, but it seems Harmony are intent on taking this tenanted land, regardless of the cost.
The way in which the tenants are being expected to roll over shows just how little is thought of them and the value of Eden Farm. 
This is a case of greed overriding integrity and a big company attempting to overpower individuals for an easy profit.
Alison King, York