Dear Editor:

 I appreciate, and frequently take advantage of, your policy of printing a diversity of opinions in your editorial page. However, when the author of an opinion piece claims something as fact, I should think a little fact-checking would be in order, in an effort to maintain journalistic integrity.

Here’s a fact: An article in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA,) dated Feb. 10, cited no less than 11 studies indicating the efficacy of mask-wearing in reducing the spread of COVID- 19. In their Dec. 28 letter, Linda and Bob Graff use evidence of leakage around the edges of masks to make the claim masks don’t work in preventing the spread of disease; this, to me, is evidence of nothing more than a misunderstanding of science.

Further evidence of that misunderstanding can be found in their rant against the hypothesis of anthropogenic climate change. I had originally intended in this letter to explain the scientific method, and spent a lot of time writing, only to realize it took a semester of schooling for my instructor to explain it thoroughly. Instead, I think it best to simply say that, without a mathematical formula proving a theory (the scientific method would define this as a “law”), no reputable scientist will say with absolute certainty, “this is because of that.”

It appears to me that the Graffs completely misread Kevin Killough’s editorial of Dec. 16. In my reading, he is not claiming that anthropogenic climate change is not taking place. In (yes) fact, he is quoted as saying, “Battling this exhausted strawman requires the obligatory note that climate change is a real problem.”

Mr. Killough’s editorial was calling into question not the evidence of climate change but of a particular scientist claiming certain disasters were completely climate-change related. To strengthen his argument, Mr. Killough pointed out that the number of high energy tornadoes has actually gone down over time, omitting how unusual it was to experience such powerful storms at this time of year. Computer modeling predicted this occurrence; to say definitively it was because of climate change would be irresponsible.

Kids spread COVID; this is a fact. Yes, vaccinated and unvaccinated people end up in the hospital from COVID but also a fact, unvaccinated people — children, adults and seniors — far, far outstrip vaccinated people in sickness, hospitalization and death.

People can and do believe what they want. In claiming something as fact, there needs to be evidence.

 Phil Anthony

Powell