Vaccinations, McKinley Park, etc.
Pro-vaxxers should get involved
Re “Pro-vax majority can’t take safety for granted” (Editorials, March 18): Thank you for your timely editorial warning the pro-vax majority to get involved and support SB 277. The pro-vax majority in California must stand up and be counted. We can’t let the lunatic, conspiracy theorist fringe continue to dictate public policy and endanger public health. The longer the so-called personal belief exemption remains in place, the more vulnerable infants and children will get sick and possibly die of vaccine-preventable diseases such as pertussis and measles.
Get involved. Join fellow citizens at vaccinatecalifornia.com, a grassroots organization fighting for the elimination of the personal belief exemption. Do not be complacent. The other side is loud and very motivated to impose their crazy, crackpot theories on the rest of us. We must protect infants, children and immune-compromised people from dangerous illnesses.
Amy Alfieri, West Sacramento
Speak up for immunization
The anti-vaccination movement makes no sense to me. Despite being intensely afraid of needles and often passing out when receiving shots, I have always kept up to date on my vaccinations because it is not only the best choice for my health, but for the health of others. I find it ridiculous that in 2015 we have to worry about the return of a disease like polio, eradicated in the U.S. in 1979, which we have already found a vaccine for. The pro-vaccination majority must truly speak up and advocate for this bill that would make vaccinations much harder to avoid. It is almost sickening to imagine an America where we have to worry about diseases that we have extensive preventative measures for simply because of some individuals’ foolish decisions.
Kiera Robinson, San Jose
Vaccination choice not so simple
Our immune system is a complex army. An army that never fully fights may not be the best in a crunch. If vaccines work as well as touted, those choosing vaccination should be protected. Allow others to make their own choice. If the belief is the unvaccinated still pose a risk to those vaccinated, that is more a comment on vaccine efficacy. There are timing and other issues beyond this brief scope, but not enough to remove people’s freedom of choice. Pharmaceuticals and medicine are neither fail-safe nor omnipotent enough for that.
Dr. Raymond Mikelionis, Roseville
Sacramento shines in diversity
Re “McKinley Park captures Sacramento’s diversity” (Op Image, March 14): This was a thoughtful opinion piece to wake up and read over coffee on this bright Sacramento Saturday morning. Having lived in several cities considered “culturally diverse,” I would agree with the observation that dividing populations into quadrants, and gated communities, does not diversity make, regardless of the math. I am a six-month new resident and very pleased to be living here. Local social problems can always be improved upon, but Sacramento can own this very important credential as a modern, multicultural and diverse community and use it to its advantage toward solving such other problems.
John Kapral, Sacramento
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This story was originally published March 20, 2015 at 5:01 PM with the headline "Vaccinations, McKinley Park, etc.."