Letters to the Editor: How to defeat the next pandemic? Don’t elect Republicans
To the editor: While your headlines about the war in Ukraine are alarming and heartbreaking, The Times Editorial Board’s warning to prepare for the next pandemic was a call to action.
The best way to prepare for the next pandemic is to make sure that the Republicans don’t take control of the House and Senate in 2022 and Donald Trump is not elected president in 2024.
The Republicans’ anti-science, anti-mask and anti-vaccine rhetoric should be a warning to us all.
Donna Sloan, Los Angeles
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To the editor: There is something tragically wrong when I switch from watching the death and destruction in Ukraine on a world news channel, to seeing on a local L.A. channel that parents are protesting the wearing of masks by children, with one of the moms saying that requiring kids to mask is the worst thing in the world for them.
How embarrassing. Try telling that to the parents in Ukraine, whose children are being massacred in the conflict with Russia.
If these pampered, self-centered parents in Southern California want to protest something, how about they step out of their sheltered world and protest this senseless and barbaric war?
Merry Colvin, Long Beach
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To the editor: I was disappointed with the opening paragraphs of the article concerning the possible ending of the federal public health emergency.
Noting almost immediately that “more than one-third of Americans” think the federal government should end its pandemic emergency declaration gives the false impression that there is significant public pressure to do this.
It ignores or downplays the statistic reported later in the article that almost 60% of Americans believe controlling the coronavirus should be a priority even if doing so requires restrictions.
I believe more responsible reporting would have emphasized that a significant majority of Americans are in favor of maintaining preventive measures, vigilance for public health and preparedness for any future surge.
Neal Sheade, Los Angeles
