Letters to the Editor: If only the founding fathers knew about pandemics and vaccines

Los Angeles Times Opinion
·2 min read
Lakewood, CA - March 31: Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine given to seniors at coronavirus vaccination clinic established by L.A. County Department of Public Health at Whispering Fountains Senior Living Community on Wednesday, March 31, 2021 in Lakewood, CA.(Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)
At a site in Lakewood, doses of vaccine await arms. (Los Angeles Times)

To the editor: How would the framers have written the Constitution if they could have foreseen the devastation caused by COVID-19? ("Uncle Sam wants YOU! (to get vaccinated)," Opinion, April 10)

Along the lines of the U.S. Postal Service, they would have likely specified an "Office of Vaccine Affairs." This government agency, perhaps a semi-autonomous organization, would have as its mandate and authority the creation of permanent local sites throughout the U.S. for the vaccination of the population against various infectious diseases.

This office would offer competitive and noncompetitive grants for the development of new vaccines and the improvement of existing ones. It would initially receive funds from the U.S. budget but would transition to collection of healthcare dollars from Medicare, Medicaid and private health insurance.

We can no longer depend on an ad hoc response to an overwhelming infectious disease for delivery of immunization to the population. We must have an ongoing and prepared infrastructure.

Stanley Rubin, M.D., Los Angeles

The writer is a professor emeritus of medicine at UCLA.

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To the editor: If you need a reason to get vaccinated, perhaps you should do it for the frontline responders, including doctors, nurses and other healthcare staff.

They've contracted COVID-19, and they've died. They've seen enough. Don't make them see even one more case — certainly not you.

Richard Conant, Playa del Rey

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To the editor: After reading recently about state officials urging people in red parts of California to become vaccinated, I realized that the governor needs some advice.

He should simply urge residents of those red areas to skip the vaccine. This will probably result in record turnout with protest signs at vaccination sites and huge numbers rolling up their sleeves for a jab while saying Gov. Gavin Newsom cannot tell them what to do.

Reggie Kenner, Manhattan Beach

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.