Letters to the Editor: Vaccine mandates ensure our freedom. Why won't L.A. leaders enforce theirs?

LOS ANGELES, CA - DECEMBER 28: Elliot Ibanez, left, Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) captain, receives a Moderna COVID-19 vaccination given by Anthony Kong, LAFD firefighter paramedic, at Station 4 on Monday, Dec. 28, 2020 in Los Angeles, CA. Mayor of Los Angeles Eric Garcetti and Ralph M. Terrazas, LAFD fire chief, were there to observe the rollout of the vaccination program. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
An LAFD captain receives a dose of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine on Dec. 28, 2020. (Los Angeles Times)

To the editor: "I will not wear a mask." "I'm not going to test." "I will not get a shot." Instead of speaking as responsible citizens, city employees refusing to comply with Los Angeles' vaccine mandate sound like spoiled, selfish children. Something is seriously wrong with adults — especially police officers and firefighters — who refuse to listen to science and protect their children, family and community.

Furthermore, vaccine mandates protect freedom. If everyone gets vaccinated, we control the virus and can live normal lives. Vaccines are safe and effective.

L.A. leaders are too weak when they refuse to enforce the Oct. 20 deadline for city employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. The time has come to put these public servants in their place. Selfish, self-centered city workers need to get onboard or be fired.

Stop allowing our public servants to push us around. They work for us.

Richard A. French, Pasadena

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To the editor: Our first responders cannot meet their professional obligations if they increase our risk of contagion, and columnist Steve Lopez speaks for many Angelenos when he calls out the city's elected officials for caving on their COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

Lopez asks, "Does anyone have a spine?" The answer is yes. The union heads fomenting the tantrum have plenty of spine. Too bad those spines don't culminate in level heads.

Shelley Wagers, Los Angeles

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.