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Far from faltering,
vaccines are working
Jon Rego’s opinion that people shouldn’t have the “faltering vaccine” forced on them is full of holes (“Don’t force faltering vaccine on people,” Page A18, Nov. 14).
The information about Singapore and breakthrough cases he presented to bolster his “argument” is seriously out of date. A Google search revealed it was back in July that Singapore had breakthrough cases, and it was reported (SF Chronicle) that “While the proportion of so-called breakthrough infections sounds high, Singapore officials said vaccinated individuals who become infected are not falling seriously ill, which points to vaccines’ effectiveness.” The vaccines are not “faltering,” they are doing what was promised: They prevent serious illness and death from COVID.
It’s simple: more vaccinated people means more breakthrough cases, due to sheer numbers. Singapore is currently at 82.7% fully vaccinated. One could expect the same trend in the highly vaccinated Bay Area.
Mr. Rego, please wear your mask and keep your distance and good luck to you.
Leslie Pahl
Oakland
Shots have long
history of saving lives
Re. “Don’t force faltering vaccine on people,” Page A18, Nov. 14:
Figure it out people. Vaccines have been saving lives since the 1790s … yes — 230 years ago.
People need to understand that a vaccine will never be 100% effective. There will always be breakthrough cases. The best news is that for the majority who do get a disease, whether it be mumps, rubella, flu, polio or COVID, their symptoms will be far less significant than if they had not received the vaccine. Of course, anyone who contracts a contagious disease is going to spread it. I don’t understand why writer Joe Rego thinks it wouldn’t work that way.
That’s why we get the flu shot annually. Even if we contract the flu, it will be more like the “common cold” than a potentially deadly event.
Betsy Sargent
Alamo
Oakland must act
after toddler tragedy
I cannot believe that only a $10,000 reward is being offered for someone to turn in the culprits who killed a toddler (“Family of slain toddler seeks help,” Page B1, Oct. 13) only because he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
How much longer is the city of Oakland going to tolerate the lawlessness and the “do nothing” mayor and the City Council. It seems the going price for a human life is so little, and that all that can be done is to place flowers and candles to remember this little boy.
Oakland, wake up and take back your city before it’s too late.
Maryann Sheridan
Walnut Creek
Chan’s replacement can
be found in her office
In the wake of the tragic death of Supervisor Wilma Chan, much has been rightly made of her advocacy for women, children and minority issues.
Rarely mentioned is the fact that Chan was also a major advocate for animals. During her state Capitol years (2000-6), Assemblymember Chan consistently earned an “A” or “A+” grade for her votes on animal and environmental legislation on the annual Paw PAC Voting Chart.
A staff member at the Board of Supervisors sent me this: “Supervisor Chan did love animals very much and when we were in meetings where you had to say something about yourself, it was always her love for animals.”
To fill the board vacancy until the November 2022 election, the Chan family supports the appointment of Chan’s talented and committed chief of staff, Dave Brown. He knows the issues and could hit the ground running. The family’s wishes should be respected.
Eric Mills
Coordinator, Action For Animals, Oakland
Oakland
Complaints aside,
comics page balanced
I recently read a letter to the editor about the comic strip Mallard Fillmore and how it is full of vulgarity toward the current president and has no place in the paper because it has a rightward slant.
Doonesbury has been in the East Bay Times for years and is written a little left. When the 45th president was getting lampooned, no one batted an eye at Doonesbury. In the end, if you are offended by something such as a comic strip, don’t look at it. What a novel idea.
As a reader of the East Bay Times comics page, the comics are definitely fair and balanced. By the way, don’t forget to laugh.
Kip Norwood
Brentwood
We must stop using
lumber for building
The newspaper needs to address lumber construction, especially in wildland-urban interface zones (WUI).
Insurance companies won’t write lower premium rates for noncombustible construction. This has the effect of perpetuating dangerous ways of building homes. The Insurance Trade Association claims “not enough data” to set the rates, but there are problems here: Fire department incident reports do not contain a box for structural materials. That is deliberate because the evidence would show far greater fire safety for houses that do not use lumber and are built with concrete, steel or masonry. That’s what the rest of the world uses.
We have destroyed vast amounts of the native forests in North America. Let’s change course.
Mike Roddy
Alameda
Source: www.mercurynews.com