Opinion
4A
Thursday, January 21, 2021
Our View
Gov. Brown
is right to be
frustrated
I
n retrospect, the national response to the
COVID-19 pandemic was lackluster at best
and nothing illustrates that better than the
recent confusion — and apparent lack of plan-
ning — over the distribution of the vaccine.
Surely we can do better.
Readers may recall that late last week the
state backed off on its earlier pledge to allow
teachers and Oregonians older than 65 to receive
the vaccine later this month. Now, because of an
apparent lack of vaccine supplies, teachers and
educators can start to receive the vaccine Jan. 25.
People older than 80 can get the first shot Feb. 8.
Gov. Kate Brown blamed the Trump adminis-
tration. She announced on Friday, Jan. 15, there
will be no upsurge in vaccine shipments because
there is no national reserve.
Brown said she would demand answers from
the Trump administration and she was “shocked
and appalled” the federal government can’t
deliver on its promises regarding the vaccine.
We can sympathize with the governor. The
sentiments of shock and confusion and frustration
have become, by now, familiar earmarks of the
pandemic. The sad fact, though, is it never had to
be this way.
We are a great nation able to manufacture
state-of-the-art weapons and cutting-edge vehi-
cles. We could, if we wanted, nearly feed the
world with our strong agriculture industry. Yet,
we couldn’t manage to overcome a virus that
should never have been a surprise.
Since the 1990s medical experts, journalists
and other experts warned that a major pandemic
— mostly likely the flu — would descend on the
world soon. Reams of reports and a steady diet
of nonfiction books carefully painted the danger
looming on the horizon.
Nobody listened.
When the pandemic did arrive on our shores,
politics, incompetency and a misguided approach
stagnated the federal government’s response. The
federal government took a 19th century view of
the crisis and turned over the day-to-day battle
against the virus to the states.
Brown is right to be frustrated. The rest of us
should be, too. The only way to fight our way out
of this pandemic is through vaccinations. Without
a vaccine, the pandemic rolls on.
President-elect Joe Biden has proclaimed he
will release more vaccine and faster than the
Trump administration. We hope that is true.
Because the nation does not need more lip ser-
vice when it comes to fighting the virus. And
fighting a pandemic, with essentially one arm tied
behind the back, hasn’t worked and won’t work.
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My Voice
Why I will get a COVID-19 vaccine
JADE
McDOWELL
HERMISTON HERALD
s the first vaccines for
COVID-19 are distrib-
uted to those at the front of
the line, Americans have a choice
about whether to receive the vaccine
themselves.
I am not a doctor qualified to give
medical advice, and I also can’t tell
the future. But I am sharing why I
plan to get the vaccine as soon as it
becomes available to me.
First, I trust the safety and effec-
tiveness of the Moderna and Pfizer
vaccines, as do people in the medical
field I respect, and millions of other
health care professionals the world
over who have so far received their
first dose.
Given the way some politicians
have tried to inappropriately politi-
cize government messaging on the
pandemic, I get why Americans are
hesitant in trusting what they are
hearing. But these vaccines were
developed by private companies and
have been scrutinized and approved
many times over by regulatory agen-
cies around the world, in countries
across the spectrum of political lean-
ings. Some states within the United
States set up their own panels of
experts to judge the vaccine, and
the data from trials has been made
public.
The most common doubt I hear
is, “How was this vaccine developed
in such an unprecedented amount
A
tence biography. Like let-
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SEND LETTERS TO:
letters@lagrandeobserver.
com
or via mail to editor Phil
Wright, 911 Jefferson Ave.,
La Grande, OR 97850
of time?” But the scale of this effort
— from the funding to the number
of people involved to the level of
collaboration — also is completely
unprecedented. If you have always
put together jigsaw puzzles by your-
self and one day you invite three
friends to help, it would not be sur-
prising if the puzzle came together
faster than usual.
Even though this specific variety
of coronavirus is new, scientists were
studying the idea of coronavirus vac-
cines after past outbreaks of COVID-
19’s cousins, SARS and MERS.
Researchers say that data was
invaluable in providing a head start.
Medical science also has advanced
greatly since the advent of vaccines
for diseases such as polio.
If I asked you what would happen
if you dropped a bowling ball off the
roof of your house, you might confi-
dently tell me the ball would quickly
drop to the ground. It wouldn’t
matter if you had never specifically
dropped a bowling ball off your roof
before; you know how gravity works,
and you have seen how bowling balls
behave in other circumstances. Sim-
ilarly, despite having never encoun-
tered this specific virus before,
scientists had a wide body of knowl-
edge about viruses and the immune
system.
Others are concerned about pos-
sible complications. It is true a
small percentage of people have
had significant allergic reactions to
the vaccine. But they have recov-
ered thanks to the EpiPens that in
most cases they carried because of
severe allergies to other substances.
The same thing would happen if you
gave several million people peanuts,
or eggs or bread.
While there is no way to 100%
guarantee none of the COVID-19
vaccines have any long-term side
effects, the science behind them
is considered sound, and there is
no indication so far there will be
problems.
We have plenty of documentation
of long-term side effects for COVID-
19. So far, 1.7% of people who tested
positive for COVID-19 in the United
States have died from it. In Oregon,
5.7% of people who have tested pos-
itive have been hospitalized during
their illness.
A growing number of other
Americans have been disabled by
flu-like symptoms going on nine
months now, or have experienced
permanent lung damage, heart
damage, short term memory loss,
loss of taste or smell, kidney failure
or other lasting side effects.
Nothing in life is without risk,
but the odds of living the rest of
my life in good health seem far
better with the vaccine than with
COVID-19.
The past year has been miserable,
and I want to get back to “normal”
life. I’m tired of people who com-
plain constantly about the pan-
demic and yet refuse to wear masks,
social distance, get a vaccine or
do literally anything to help things
change. I’m willing to do my part
to improve our circumstances, and I
hope others will be, too.
———
Jade McDowell is editor of
the Hermiston Herald, part of the
EO Media Group.
Contact your public officials
STATE OFFICIALS
Gov. Kate Brown
900 Court Street N.E.,
Suite 254
Salem, OR 97301-4047
503-378-4582
Sen. Bill Hansell,
District 29
900 Court St. N.E., S-423
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1729
Sen.BillHansell@oregon-
legislature.gov
Rep. Bobby Levy,
District 58
900 Court St. N.E., H-376,
Salem, OR 97301
503-986-1458
Rep.BobbyLevy@oregon-
legislature.gov
UNITED STATES
OFFICIALS
President Joseph Biden
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
N.W., Washington, D.C.
20500
Comments: 202-456-1111
www.whitehouse.gov/
contact
Sen. Ron Wyden
221 Dirksen Senate Office
Building,
Washington, D.C., 20510;
202-224-5244
La Grande office:
541-962-7691
Sen. Jeff Merkley
313 Hart Senate Office
Building,
Washington, D.C., 20510;
202-224-3753;
Pendleton office:
541-278-1129
Rep. Cliff Bentz
1239 Longworth House
Office building
Washington, D.C., 20515;
202-225-6730
Medford office:
541-776-4646