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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • TuESDAY, JANuARY 29, 2019
OPINION
editor@dailyastorian.com
KARI BORGEN
Publisher
JIM VAN NOSTRAND
Editor
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Circulation Manager
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Systems Manager
OUR VIEW
We dare not forget the past — get a vaccination
A
s a society, we have made
such progress against
once-common illnesses
that we forget they are still around
and still potentially life-threat-
ening. The measles outbreak in
Southeast Washington exemplifies
what can happen if we lower our
vigilance — and our vaccinations.
High rates of vaccination kept
measles under control in the U.S.,
with about 60 cases annually from
2000 to 2010, according to the
Mayo Clinic. In recent years, that
average has climbed to 205 cases,
most often among people who
either were unvaccinated or did not
know whether they were. There
were 350 cases in the U.S. last
year.
As of this writing, 35 con-
firmed cases and 11 suspected
cases have occurred this month
in Clark County, Washington,
and one in Oregon’s Multnomah
County. At least 30 of the patients
had not been immunized — even
though getting the combined mea-
sles-mumps-rubella vaccine is
safer than contracting measles.
Measles is so contagious, and
potentially fatal in young children,
that Washington Gov. Jay Ins-
lee has declared a state of emer-
gency. People who visited more
than 40 locations in the Vancou-
ver-Portland area might have been
exposed.
“It’s one of the most contagious
viruses we have. It can have really
serious complications,” said Dr.
Alan Melnick, the Clark County
health officer. “And it’s entirely
preventable with an incredibly
cheap and safe vaccine.”
But the measles vaccination rate
in Clark County was only
National Museum of Health
Influenza victims crowd into an emergency hospital in 1918 at Camp Funston, a
subdivision of Fort Riley in Kansas.
‘IT’S ONE OF THE MOST CONTAGIOuS
VIRuSES WE HAVE. IT CAN HAVE REALLY
SERIOuS COMPLICATIONS. AND IT’S
ENTIRELY PREVENTABLE WITH AN
INCREDIBLY CHEAP AND SAFE VACCINE.’
Dr. Alan Melnick | Clark County health officer
78 percent.
People forget that measles killed
hundreds of people each year, and
caused serious health complica-
tions for thousands more, before
the disease was declared eradicated
in the U.S. at the start of the 21st
century.
But measles persisted elsewhere.
Around the world, more than
100,000 people die from measles
each year, most of them children
under age 5.
The measles outbreak in the
Vancouver-Portland area, com-
bined with an increase in flu cases,
has caused some Oregon hospitals
to restrict visitors.
Flu is so common that people
often forget about its potential con-
sequences as well. Yet influenza
and related complications killed
an estimated 80,000 Americans
last winter, far above a typical year
because last year’s vaccine was not
as effective.
The influenza virus mutates, so
each year’s vaccine is formulated
to provide immunity against the
strains considered most probable to
cause an outbreak. That is why get-
ting a flu vaccine each year mat-
ters. Many Americans don’t do so.
Influenza and related conditions
hospitalized 1,562 people in Ore-
gon last year and led to the deaths
of three children. Although last
year’s vaccine was less effective,
an Oregon Health Authority study
found that seniors who got high-
dose flu shots were less likely to be
hospitalized.
“Pandemic,” a popular board
game, shows how easily diseases
can spread. The Vancouver-Port-
land measles outbreak is not nearly
an epidemic, let alone a pandemic.
Neither is this year’s flu season in
Oregon.
But it is worth noting that this
winter is the 100th anniversary of
the worst pandemic in recorded
history. As the flu mutated into a
global killer, it took the lives of
50 million to 100 million peo-
ple, including about 675,000 in the
U.S. during the course of one year.
This grim anniversary is a
reminder that we dare not forget
the past, ignore what could happen
in the future — or fail to get our
vaccinations.
To quote a Washington Post
story from last year about the pan-
demic, “the 1918 nightmare serves
a reminder. If a virulent enough
strain were to emerge again, a cen-
tury of modern medicine might not
save millions from dying.”
There were no worthwhile flu
vaccines in 1917-18. There are
today, just as there is a measles
vaccine.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
WINGS aims to improve
lives of women, children
W
hat can we in our community do to
improve the lives and prospects of
our local women and children, who have
so much potential to make Clatsop County
a more vibrant and equitable place to live
and work?
We can give them WINGS, a free
conference Saturday, Feb. 9, 8 a.m. to
3:30 p.m. in Columbia Hall at Clatsop
Community College.
We are gearing up for the 17th year for
Women INterested in Going to School
(WINGS), and more than 800 women have
taken advantage of this free conference. It
offers sessions with college staff, who pro-
vide useful information and timelines to
get started on an educational track.
Sessions include information on earn-
ing a GED, costs and financial support
options, learning about Lives in Transition
(LIT), conquering math anxiety and Clat-
sop Community College degrees and cer-
tificate programs.
This one-day conference also includes a
Latina WINGS track, with real-time trans-
lation by volunteer Gudelia Contreras, to
help women know that they can come to
the community college to gain English
skills and further their education. More
importantly, they’ll learn that the college
welcomes them.
What is great about WINGS is that
women will begin the day with trepida-
tion about their perceived barriers to learn-
ing, and leave with relief and enthusiasm
as they figure out they can and should get
on with their education, be it seeking a
degree, a GED or workforce job training.
The conference is packed with how
to plan and begin, what support and pro-
grams are available, and who can assist
them. Register at clatsopcc.edu or call
503-717-1852.
ANE McINTYRE
Gearhart
Pack it in, pack it out
I
scour the river beach at Fort Stevens for
trash on almost a daily basis. It’s a beau-
tiful stretch of beach, and deserves to be
treated with respect.
I have a particular beef with the bon-
fire crowd. Almost every bonfire site has
trash left behind in and around the charred
driftwood. Recently I picked up a bro-
ken vodka bottle and a broken beer bottle
that were thrown on the fire. The glass was
sharp and dangerous.
Why did the bonfire people throw the
bottles in the fire? Did they really think
the fire would consume it? Do they think
the tide will just take it away? I know it’s
a younger crowd but they should know
better.
I am thinking that we should post signs
at the entrance to the river beach that
states “Pack it in. Pack it out.” There are
no trash bins or facilities at this entrance,
which is between Area C and Area D.
Other options are no driving on the beach,
or no bonfires.
I know that there are a lot of peo-
ple who would consider such things to
be heresy here in Clatsop County. How-
ever, if people can’t behave responsibly,
the choices are to either shut it down, or
police it.
Every day when we have benign
weather, I find bonfire sites with new
mounds of garbage. We really need to treat
our beaches with greater care and respect.
HOLT MOORE
Astoria
President Trump’s
border crisis is a myth
R
epublican Congressman Will Hurd,
41-year-old old former CIA under-
cover officer, who represents one of the
largest congressional districts in Texas
with 820 miles bordering Mexico, told
Rolling Stone that President Donald
Trump’s border crisis is a “myth,” and that
Trump is trying to use a “third century
solution to solve a 21st Century problem.”
If it is a crisis, why weren’t the border
workers getting paid during the govern-
ment shutdown? During the the govern-
ment shutdown, the Department of Home-
land Security was furloughed, unpaid. Is
this security sense?
Rep. Hurd said when you talk of cri-
sis, people are afraid to leave their homes,
right? He says there is no crisis situation or
violence in his district; his cities are some
of the safest in the U.S. If anything, they
talk of needing workers. To get property
by eminent domain for a wall would hurt
about 1,000 property owners in his state.
Hurd proposes smart, effective 21st
century solutions: Light Detection And
Ranging (LIDAR), cameras, infrared,
Automatic Identification System (AIS),
drones and helicopters, depending on the
non-homogeneous nature of the vast land-
scape. The Smart Wall Act was included in
the Homeland bill last year. It’s not rocket
science.
“That’s why we’ll continue to talk
about how we solve this problem, operate
within the Secure Fence Act, double down
on our ports of entry, where most of the
illegal drugs come in, where the most peo-
ple are surrendering,” Hurd said. “We’ll
use technology and address root causes in
Mexico with a Marshall Plan for Central
America,” and much-needed ambassadors.
MONICA TAYLOR
Astoria
Shutdown was abject
failure of leadership
I
agree fully with the editorial “Time to
end the gamesmanship on border wall”
(The Daily Astorian, Jan. 23).
The shutdown showed an abject
failure of governing and leadership on
the part of President Donald Trump. As
The Daily Astorian and many others have
stated, Mr. Trump held American work-
ers and the American public hostage with
his immature attempt at negotiation. He
caused real harm to real people, both right
here in Clatsop County and all across the
nation.
Senate President Mitch McConnell and
Republican senators waited far too long to
join the Democrat-led House and pass a
bill to reopen the government. Now they
have to sit down and hammer out a plan to
reform our immigration policy. All Amer-
icans agree we need smart, up-to-date and
cost-effective border protection and immi-
gration reform. A “wall” is not any of
those things.
I want to say to all federal workers,
either furloughed or who worked without
pay, that we owe them a debt of gratitude,
and I have empathy with their plight. They
deserve better. We all deserve better. The
purpose of government is to serve the peo-
ple, not cause harm to the people.
ERIC HALPERIN
Gearhart
Don’t give free
advertising to KKK
I
’m sure the person who posted those
KKK flyers around Astoria (“KKK fly-
ers pop up in downtown Astoria,” The
Daily Astorian, Jan. 22) must want to
thank you for providing a photo that
included their contact information, but per-
sonally I don’t feel the free advertising
was such a great idea.
SHERRIE HAMMOND
Hammond