LETTERS
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WISHING HOUSTON WELL I can’t understand why the “shredgate” issue, in the news for 18 months, suddenly became again newsworthy a week before the election. To my recollection, nothing has come out to directly implicate the mayor, who, as (former WICS anchor) Vince DeMentri should know, cannot comment on any ongoing investigations, nor any personnel issues. And yet, the questions persisted… by themselves seeming to suggest that there is a problem, even if the wording doesn’t.
No one is saying that this by itself caused the mayor’s loss, but it did “do him no favors,” as he said.
Mayor Houston, during his 12 years as mayor, has done a lot for our city. He could have retired, but chose to serve his current term to get the city out of its financial mess. (Too bad some of our state’s former officials didn’t do likewise, or our state wouldn’t be in the mess it is.)
We all owe him a huge thank you for helping to make our city what it is today, and wish him well in his future endeavors or retirement.
Frederick W. Frank Springfield
CANCER VACCINES EXIST I applaud Steve McGrew’s letter (March 5) clarifying the nature of autism and the role of vaccines in individual and public health. I completely agree, but I’m happy to add that he did make one error in his letter: Cancer vaccines exist on the market today.
There are two major kinds of cancer vaccines available. The first and most familiar type is the HPV vaccine, which protects against infection by the human papillomavirus. This virus is responsible for most cases of cervical cancer in women, as well as a number of other cancers in men and women. HPV is not the only infectious agent known or suspected to cause cancer, and a number of other vaccines are being researched that may help prevent a wide range of cancers.
The second type is aimed at directly treating cancer. Cancer cells look like healthy cells to the immune system; they only make a few cancer-specific chemical signals that are hard to detect. Research is progressing on vaccines that stimulate the immune system to recognize those signals, so that it can attack and destroy the cells. One such vaccine is now on the market to treat prostate cancer.
As always, progress will be relatively slow, and good early results may not pan out. But this a promising field of research and I think we’ll be hearing more about it soon. Russell Tanton Springfield
MORAL RESPONSIBILITY In his Feb. 26 letter about the measles vaccine, Michael Hart states, “You can forcibly vaccinate me, if you wish – you’ll just have to send a couple of big, strong folk to hold me down while you do it.”
Mr. Hart, no Big Brother or Big Doctor is coming to get you. Assuming that you have not had measles and have never been vaccinated, you’re perfectly within your rights to refuse, whether from paranoia about an “egotistical medical system that demands obedience” or just plain pigheadedness. However, you have a moral responsibility not to spread measles to children under 1-year-old, who are too young for vaccinations, or others whose immune systems are compromised. Those are the people vaccination is designed to safeguard.
Finally, the only people who have to be held down to receive a shot are infants – and the infantile. Bill Ward Springfield
