YOUR VIEWS

Clinging to a myth

I am incensed at “Mandatory vaccines: Bad medicine and bad politics” (Point of View, Dec. 10). It would have been bad enough had you published it as a letter to the editor, but in featuring it essentially as an editorial, you committed journalistic malpractice. All the supposed statistics quoted have been debunked by every reliable scientific entity in the world. The American Medical Association, the American Pediatric Association, the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization are all in agreement that vaccines for preventable, contagious diseases are the single greatest medical advancement in the history of mankind. It is unfathomable to me that so many supposedly intelligent people still cling to this myth that vaccines are the cause of autism or any number of other problems in children (or adults).

The author is continuing to promote the junk science that started this whole “anti-vax” movement. It was based on junk science when first brought up more than 20 years ago, and it remains junk science today. Perhaps he has never seen a child in intensive care on life support with complications from the measles. I have! Or perhaps he has never known the agony faced by a young woman, expecting a muchwanted child, who finds she has developed a case of rubella (German measles) early in the pregnancy. If he doesn’t want to vaccinate his kids, then keep them away from my kids!

Nancy V. Davis, R.N., Edmond

Irresponsible claim

Regarding “Mandatory vaccines: Bad medicine and bad politics” (Point of View, Dec. 10): I am a firm believer in vaccines as I have seen the significant decrease of devastating and lifethreatening illnesses by vaccinating infants — in particular against meningitis and pertussis. Polio, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, measles, mumps — some of these are virtually no longer seen while others, after being quiescent for decades, are making a resurgence as more parents do not vaccinate.

To lay claim that “vaccines are absolutely one of the causes of autism,” as Dr. Steven Lantier stated, is irresponsible and not substantiated. This has been studied in every way by scientific researchers over many years with results not supporting this claim. Autism spectrum disorder certainly has been a challenge and absolutely frightening for all of us. Everything that young children are exposed to, especially vaccines, must be evaluated diligently. The physician who first laid claim that the MMR vaccine caused autism in London in 1998 was discredited, found to be “dishonest, irresponsible and fraudulent,” had his medical license revoked and was banned from practicing in the U.K. A comprehensive 2014 review, using data from more than 1.2 million children, exhaustively concluded there is no relationship between vaccination and autism.

Pediatricians are promoters of children’s health and well-being. We believe in preventive measures. If after decades of practice Dr. Lantier had witnessed the death and devastation these illnesses impart as well as their eradication due to vaccines, I believe he might have a different perspective.

Denise Campbell Scott, M.D., Oklahoma City

Scott is a pediatrician.

Lung cancer awareness

Many Oklahomans may be unaware that lung cancer is the leading cancer killer of men and women in the United States, accounting for about one in four cancer deaths. One of the reasons that lung cancer is so deadly is that it is often diagnosed in later stages, after the disease has already spread.

As a thoracic surgeon, I have seen the impact that this terrible disease has on families and residents of Oklahoma. More needs to be done to raise awareness of lung cancer and the availability of lifesaving lung cancer screening. That’s why I encourage residents who smoked or still smoke to visit SavedByTheScan.org to take an easy lung cancer screening eligibility quiz and learn if they may be at high risk and eligible for screening. Screening is covered by Medicare and most private insurance plans with no cost sharing for those who meet the highrisk criteria.

If each of the 8 million Americans at high risk were to be screened, we’d have the opportunity to save about 25,000 lives.

Matthew Reinersman, M.D., Oklahoma City

Reinersman is on the local leadership board of the American Lung Association in Oklahoma.

Tax thoughts

The closest-to-fair tax is the graduated personal income tax. Anyone paying 40 percent federal or 5 percent state tax can afford to pay more. Do not tax U.S. businesses. Only people pay taxes. Taxing business raises costs for products and services, weakens our ability to compete with foreign markets and keeps businesses from hiring more people. And do not raise the sales tax, which hits lower-income people, but is needed for financing towns and cities.

Floyd Ingle, Yukon