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Kennedy allies foster
uncertainty in vaccines
Re: “Kennedy’s panel recommends new restrictions on chicken pox, measles, mumps and rubella vaccines” (Sept. 19).
The recent recommendation from Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s advisory panel to restrict the combined MMRV vaccine for children under 4 is troubling. While the panel cites concerns about rare fever-related seizures, the broader implications risk undermining confidence in vaccines that have protected generations from measles, mumps, rubella and chickenpox.
Parents already face challenges navigating vaccine schedules. Replacing a single shot with multiple appointments complicates the process and may lower vaccination rates at a time when preventable disease outbreaks are resurging. Discussions about delaying the newborn hepatitis B vaccine raise similar concerns, as hesitation and mixed messaging can weaken public trust in one of the most important public health tools we have.
Science should guide health policy, not fear or politics. Vaccines save lives, and decisions about them must be based on the strongest evidence, communicated clearly and implemented to strengthen — not weaken — public protection.
Haocheng Xue
Fremont
Corporate bottom line
trumping free speech
Donald Trump complains that the TV networks are overwhelmingly negative toward him while ignoring that, for decades, right-wing media have been overwhelmingly negative toward Democrats and Democratic presidents. Right-wing media has actually convinced half of America that the other half is the enemy, and too many act accordingly.
Our Constitution gives us the right of free speech and the right to criticize the government for grievances, but Americans have to stand up for their rights. Corporations and institutions that could easily win in court have been capitulating instead of standing up for America. Evidently, their bottom line is more important to them than America itself as we become more and more like Vladimir Putin’s Russia.
Frank Grygus
San Ramon
U.S. has done nothing
to stop Gaza slaughter
Re: “Palestinians flee carnage” (Page A1, Sept. 17).
Whenever I read an article about the carnage Israel is inflicting on the Palestinians, it seems unbelievable, but the U.S. is indeed blocking any attempts to stop it, even providing more arms for Israel.
So much of this tragedy is facilitated by thinkspeak: The starvation Israel is inflicting on Gazans is not hunger (like you get before dinner) or a famine (natural disaster); it is man-made by Israel’s blockade on Gaza, started years before Oct 7. Palestinians held by Israel are not prisoners but hostages: civilians, held indefinitely without charge or access to lawyers, family, food, medical or sanitary facilities. Those held by Hamas are not hostages but POWs typically released at the end of a war.
We must stop parroting Israeli lies and tell the truth: Israel is exterminating Palestinians with our help. We must act to end it.
Elizabeth Fisher
Pleasant Hill
Newsom should veto
censorship Trojan horse
Re: “Measure awaits Newsom signing” (Page A1, Sept. 21).
AB 715 is not what it claims to be. Framed as anti-discrimination, it is in fact a Trojan horse for censorship — designed to suppress political speech and protect the state of Israel from criticism in California classrooms.
The bill mandates school districts to investigate complaints of “antisemitism” — even anonymous ones — without defining the term. Any lesson or comment deemed offensive by a parent or activist group could trigger a formal probe.
This is not about student safety. It’s about silencing dissent, especially criticism of Zionism or Israeli policy. It places educators under constant threat of politically motivated complaints.
California already has robust civil rights protections for all students. AB 715 builds a separate, privileged track for one group and ties public education policy to the interests of a foreign state.
Gov. Newsom, you must veto AB 715. It has no place in a democratic society.
Chirag Asaravala
Walnut Creek