Letters: Pa. should ‘protect those who protect’; CVIM makes vaccination sign-up simple

Pennsylvania should ‘protect those who protect’

Last week, the Pennsylvania Department of Health expanded the phase 1A vaccine eligible participants to include smokers. Police, firefighters and teachers are still in 1B. This means a 25-year-old who has made the conscious choice to smoke will get the vaccine before a 64-year-old police officer, firefighter or teacher. Indeed, a drunk 20-year-old who is a smoker, passes out on the couch after they put some pizza rolls in the oven, is eligible for the vaccine before the police and firefighters who have to show up at 3 a.m. in order to put out the oven fire.

As a volunteer first responder, it was a gut punch to me and my family to see smokers prioritized over those who serve and protect. Many of the fellow first responders and teachers I have spoken with share my feeling of betrayal and abandonment. As the pandemic rages, we still staff the fire stations, police stations and schools. If a smoker quits smoking, everyone wins. If a volunteer firefighter quits being a firefighter, everyone loses. First responders and teachers have prioritized the community over themselves throughout the pandemic. First responders and teachers knowingly sacrifice their safety for others, but they should not have to further risk their own safety and the safety of their families because of someone else’s bad lifestyle choice. It is time for the governor and the Department of Health to protect those who protect and educate the community.

CVIM makes vaccination sign-up simple

I read the Sunday morning front page story about CVIM with great interest. I have been involved with this free medical clinic for over 10 years as one of those behind the Battle of the Minds annual fundraiser. The CDT’s story pointed out how much CVIM impacts the community. By coincidence, I became aware of the clinic offering COVID-19 vaccines a day prior to your story. The form that CVIM had was simple to complete. By comparison, the link to Mount Nittany Health takes you to a page that only says “Check here on Jan. 29 to use our online self-scheduling tool to schedule your vaccine appointment.” To say the least, CVIM’s approach is simple and logical. Can you imagine the chaos that will occur on Friday when a deluge of applicants tries to log on to the Mount Nittany website?

Say no to judicial gerrymandering

The judges in Pennsylvania’s top three courts are currently elected statewide. The prime sponsor of House Bill 38, which would amend the state Constitution to provide for the election of these judges from regions whose boundaries would be drawn by the legislature, has argued that too many of these 31 judges are from just two counties: Philadelphia and Allegheny. However, he should have looked more closely at the judges’ backgrounds. Of these 31 judges, 20 were either born out of state (OH, DE, MD, NY, or Wiesbaden, Germany) or else were born in or are affiliated with counties other than Philadelphia or Allegheny (Beaver, Bucks, Centre, Chester, Dauphin, Delaware, Lawrence, Lycoming, Montgomery, Northampton, Schuylkill, Somerset, Tioga, or Westmoreland).

The problem with HB38 is that it would give legislators power over the judges, upsetting the separation of powers that is key to preventing tyranny.

Corman should work to speed up vaccinations

Although the national vaccine shortage is severe, reports indicate that substantial populations are being vaccinated in Pennsylvania and nationally. This is not the case in Centre County.

As a retirement community resident, I wrote to state Sen. Jake Corman, asking him to actively pursue vaccinations for Centre County. His legislative assistant’s response was a 530-word letter saying that Jake “worked diligently to get his 85-year-old mother an appointment for the vaccine” and that he has written to the governor twice about the need. The result is no change of vaccine availability.

Jake claims to be in office to serve his constituents. Perhaps if he would turn his attention from fighting irrelevant political battles, he would have more time to spend on speeding up vaccination availability for the rest of us.