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Brad Kramer stated, “there is renewed hope in America now,” and I must agree. Now that Joe Biden occupies the White House, there truly is a renewed hope in America. As our nation continues to tackle the challenges of the coronavirus, we need the honesty, integrity and unwavering values of President Biden. We need timely information in uncertain times. We need to be able to trust that the words of our president are fact and not hyperbole.    

COVID infections driven by the Delta variant are increasing dramatically. Why? Because people are not getting vaccinated. The Delta variant can infect vaccinated people and they can transmit the disease. Some medical professionals are refusing to care for unvaccinated patients. They do not want to transmit the disease to children who are not eligible to be vaccinated. If you are not vaccinated and become infected and seriously ill, do not be surprised if you are left to take care of yourself and die alone.

Republican governors in states like Texas and Florida are banning mask mandates. They are taking away a very important tool documented to protect people from infection. The sad consequence is that children who do not have an approved vaccine will be the victims. Mr. Kramer’s blaming Democrats for the resurgence of COVID is disingenuous. The resurgence is clearly a result of the choices many have made to disregard science-based recommendations to wear a mask, get vaccinated, socially distance and wash your hands frequently.

Rep. Bennett coauthored a bill, HF2530, which states, “the governor and every agency of state government and local units of government, and local political subdivisions and their agents, designees and assigns are prohibited from taking any actions to study, plan and implement vaccination passports or vaccine passes or vaccine credentials.” What does this mean?

Under HF2530, school districts would no longer be able to require staff and students to be vaccinated for polio, measles and other contagious diseases including COVID. Parents would be forced to send our children and grandchildren to schools with no assurance they would not be exposed to numerous contagious diseases. Businesses would lose the ability to protect their customers, employees, and families. This bill was proposed under the guise of protecting private health information. To me being vaccinated is not a “health condition.”

To me, getting vaccinated is one of the many ways we respect each other in a civil society. It is one of the ways that we protect each other. It is an informed and unselfish act.

I am grateful to live in an America where we can trust the words and intentions of our president. I am encouraged to know that advice given at the federal level is science-based. We are truly seeing a new day.

Joe Pacovsky

Hayward