Readers write
Kennedy’s alteration of CDC’s vaccine safety webpage must be reversed
I’m shocked and alarmed that the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services has inserted his own pseudoscientific content on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccine safety webpage.
The CDC was established to be an independent scientific institution advising DHHS and state and local health departments on public health. Secretary Kennedy has reversed this process without him or the acting director of CDC ever receiving any briefings on vaccine safety evidence by the scientific experts at CDC.
Not only does this seriously jeopardize the uptake of immunizations that have contributed enormously to extending life expectancy, but it also turns the CDC into a political voice for the current administration that will render the CDC’s role in public health irrelevant.
Sen. Bill Cassidy required a commitment during Kennedy’s nomination hearing that the CDC would not alter statements on its website that affirm vaccine safety. I urge him to enforce that commitment and require the removal of these misleading changes. Sen. Cassidy must take action to restore science-based messaging at the CDC and preserve its 79-year history as an independent public health institution.
CRAIG LEUTZINGER, LAWRENCEVILLE
Trump uses ‘bully pulpit’ for own gain
“Bully pulpit” is a phrase coined by President Theodore Roosevelt to emphasize the potential significance of remarks made by a president. Given its potential power, why are we currently shackled with a president who treats it with such disdain?
When asked about the death and dismemberment of Saudi dissident journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, Trump asserted, “things happen,” followed by, “No one really liked him anyway.” In the last few weeks alone, President Trump has used the bully pulpit to make fun of Tom Cruise’s height, refer to Seth Meyers as a “bum,” advocated (again) for Jimmy Kimmel to be fired, referred to a female reporter as “piggy,” called “affordability” a democratic hoax, said “no one” knows what a magnet is, accused five House Democrats of “sedition” and suggested they be put to “death,” accused House Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene of “treason,” stated that “300 million people died last year from drugs,” and that his policies “cut drug prices by…1,500%.”
This is how the president of the United States, the most powerful man in the world, chooses to use the bully pulpit. Both the office of the president and the American people deserve better. Enough already!
RANDY NORRIS, STATHAM
