Public health messaging is everything
As a retired communications professional, I can't help but think how things might have been different if the scientific experts had not used the term "mRNA" to describe the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.
The term is technically correct. But with "RNA" in the name, many people think the vaccine alters one's genetics, which is definitely not true. Many women of child-bearing age and parents with children have been reluctant to get the vaccine, thinking the shot will alter their DNA or the DNA of their children. We all remember learning about RNA and DNA in high school biology, thus the confusion.
Had the scientists stressed words like "immune boosting" or "antibody boosting" to describe the vaccine, I believe more people would have gotten the shot, especially those concerned about reproduction and vaccine safety for kids. When it comes to public health, messaging is everything. I encourage national health officials to call on communications experts as well as scientific experts to help craft messages about vaccination moving forward.
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Jane Lassar
Foothills
Voting in Congress
From what I see in the news, the vast majority of Americans are in favor of passing into law most of the provisions of the Build Back Better Act. In no way do I approve of Sen. Joe Manchin's action to keep Congress from approving the bill. But his is only one vote. There are 50 other senators in a position to allow the bill to pass. Isn't even one of them willing to accede to the wishes of his/her constituents and do what they were sent to Washington to do?
Cary Fishman
East side
Mansplaining explained
I love mansplaining. I especially enjoy it when the pompous buffoon who is offering his opinion as fact chooses to expound on concerns that confront only women. Who would know more about how a woman should respond to the difficulties that plague only women than the mansplainer? The enormity of the cosmos pales in comparison to the mansplainer's hubristic ego. One wonders how someone who possesses a Y chromosome has so much insight into the type of behavior that benefits a woman's life.
The Taliban would assuredly proffer lifetime membership to such a man. Would he then feign umbrage or, in his ignorance, would he be genuinely insulted? Well, like his mansplain, it really doesn't matter, does it?
Rick Cohn
West side
What will it take, Republicans?
Re: the Dec. 21 article "Republicans refuse to say Biden won."
What will it take for the majority of Republicans to concede that the presidential election in 2020 was won by a Democrat? It seems that from now on, any Democrat who wins an election, the Republicans will cry “fraud.” Recent elections show that when a Republican wins there is no cry of fraud from the Republican Party.
The Republican Party will continue this pattern in order to try to maintain their power. They can’t win on their policies so they will attempt to gain power through restrictive voting policies, gerrymandering and charges of fraud. The GOP (Grand Old Party) is no longer. They are now the POC, the Party Over Country.
Frank J. Perez
Foothills
