Seventy years ago, there was, unfortunately, such a great number of communicable diseases that there were hospitals dedicated to their treatment. In the 1950s, 95 percent of the population had been infected with the measles by age 15, with 500 deaths annually. There also were special hospital units with iron lungs to manage those who […]
letter to the editor
Posted inLetters
Letter to the editor: If you support vaccination, vote ‘no’ on Question 1
The Press Herald should clarify what it means to vote for or against this ‘badly worded’ ballot question.
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Posted inLetters
Letter to the editor: Nonmedical vaccine exemptions drive up care costs, put lives at risk
As a physician specializing in infectious diseases who has spent the last 11 years treating and preventing life-threatening infections, I am writing to voice my strong opposition to Question 1. States with nonmedical vaccine exemptions are at increased risk of disease outbreaks in children. We have already experienced outbreaks of pertussis in Maine, and we […]
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Letter to the editor: President’s acquittal is an occasion to mourn
Since the Republican majority in the U.S. Senate actually acquitted the cruel, contemptuous and corrupt president of the United States, I find that I can barely lift my head off the pillow in the morning. I feel deep shame. I know that I must act. It is my responsibility as a citizen of this country […]
Posted inLetters
Letter to the editor: Protect the community and vote ‘no’ on Question 1
Ten years ago, while training as a resident physician, a 22-year-old man in our intensive care unit died of complications of varicella (chicken pox) pneumonia after weeks on a ventilator. He had grown up in the 1980s and had never been vaccinated. I have also taken care of patients who became permanently ventilator dependent as […]
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Letter to the Editor: Listen to those who remember the time before vaccines
I am 91 years old. I remember that, when I was a child, I had measles, mumps, chicken pox, whooping cough and German measles. Kids were dying of these diseases. Polio was feared. Every summer we saw pictures of children and adults in iron lungs with only their heads outside the big machines that were […]
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Letter to the editor: Sen. Collins has much in common with baseball’s Manfred
The similarities between Susan Collins and Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred are compelling. They apparently attended the same leadership school. They’re like two peas in a pod. Collins saw no behavior by Trump serious enough to warrant conviction and removal from office. Manfred saw no behavior by the Houston Astros serious enough to punish […]
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Letter to the editor: Seat belts on school bus may not be safer
They’re a bad idea for several other, purely logistical reasons, too.
Posted inLetters
Letter to the editor: Vision lacking for Maine aquaculture industry’s future
The state should not be assigning leases as they come in without first having studied the potential recreational, commercial and wildlife impact.
Posted inLetters
Letter to the editor: Costly TV ads won’t solve CMP’s self-inflicted problems
Anyone else getting tired of hearing this advertising from Central Maine Power? The sage, grandfatherly voice calmly lets us know that the company has experienced “adversity” before and has “powered on” to get through it. The gist and tone of the language are designed to comfort the listener, indicating that CMP will get over this […]