Letters to the editor for Aug. 1
Global priority to global pandemic
The June 24 Olympian reports that “The COVID-19 vaccines were not brewed overnight... (but) were the fruit of more than 10 years of behind-the-scenes research and huge injections of funding that laid the groundwork for them to be rolled out so quickly.”
Because of that preparedness, many are fortunate enough to have access to vaccine. While we take credit for our success in producing preventative solutions, the U.S. has lost more people to COVID-19 than any other. And we’ll continue to experience tragic losses from this virus and its variants as long as people around the world remain unvaccinated.
Nearly 2 billion of the world’s population living in low- and middle-income countries still do not have access to modern medicine, according to the World Health Organization. Global health leaders have learned a valuable lesson during the COVID-19 pandemic: Pandemics start at the community level and they are ended at the community level.
This health crisis marks the interconnected nature of today’s fragile health security landscape and stresses the need to expand access to affordable and safe medicines for all our communities.
Our leadership, President Biden and Congress, partnered with a greater commitment from world leaders, can urgently increase vaccine supply and end-to-end delivery at a global scale. The U.S. is capable of such leadership and can be called upon to do so now.
Nancy Curtiss, Olympia
A great scenario for Ranked Choice Voting
It breaks my heart to see so many fine candidates for the Olympia City Council. How I wish I could rank my vote according to my first favorite and then my second favorite, and more if need be.
But wait! Such a possibility exists. It’s called ranked choice voting and it’s used in dozens of places around the country, including two states.
Ranked choice voting gives more choices plus a chance to always vote your conscience without spoiling an election. Plus, it lowers negativity in campaigns.
Does this sound good to you? Check out FairVoteWA.org to see how you can help bring ranked choice voting to Washington state.
Becky Liebman, Olympia
Olympia Police Chief offers hope as police reform kicks in
It’s been a difficult time to believe, as I do, that our institutions can move our community towards a better, fairer way of operating for everyone. Your July 26 article describing legislative changes to policing is a hopeful sign of changes moving us in that direction.
Olympia’s interim Police Chief Aaron Jelcick reported on these changes to the city’s Ad Hoc Public Safety Committee. Jelcick said a number of the changes are already Olympia Police policy. Operating effectively as a law enforcement officer is one of our most difficult jobs, and the recent legislative changes were hard fought.
How many times have I read about a law enforcement official announcing that he or she will not enforce some law because she doesn’t agree with its direction? Jelcick’s approach described in the article was different than this and refreshing.
Steven King, Olympia