August 29, 2020 Issue, Page 14 of 18

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Page 4, Section A The Elk City News, Elk City, Oklahoma Saturday, August 29, 2020 Tempted not to vaccinate? Listen to the Opinion Page “ElkCituNews survivors of preventable, deadly diseases Serving Western Oklahoma since 1901 By Julia Lieblich, Chica- of testing on people of col- atrics in the Department of als who have gone rogue,” Stark differences go Tribune or, including the infamous Infectious Diseases at Chil- she says. “I thought maybe My mother came down Tuskegee medical experi- dren’s Hospital in Philadel- the person with the alterna- with polio before Jonas ments. The most compelling phia. “Measles can kill you. tive point of view was right. between parties Salk’s vaccine was intro- duced in 1954. My Guatemalan friend, “experts” may be the ones we hear from the least: the men and women who suf- Before 1963, 2 to 3 million It was analysis paralysis. I people got measles each was afraid to vaccinate and year, 50,000 were hospital- afraid not to vaccinate, So on energy policy Alba Hernandez, developed the paralyzing disease 23 fered life-threatening illness ized and 500 died. I think because they were denied we're going to find out my action was to take no ac- tion.” years after the vaccine ar- vaccines as children. how bad it is in the winter Today, she says she is The Oklahoman rived in her country. Skepticism remains ram- months,” though he hopes There are many policy differences between former vice At age 5, she developed pant, wearing masks and social sympathetic to people who are suspicious of the CDC, president Joe Biden, who formally accepted the Demo- a high fever and could not * A nationwide poll re- distancing will lessen the the World Health Organiza- cratic Party’s nomination for president last week, and move her legs. Later, her leased earlier this month spread. tion and “Big Pharma,” but mother sent her to an or- by researchers at Harvard, Kristen O'Meara of Chi- President Donald Trump, who will accept his party’s phanage where the nuns told Northeastern, Rutgers and cago said she is filled with she encourages people to nomination this week. her the illness could have Northwestern universi- regret for not vaccinating follow the advice of lead- Energy offers one of the starkest examples. been prevented with shots. ties found that only 52% of her children from com- ing virologists and epidemi- “My mother should have Black Americans say they mon childhood diseases. ologists who “eat, breath and The Trump administration recently finalized a drilling taken better care of me and are likely to seek a COV- As a result, her entire fam- live” vaccines. She says she plan for a portion of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, taken me to a clinic,” says ID-19 vaccine when it be- ily, including her 3-year old will be first in line to get the something Republicans have sought for decades and the Hernandez, 43, who navi- comes available. and 5-year-old, came down coronavirus vaccine for her Bureau of Land Management says can be done safely in gates the cobblestone streets * Although polio has with rotavirus, the leading children. the coastal plain area. Democrats oppose the plan as do and steep curbs of Anti- been eradicated in most of cause of sometimes-deadly Last year, the CDC report- environmental groups that hold tremendous sway with gua in a wheelchair, “They the world, in Pakistan and diarrhea among infants and ed 1,282 cases of measles in didn’t love me enough, and Afghanistan it remains en- young children before a 31 states. the party. I’m paying for their bad de- demic, in part because of an vaccine was introduced in Joshua Nerius, a software That influence is evident in Biden’s $2 trillion climate cision. I understand people’s aggressive anti-vaccination 2006, according to the CDC. product manager in Chicago, change plan, which resulted from a task force co-chaired fears, but vaccines can save campaign, according to the O’Meara’s family endured learned four years ago that by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The plan calls for your life.” World Health Organization. what she describes as 10 his parents had not had him Public health officials * In some states in the days of crippling cramping. using renewable energy, primarily wind and solar, to worldwide agree on the need US., the rate of immuniza- “Tam thankful it didn’t do vaccinated for measles as a achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions no later than child, he told CNN. At 27, to make vaccines more ac- tion in children 5 months old lasting damage. You never he was admitted to North- 2050. It proposes installing 500 million solar panels and cessible and launch social and younger fell to 50% be- knowif your child will have 60,000 wind turbines, and transitioning the nation’s fleet media campaigns that edu- tween March and May, due a complication that is going western Memorial Hospital cate parents about vaccine to fear of going to doctors to be lifelong,” she says. with a high fever and a rash. of school buses to zero-emission alternatives within five He lost 25 pounds and it efficacy while addressing during the COVID-19 pan- She was not a dyed-in- years. their anxieties. demic, the Centers for Dis- the wool anti-vaxxer. She took him months to fully The plan would, within 15 years, stop the use of coal Public information pro- ease Control and Prevention describes herself as a “ba- recover. He was angry, he and natural gas to generate electricity. Biden would ban grams should recruit respect- reports. by-wearing, _breastfeed- said, that his parents were new oil and gas production offshore and on federal land. ed community advocates to “People don’t realize how ing mom” who favored all persuaded by anti-vaxxers. discuss vaccine safety with bad not vaccinating your things natural. Julia Lieblich is a scholar- A new Justice Department division would be created to minority groups understand- children can be,” said Paul “Anti-vaxxers like to in-residence at the Newber- punish the heads of businesses that “continue to pollute” ably wary given the history Offit, a professor of pedi- quote medical profession- ry Library in Chicago. communities. The hydraulic fracking revolution of the past several years has made the United States energy independent, Calls to defund police clash with push to strengthening national security. The use of coal has di- minished considerably as natural gas use has surged, but have officers enforce COVID-19 restrictions even that clean-burning fuel is anathema to many pro- By Emily Mooney and just for show. Washington, ther law enforcement nor the population turnover of jails gressives who say only green will do. GianCarlo Canaparo, The D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser public wants at this point. make them perfect vectors California residents are finding out what that can mean, Heritage Foundation has instructed police to find After all, expanding reasons for community spread. In- enduring blackouts during the current heat wave because The ongoing COVID-19 and punish mask violators for police-civilian interac- deed, researchers studying mandated renewables can’t keep up. Renewable energy pandemic and racial justice with $1,000 fines. Among tions will only increase op- the relationship between protests have come together those charged or jailed for portunities for arrests and jail-community cycling and makes up more than one-third of California’s electric gen- to produce one of the strang- social distancing violations police use of force. During COVID-19 cases in Chicago eration, with mandates set to push that to 60% by 2030 est ironies of 2020: Many are pastors in Florida and one notable social distancing of the same people who Louisiana, wedding hosts found suggestive evidence arrest in New York City, an and 100% by 2045. publicly support defunding in New Jersey, a solitary officer repeatedly punched that the cycling of people in The Wall Street Journal’s Kimberley Strassel notes that and out of the Cook County the police and curtailing the paddleboarder off Malibu, aman and then knelt on his Biden talked during the convention about the clean-ener- reach of the criminal justice even a homeless man who neck to handcuff him - the Jail explained more than gy energy jobs that would be created under his adminis- system are calling for law violated curfew in Orlando same tactic used on George half of the variance in case tration, but not about the millions of existing energy jobs enforcement to police minor by - irony of ironies - not be- Floyd. rates among different Chi- that would be lost. In July, Strassel wrote that, “A study behaviors. ing at home. Not to mention, any fis- cago ZIP codes. New York City Mayor Bill It’s hard to imagine how cal or jail penalties are For these reasons and by the National Ocean Industries Association finds that a de Blasio, for example, ap- these actions could possi- bound to have a greater more, policymakers should ban on offshore drilling alone would cost 200,000 jobs, plauded the city’s decision bly coincide with the calls impact on those of lesser rethink their move to crimi- damaging regional economies.” to cut $1 billion from the of racial justice advocates. means. Poverty rates among nalize and police corona- All this matters because Oklahoma’s traditional energy police department budget Some have argued that the Blacks, Hispanics and Na- virus restrictions. To begin while deploying thousands true aim of the “defund the tive Americans are double this shift, local and state of- sector is already hurting. Last week, Chaparral Energy of officers to aggressively police” movement is not to that of white Americans. ficials should at least clarify became the latest to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy pro- enforce the state’s social dis- do away with the police (al- And Black Americans, in that criminal enforcement tection. Oil and gas companies of all sizes are trimming tancing rules with fines and though some, more radical particular, have been dis- should be a last-resort ac- operations and cutting back. arrests. At this point, police people may seek that objec- proportionately impacted tion, preceded by efforts to have made scores of arrests tive), but rather to scale back economically during CO- While the Biden energy plan doesn’t seek to ban produc- educate individuals on the and issued hundreds of cita- the role of law enforcement VID-19. Even if there were tion offossil fuels, its proposed rules would make drilling tions. with respect to minor crimes equal enforcement of social restrictions and their impor- for oil and gas costlier and more burdensome, something The irony is on full display and crises in favor of more distancing and public health tance. in Seattle too, where the city measured responses led by restrictions (and that’s a big Using criminal sanctions voters here and in other energy-producing states will need to consider when weighing their choices in November. council recently approved community and social ser- if), fines or jail time will hit to enforce COVID-19 re- a plan to begin defunding vice providers. those struggling financially strictions is counterproduc- the police while maintain- All they seek, in this tell- harder than those who are tive to the aims of racial jus- ing what The Washington ing, is for policymakers to not. tice advocates. And it risks Post calls “an aggressive reconsider: (1) what behav- Making matters worse, in more unnecessary confron- campaign” to enforce so- iors truly necessitate a crim- at least some cases - like the tations between civilians cial distancing rules. Under inal-justice response and (2) Malibu paddleboarder and and law enforcement with Seattle’s social distancing whether or not the current- others - enforcement has tar- little gain to public health. rules, not only can individu- day response actually brings geted people who pose no Emily Mooney is a resi- als be jailed for noncompli- about the intended outcomes clear public health threat. dent policy fellow and ance, business owners can - namely, increased pub- Moreover, rather than Send your letter manager for the R Street be jailed if they fail to en- lic safety and community prevent infection, mask and Institute’s Criminal Justice force the rules in their estab- health. distancing arrests will in- lishments. crease exposure risks among and Civil Liberties team. It’s clear that criminaliz- to the editorto Numerous other states, ing and deploying law en- law enforcement, those in GianCarlo Canaparo is a counties, and towns have forcement to enforce public jail, and the communities to legal fellow in The Heritage deployed law enforcement health restrictions accentu- which jailed individuals re- Foundation's Edwin Meese [email protected] to enforce social distanc- ates the policing of minor turn. We know that the tight II Center for Legal and Ju- ing orders, and they aren’t behaviors, something nei- quarters and the constant dicial Studies.