Letters to the Editor | Aug. 31, 2026

As a physician, my first response to your essay prominently displayed on the op-ed page with the headline “Why we need vaccines” was to laugh. But then the realization set in — how sad it is that this op-ed had to be written at all.

Reading that piece makes you realize the size of the nation’s health literacy gap. Vaccines have a 230-year record of effectiveness and safety. They have saved hundreds of millions of lives. The misinformation surrounding them — disseminated largely by MAGA Republicans and their acolytes — has harmed this country immeasurably. How sad it must be to imagine that the parents of an unvaccinated child who dies of measles, a completely preventable disease, think to themselves, “Well, at least he didn’t have a vaccine complication.” You don’t need a college degree to know that vaccines are an invaluable part of modern healthcare. It’s been part of mainstream medicine ever since Edward Jenner developed the smallpox vaccine in 1796. For people to turn their backs on them now begs the question: How did we get here?

Steven Barrer, Huntingdon Valley

I totally agree with Jenice Armstrong: In this day and age, with what we know about science, including sexuality, why should anyone be shamed for being woke? Fifty years ago, we either did not fully appreciate the inequities in employment, the oppressive environments in which women worked, the contribution of pollution to the destruction of the environment, the limited opportunities for people with disabilities, the continuum of sexual biology, and the insidious ways racism persisted among our society … or we didn’t know how to change them.

But I — like a lot of other Americans — am certainly awake now.

The principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion are about being kind and fair. It’s about helping people who have been denied opportunities during those years we were asleep. How can anyone be against that?

P.S. No one wants to defund police.

Beverly Moskowitz, Philadelphia

I was very pleased to see the article explaining Dolly Parton’s program that gets books in the hands of babies, toddlers, and children under the age of 5. However, the article didn’t detail some important aspects of this 31-year-strong, genius idea.

The 332,411,218 age-appropriate books that have been distributed so far have had a statistically significant and lasting effect on young learners’ scholastic and life outcomes. So much so that in many cases, whole states, including Delaware, have opted to fund the program for every child in their state.

Philadelphia, and indeed the whole state of Pennsylvania, should use this moment in time to gift our children the love of books and learning.

Liz Kory, Plymouth Meeting

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