To the editor: Big surprise. Measles is spreading in Mexico subsequent to an unvaccinated person visiting Texas (“Measles outbreak in Mexico prompts health alert in World Cup host Jalisco,” Feb. 5). Tuberculosis is spreading at a private school in San Francisco (“Tuberculosis outbreak reported at Catholic high school in Bay Area. Cases statewide are climbing,” Feb. 3).
To all those vaccine skeptics out there, and those who didn’t care about the millions who have lost medical care due to cuts to ACA subsidies, I have a message for you: Public health matters. No matter how rich and privileged you are, communicable diseases don’t discriminate. If your neighbor can’t get preventive care or early detection of diseases, beware. You could be the next victim.
We have created a toxic brew between low vaccine rates and inability to access care. I’m old enough to remember the days before measles and polio vaccines and an entire building at City of Hope labeled “consumption.” I pray that government officials and stubborn citizens will wake up and return to prioritizing public health before it’s too late and polio becomes our next outbreak.
Barbara Rosen, Fullerton