COVID-19 spread worries parent as school starts

Start of school worries

As a parent of an 8 and 10-year-old, I am deeply troubled about the start of school. No matter political or scientific views, I believe we can all agree that the safety of our children is paramount. Whether it is the prudent path or erring on the side of caution, I am asking our governor and legislature to institute elementary school safety precautions including masks for school children under the age of 12. Following DHEC recommendations for a short period of time seems reasonable until vaccines are approved for this age group. Once vaccines are available for 11-year-olds and younger, all parents can make individual choices for their own children.

- Claire Tidwell,Lexington

Help those with disabilities

I’d like to urge our South Carolina Congressional Delegation to invest in what people with disabilities, the direct care workforce, and families need to recover from the COVID-19 crisis. Medicaid home and community-based services, or HCBS, are critical to a life in the community for people with disabilities.

Without access to services, family members are often left out of the economy because they are providing care, and people with disabilities don’t have the services that they need to work in their communities. The workforce that supports people with disabilities is underpaid and has been for far too long. Investing in care infrastructure will aid in economic growth for people with disabilities, direct care workers, and family caregivers.

Please urge Congress to support the passage of the Better Care Better Jobs Act to fund expanded access to Medicaid HCBS for people with disabilities on waiting lists and to address the direct care workforce crisis, including raising wages. This effort will also allow unpaid family caregivers who have been filling in the gaps of service for far too long to re-enter the workforce.

- Danni Bloom,Chapin

Make unvaccinated pay more

Covid Vaccinations. Not a day goes by that a politician comes up with a plan to encourage people to get their Covid shots. We have seen all levels of politicians promise the public monetary rewards, lottery tickets or the like. After spending much of my career in the insurance industry, I have learned a few things about morbidity and mortality. An individual is not judged by their habits, they simply have to pay for them. If you smoke, term life insurance will roughly cost twice as much. If you fail to treat high blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol, you must pay substantially more for a policy. Why are vaccinated individuals paying the tremendous expense of treatment and hospitalization of unvaccinated people? If you want to have more people vaccinated, simply raise the premiums for their health insurance or medicare accordingly. Get ready for the rush.

- David Gerald Schmidt,Irmo

Mask up, SC

The current bruhaha in South Carolina over wearing a face mask is very concerning. The penalty for the Governor, the Attorney General and their following being wrong about the wearing of face masks could be a preventable death. Medical people say one thing, but the Governor and Attorney General say something else. I wonder where they got their medical training? It is a typical case aptly described as the inmates running the asylum.

It is tragic that such a critical medical issue has become a political football with children’s and family members’ lives at stake. I think it peculiar that the Interim President of USC, physicians at local hospitals and trained epidemiologists have taken a position opposite to that which the politicians have carved out. Who should be leading a medical policy issue? It seems to me that those educated and trained in the issue should have the lead voices in the debate. With the politicos, after all is said and done, there will be a lot said and very little done to protect the citizens of the state.

- Eugene Allen, Capt. USAF (Ret.),Columbia

Listen to experts

Now is the time to put politics and partisanship aside and focus on the health of our children. As a President of the SC Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics (representing over the 750 pediatricians in the state), I am asking you to contact your elected officials and urge them to reverse the law that forbids public schools from requiring masks.

The delta variant of COVID-19 is significantly more contagious than the original strain in circulation over the past school year. Many schools that have already started back are experiencing outbreaks. We must reinstate mask requirements for children in schools and allow school districts to act in the interest of maximum safety for children. Masking reduces that risk and vaccines reduce both risk and severity of illness. Children less than 12 cannot yet receive the vaccine, and about only 25% of those 12-18 are vaccinated. So why aren’t we doing everything we can to reduce their risks?

Masking in schools is now also urged by the top medical experts and scientists, but not our politicians.

Contact your local legislators. By working together, we can beat COVID.

- Robert Saul,Greenwood

Lost my vote

Thank you, Gov. McMaster and S.C. legislature for your “rational” approach to two important issues. Your response to COVID-19, preventing public schools from mandating masks, and your response to gun violence by passing the open-carry bill. It seems you are pandering to your power base of ignorance, rather than protecting the welfare of the citizens of S.C.

I have voted Republican for many years, but you can’t count on me in the next election.

- Lynda Day,Lexington

Waterfront costs

Saw another “eye opening” expose about SC property built too close to water being threatened by water. Yawn.

I have lived most of my life in South Carolina and have observed that when the conservative Democratic politicians changed to Republicans, and then Republicans were being elected everywhere in the State starting in the 1970s, South Carolina Citizens lost.

These newly minted conservative politicians under the Republican banner started quickly selling off public recreational land, and SC citizens lost their open, quick and easy access to recreational areas.

The politicians then sold lake, river and oceanfront recreation areas to the wealthy and, based on my observations, must have pocketed the loot, as infrastructure maintenance and public access was over for we, the people.

I have watched conservative politicians ensure the wealthy could build not only down to the edge of the water, but in areas where water would flood the property.

Then these newly minted politicians tapped the reserves Democratic politicians had built up in SC for years. They created new ways to transfer responsibility for taking care of the property of the wealthy to taxpayers.

SC citizens, wake up and fix what is happening all around us before it is too late.

- Marie Vevik,Cayce

This story was originally published August 15, 2021 at 6:00 AM.