Targeting immigrants for Texas’ COVID rates is convenient. It also misses the point
Scapegoating immigrants
Cynthia M. Allen blames the COVID-19 surge in part on immigrants while ignoring the fact that, regardless of the origins of a variant, it does not spread as much in a vaccinated population. (Aug. 8, 5A, “Stop pretending that crush of immigrants at Texas border isn’t driving COVID cases”)
The problem with the surge is not immigrants, but an insufficiently vaccinated population. Period.
- J.B. Edenfield, Fort Worth
Keeping kids safe in our schools
I am disappointed that Fort Worth schools Superintendent Kent Scribner chose to reinstitute a mask mandate instead of working to provide a remote-learning option to families with qualifying health conditions, which would have been more difficult but more impactful. (Aug. 12, 4A, “Fort Worth-area leaders won’t defy Abbott’s mask ban”)
Healthy children of vaccinated parents represent a minuscule COVID-19 risk and should be able to attend school without masks or other controls that keep kids from being kids. And parents who are unvaccinated by choice should be responsible for the consequences of their decisions.
Meanwhile, kids from immunocompromised households could have been better protected through remote learning while enabling the best possible school experience for those attending in person.
- Bryan Lingle, Fort Worth
A leadership void for Fort Worth
As cases of COVID-19 rise alarmingly, leaders such as Tarrant County Judge Glen Whitley and Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker have been nowhere to be found.
Even if they do not want to defy Gov. Greg Abbott’s order, Fort Worth is still in need of leaders to help residents know how serious and dire the issue is. Parker has started a podcast, but it doesn’t help people understand the seriousness of the virus’s spread, address vaccine hesitancy or prevent hospitals from overfilling. Even her predecessor, Betsy Price, minced no words about the danger of the rampant spread of COVID.
Whitley and Parker can still show leadership and urge safe practices and vaccinations. This is the time when leaders truly show themselves, and both are sorely disappointing.
- Erin Perkes, Fort Worth
Do the right thing for children
The Arlington ISD board and Superintendent Marcelo Cavazos are putting the health of all children and teachers at risk. The district’s protocols call for surface cleaning and nightly disinfecting with promises to update air conditioning systems. Because so many people are not vaccinated, the only way to mitigate the huge risk of infection is a mask mandate.
The responsibility of Cavazos and the board members is to educate children and keep them and their teachers safe and healthy. They have no responsibility to blindly follow our foolish governor. Arlington should join Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, Houston and other school districts in establishing a mask mandate.
- Nesha Morey, Arlington
I’m so tired of mask talk
There is only one thing worse than knowing there is a new COVID-19 variant out there. That is hearing Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins telling us day and night to “wear your mask, wear your mask.”
- Donna Bierd, Keller
Don’t bash White Settlement
As Texas born and Fort Worth raised, I’m proud that we have kept our Western heritage alive and kicking. White Settlement was so named because it was surrounded by six Indian settlements, so the name makes sense. Please do not make this a racial issue. Our top tourist draw is our Western heritage, and we should add the reason White Settlement is so named to that list.
- Wendell Nelson, Fort Worth
Texas cold snap is a local red flag
In the past, statistics on climate change were just numbers to me. But I felt differently reading the new Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, with scorching heat in the Pacific Northwest and crippling cold in Texas fresh in mind. (Aug. 10, 7A, “‘Code red’: Global warming getting worse, UN scientists warn”)
The report clearly states that we must take action and that inaction has grave consequences. One action would be to enact a national carbon price. Congress could do this through the budget reconciliation process, and it must if we are to reduce emissions in time. This is a wake-up call for all of us.
- Hannah Tsai, Dallas
This story was originally published August 15, 2021 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Targeting immigrants for Texas’ COVID rates is convenient. It also misses the point."