Opinion | The Anti-Vaccination Messages From Fox News – The New York Times

To the Editor:

Re Anti-Vaccination Rhetoric Creeps From Fringe to Fox Prime Time (front page, July 12):

The C.D.C. has made it clear that those dying of Covid now are almost all not immunized. Yet Fox News continues to preach an anti-vax message, as if fighting a pandemic somehow is a political act. Would they want a return of polio or smallpox?

At the same time, Rupert Murdoch, Foxs founder, has been immunized, Donald Trump and his family were immunized, and I bet the bloviators of Fox News have all been vaccinated. Isnt Fox News being hypocritical?

Mitchell RothmanMerion Station, Pa.

To the Editor:

As a nurse practitioner taking care of some of the sickest Covid-19 patients in Baltimore, I am appalled at the irresponsibility of Fox News hosts supporting anti-vaccination rhetoric. The June deaths from Covid in my state were all among unvaccinated individuals. Surely it cant be a good long-term business strategy to encourage your viewers to get sick and die?

Marian GrantReisterstown, Md.

To the Editor:

Re Rationing Care for a Last-Resort Covid Therapy (July 12) and Anti-Vaccination Rhetoric Creeps From Fringe to Fox Prime Time:

The two front-page articles on physicians struggling to decide which dying Covid patients will receive treatment with scarce lifesaving machines and on Foxs escalating opposition to President Bidens vaccination outreach efforts suggest a common solution: Give vaccinated patients priority for these critical resources.

Carried a step further, why dont insurers charge higher premiums for vaccine refusers (as they do for smokers), or even refuse to cover their Covid-related expenses?

Steven LeinerSan Francisco

To the Editor:

Re To Help Haiti, Stop Trying to Save It (column, July 13):

Bret Stephens and others suggest that foreign assistance to Haiti has not only been ineffective but also harmful. Instead of asking whether foreign aid should stop, we should ask: How might Haiti benefit from improved foreign assistance that respects its culture and history, and elevates Haitian voices and institutions?

Since 2010 my Mercy Corps team of more than 70 Haitians has worked with grass-roots groups, the Haitian government and donors like the United States to tackle Haitis biggest challenges, including gang violence, hurricane preparedness, food insecurity and cholera.

In 2020 we partnered with social enterprises, telephone companies and Haitian social media influencers to reach more than two million Haitian families through an interactive Covid prevention platform, curbing the spread of the virus.

The young Haitians with whom we work are eager to chart a way forward for their country, if given the chance and with the right support.

Foreign assistance isnt a silver-bullet solution for Haitis woes, but shutting it off is certain to erode efforts by local organizations as well as Haitian-led international organizations to create real change. A deeper analysis would show the positive impact that aid and development funds have made in the lives of Haitians.

Justin ColvardPeguy-Ville, HaitiThe writer is Haiti country director for Mercy Corps.

To the Editor:

Bret Stephenss column captures the widespread fatigue and disbelief after the stunning assassination of Haitis president, but the abstemious cure he offers is a prescription for widening disaster and almost certain American intervention.

Since its first democratic, albeit flawed, election in 1990, Haiti has spent a third of the intervening years with some combination of foreign military forces on its soil. Haiti has received more than $13 billion in relief since the devastating 2010 earthquake; the recent political earthquake represents one more seismic disruption to this beleaguered country.

The Assassination of Haitis President

But while much of Haitis foreign aid has certainly been misspent, Mr. Stephens is wrong to conclude that the answer must be inaction. Instead, what is required is a middle road that prioritizes stabilizing the security environment so that an interim government can deliver a credible election in which Haitians determine their political future.

Such a path may well need to be cleared with external help. Its provision ideally through multinational cooperation is an investment that will help keep military intervention at bay.

Jenna Ben-YehudaWashingtonThe writer is president and chief executive of the Truman National Security Project and a former Haiti analyst at the State Department.

Dont Stray From the 9/11 Museums Mission

To the Editor:

Re 9/11 Museum Vexed by Cuts and Feuds (Arts page, July 13):

Contrary to the criticisms leveled at the exhibitions, I believe that the museum has always done a fine job of faithfully presenting the history of 9/11, and very admirably free of political correctness no mean feat in todays world.

The 9/11 Memorial & Museum should be about Sept. 11. The critics here seem to be bent on imposing their points of view upon history and shifting attention away from the attacks.

Many matters may be worth a discussion on the museums 20th anniversary. The museum, however, must remain forever dedicated to its core mission: preserving and presenting the story of Sept. 11 the attacks, the death and destruction, and the heroism and sacrifice.

Michael BurkeBronxThe writer, whose brother, Billy Burke, a firefighter, died at the World Trade Center, served on the family advisory committee to the museum.

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Opinion | The Anti-Vaccination Messages From Fox News - The New York Times