The New York Times Magazine - USA (2022-06-12)

Illustrations by Giacomo Gambineri 5

Photo illustration by Jamie Chung

The Thread

As pediatricians caring for children

in North Carolina, we appreciate how

Moises Velasquez-Manoff eloquently

summarized the anti-vaccine move-

ment. Previously, we answered parents’

concerns: ‘‘I worry too many vaccines at

once will overwhelm my baby’s system.’’

Recently, we hear an increasingly loud

and concerning refrain: ‘‘Vaccines are

a conspiracy; I don’t trust the C.D.C.’’

Visual cues, as seen in the included

photo illustrations focused on babies

about to receive needles jabbed into

their arms — we give vaccines in chil-

dren’s thighs until age 4 — can contrib-

ute to parental fears and doubts. These

photo illustrations are unnecessarily

scary when they could have been com-

forting. In the future, please consider

accompanying photos that refl ect truth

and champion science.

Pediatricians of North Carolina

We should change our national motto to

‘‘You can’t make me.’’ I don’t know what

happened to civic responsibility.

Debbie Harris, Dix Hills, N.Y.

Health care conglomerates and insur-

ers have contributed to the problem for

years by relentlessly chipping away at the

duration of primary-care doctors’ visits.

Gone are the days of a trusted personal

physician. Now people hardly know their

primary-care physician or pediatrician.

RE: ANDREY KURKOV

Giles Harvey wrote about how the

Ukrainian novelist is fi ghting for his coun-

try in his own way.

Kurkov is the author of one of my favor-

ite books, ‘‘Death and the Penguin.’’

I read it in diff erent restaurants while

working in New York, mostly at Baltha-

zar, where I couldn’t stop laughing out

loud. He’s so funny. Here’s hoping he

stays in a safe place. Such a tragedy for

all Ukrainians.

Sylvia Swann, Birmingham, Ala.

I think that one worthwhile take from

this wonderful piece is that even in the

unlikely event that Ukraine is able to

retain its pre-2014 boundaries, the com-

plexity of this situation does not play out

as the football game between good and

evil that most Americans see. There are

no ‘‘winners’’ emerging from this horror,

whatever the outcome. I worry that the

burden of being a nation of ‘‘heroes’’ will

be an unsustainable weight to place on

Ukraine however this mess ends.

Ben Solberg Bryant, Seattle

I wish The New York Times would off er

articles about Ukraine and war cover-

age translated into Ukrainian and/or the

Russian language. We are hosting some

Ukrainian refugees, and I would love to

share articles such as this with them.

Liz Clark, London

A brilliant portrait of a brilliant writer. I

never heard of him before, but now I can

see him with all his intellectual depth and

personal courage.

Orrin Schwab, Las Vegas

Send your thoughts to [email protected].

‘We s hou ld

change our

national motto

t o ‘ ‘ Yo u c a n’ t

make me.’ ’ ’

Readers respond to the 5.29.2022 issue.

RE: THE ANTI-VACCINE MOVEMENT’S

NEW FRONTIER

Moises Velasquez-Manoff wrote about par-

ents who have been radicalized by Covid-era

misinformation to reject ordinary childhood

immunizations.

Or they receive medical care through a

rotation of urgent care and pharmacy-

based clinics. When P.C.P.s and pediatri-

cians are forced to speed through their

visits in fi ve to 10 minutes, it’s impossible

to form a trusting therapeutic alliance

with patients and parents. It’s one of the

most demoralizing things about being a

physician in 2022. With time and trust,

we could help more people and save

more lives.

Sarada Sakamuri, M.D., Palo Alto, Calif.

My mother contracted rubella when she

was pregnant with me. Guess what? I was

born with several birth defects that have

seriously aff ected my quality of life. I’ve

had multiple surgeries to correct and/or

mitigate the defects. It wasn’t until 1969

that there was a vaccine available so that

there didn’t need to be children born with

birth defects as I was. Get your vaccines.

The alternatives aren’t pleasant for you

or other people.

Vickie, Minn.

M.D. here. I used to enjoy rounding on

newborn babies and their parents in

the hospital right after birth. No longer.

About 25 percent of the parents I meet

there don’t want to follow any of my

advice. Either they have done copious

research on the internet ahead of time

and think they know everything about

newborns, or they are 22-year-old dads

stoked with toxic masculinity who don’t

want to listen to anything a female doctor

has to say. They are refusing hepatitis B

vaccines; vitamin K shots, which prevent

severe bleeding in newborns; you name

it. Soon we will all grant their wishes by

retiring early out of frustration, and then

they will be left to doctor themselves.

APB, Boise, Idaho

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