We’ve forgotten benefits of immunisation
There is no doubt that uncertainty about vaccination has been increased by our Premier and Chief Medical Officer not taking the Astra Zenica vaccine.
Your recent article by Jane Stephens discussed the risk (variously estimated at 1 in 100,000, to her figure of 1 in 800,000) compared with the risk of the disease in the elderly.
As an elderly, retired doctor I also find the concern misplaced.
I am of a generation old enough to remember the realities of polio epidemics and the scourge of smallpox.
We were afflicted by those childhood diseases such as measles, mumps and whooping cough, which were regular killers.
Those diseases are problems of the past thanks to immunisation, have we forgotten the benefits already?
DR GRAHAM PINN, Retired Consultant Physician, Maroochydore
Highlight success, not home life status
With regard to the story on USC high achiever Kasey Webb, what relevance has the fact that a “mum of three” has achieved such amazing academic scores and is now chasing her dream of medicine?
If this person had been male would you have headlined the article “father of three?” Why not just acknowledge that this amazing person has decided to do this study and follow her dreams. She has not featured her home life status as a factor, so why have you?
Yes, it’s harder to find time to study when you have kids, but many of us have been there. Stop belittling a woman’s feats by using a family or home status as a starting point. It’s very old school!
(And yes I did a similar thing studying in a different area as a single mum, but didn’t ask for any favours because I was a single mum!)
SUZIE DILLON, Sippy Downs
Parents are the ones who need training
I have really serious concerns about a widespread and ever growing lack of discipline, lack of respect for all authority and property and a lack of knowledge about boundaries, self responsibility and ‘consequences for my actions’ in our community.
I firmly believe that the foundation for learning about this starts in the home from a very young age, and who teaches it – parents!
But nobody trains them how to do this these days and many of them never learnt about it when they were young, due to the ‘endlessly permissive’ approach to child-raising started a generation or two ago by do-gooders and the ‘just talk to them’ mob.
And what has this approach achieved? A generation with far too many kindergarten and primary school age kids that not even teachers can direct or keep under control, a generation with many school age teens let run wild around the streets in the middle of the night, repeatedly stealing cars and crashing or setting fire to them and even killing innocent victims with them.
Next thing many are into illegal drugs and excess alcohol use, with the police doing an excellent job catching them for the above crimes and bringing them up before court.
Unfortunately, it seems a ‘catch and release’ policy is in place as far too many are bailed (some only to re-offend the same night) and law-abiding citizens not only have to lock their cars in the garage, but actually hide their keys to stop opportunist burglars from finding them and using them to steal locked cars.
I dread to even think where our proud once world-leading nation is going to end up, unless serious and deep-seated changes are made from the bottom of the chain upwards.
JOHN ANNABELL, Mountain Creek
Ashley Robinson hit nail on the head
Couldn’t agree with your columnist Ashley Robinson more. We are now reaping what we are sowing with regard to discipline.
A smack on the bum and ‘No’ never hurt me. We respected our teachers, always called them Mr or Mrs and were terrified if sent outside the classroom to wait for the headmaster.
Writing 100 words after school never hurt either.
Kids are stealing cars and ramming police vehicles as young as 12. Respect has gone.
ANNE DENNINGS, Kawana Island
Our quarantine system must be improved
Scientists have been warning for some time that the devastating clearing of forests and changing wildlife habitats will mean more interaction between animals and humans leading to more outbreaks of deadly viruses and disease. We have seen it before and now with COVID-19. It will happen again.
After looking into how COVID-19 spread globally, an independent World Health Organisation review panel has called for a new global system to respond faster to disease outbreaks (Sunshine Coast News, May 13) and it should be acted on swiftly.
Until everyone on the planet is vaccinated, COVID-19 will be with us for years to come.
We will not have free travel around the globe without fear of coronavirus, especially as it mutates into more infectious strains.
Australia needs a fit for purpose quarantine system in place. While hotel quarantine has been reasonably effective, we need proper quarantine facilities to safeguard travellers coming into our country.
So, Prime Minister Morrison, quarantine is your federal responsibility, it is time to face up to it and get this done.
ROBYN DEANE, Bli Bli
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