To the Editor:
Re “We Owe Fauci Gratitude, Not Grief,” by Frank Bruni (column, April 25):
Dr. Anthony Fauci is my hero in this Covid pandemic. He is the bobblehead that I proudly display on my bookshelf. I agree completely with Mr. Bruni in his assessment of the depth and commitment of this truly patriotic public servant.
Dr. Fauci has been the one constant, calm, knowledgeable messenger of scientific facts during our long national nightmare. We Americans have been able to rely on him to tell us the truth and keep us safe regardless of politics and self-serving politicians.
President Biden should award Dr. Fauci the Presidential Medal of Freedom to acknowledge all that he has done for his fellow citizens.
Caren Kalman
Woodland Park, N.J.
To the Editor:
Frank Bruni’s call for gratitude is welcome, but the implication that Dr. Anthony Fauci’s dedication to public service is unusual is not. While public servants are often denigrated by politicians, business leaders and the press, the federal government is nonetheless replete with dedicated ones.
Living and working in the D.C. metro area, I have many friends, neighbors and colleagues in public service — people who are not famous, not rich, but expert in what they do and committed to doing it well. Public servants provide Americans with all kinds of things — from safe food, to regular Social Security checks, to awe-inspiring pictures from a helicopter over Mars, just to name a few.
Dr. Fauci spent most of his long years of public service unknown to the public, but still making important contributions to public health. Dr. Fauci’s fame makes him unusual, but his dedication to public service does not. We should be grateful that we have so many like him.
Maureen Conway
Takoma Park, Md.
Lower Vaccine Doses for Some People?
To the Editor:
I read with interest “Vaccines May Affect Women Differently” (news article, April 18). It fails to address what I consider some other important questions concerning weight, dosage and side effects. For example, does one size fit all?
With regard to Covid vaccines, everyone gets the same dose, whether the patient is a 5-foot-2 woman weighing 105 pounds or a 6-foot-4 man weighing 210 pounds. And some individuals are more sensitive to medications than others, and are more likely to suffer side effects (including tinnitus, which I experienced).
I believe in vaccines, and we all hope they are successful, but perhaps there are adaptations that can lower the side effects that some experience. As I learned in nursing school, weight is an important factor that is often used to calculate an appropriate dose of medication, and failure to do so may result in various side effects.
Are considerations for vaccines different than for medications? Can alternative lower dosages be available and administered to those of various weights and sensitivities, especially if they experienced side effects with their first vaccination?
Diane R. Garvey
McLean, Va.
The Effects of Grief
To the Editor:
Re “The Biology of Grief” (Well, nytimes.com, April 22):
Now I understand why perhaps, for almost a year after my husband’s death, I was intermittently ill, more so than ever before in my life. I even had a deep vein thrombosis, which I never had before.
But one thing above all that I have noticed (after losing my parents, sister and husband): There is no true acceptance of their deaths, only acknowledgment.
Anne Skalitza
Spring Lake, N.J.
Require Liability Insurance for Police Officers
To the Editor:
“New Police Reform Laws Seize on Calls for Change” (front page, April 19) details how complex and multilayered policing is in America. Much could be accomplished if federal law simply removed police “qualified immunity” and mandated significant individual liability insurance as a condition of employment.
Like needing automobile liability insurance to drive, the police would need liability insurance to work. Insurers will, in their own financial interest, drop dangerous cops. Derek Chauvin, who had a checkered policing career, would have likely lost his insurance and his job long before he knelt on George Floyd’s neck.
Driving has been made less dangerous by insurers lobbying for safer cars and safer conditions. They punish dangerous drivers with high premiums and loss of coverage and reward good drivers. The same incentives would work in policing.
Bad cops are expensive. Minneapolis has paid out at least $71 million over the past 15 years to settle claims of officer misconduct. This is likely only a small portion of the actual cost when adding the expense of the protests that bad policing engenders. Insurance would be quite inexpensive by comparison.
Jon Bogle
Williamsport, Pa.
Cleaning Up Your Closet
To the Editor:
Re “How to Get Your Closet Under Control” (The Fix, Real Estate, April 4):
I love my clothes and tend to hold on to them for years, so I have plenty of experience trying to find the space for it all, and a system that helps me to find everything.
I’ve discovered these tricks:
Arrange all the clothes on the rack by color. This makes it easier to choose some old loved piece you may have forgotten about, and identify areas of need.
Store shoes in the original box. Most shoe boxes have a diagram of the shoe shown on one end of the box. I make sure it’s visible. You can stack two or three boxes on those shelves, and the shoes are better protected.
Use trouser hangers, the kind with two clips, to attach to knee-high boots, and hang them up. They keep their shape better.
Finally, use those dry-cleaner bags to stuff your purses before putting them on the shelf. You guessed it: They keep their shape better.
Carol Fulghum Silver
Mountain Park, Ga.
