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OPINIONS
Voice of the people
Televised campaign ads are motivated by hate, racism
I have become very alarmed with the apparent insidious, hate-filled and fear-driven political campaigns that are currently being aired on our local television channels. I endured those vicious hate-emoting commercials four years ago, and did not express my opinion about them. Now I'm speaking up.
What is hidden from us is the true motivation for this trend. People, there is a name for it. It's called racism. As a West Virginia citizen, I don't want to believe that this is true of my friends, relatives and neighbors. Why don't we just use our Christian love to exercise our right to vote? And leave the manipulated hate outside.
Carolyne Brown
Huntington
Vaccinate students against meningitis
As students are starting a new school year, the West Virginia Association of School Nurses (WVASN) has an important message: Make sure your preteens and teens are up-to-date on their meningococcal vaccinations.
The fact is, many are not. Public health officials just released a report showing that although West Virginia's meningococcal vaccination rates have improved, 45 percent of our adolescents have not been vaccinated against meningitis, a rare but serious disease that can kill a child in just one day.
Vaccination is the best way to help prevent the disease. Parents need to make sure their children are vaccinated beginning at age 11 or 12, and health officials also recommend that teens receive a booster dose by age 18 to help protect them during the years they're at greatest risk.
With their children back in school, parents shouldn't delay getting them vaccinated. For adolescents, many activities that go hand-in-hand with school, such as sharing water bottles or eating utensils and kissing, can actually increase their risk of contracting meningitis.
Education is the first step. Visit www.VoicesOfMeningitis.org or join the conversation on Facebook.
Melanie Kearns
West Virginia Association of School Nurses
Winfield
