Readers Respond to Oregon’s Vaccine Skeptics Running for Elected Office

“Anti-vaxxers, you’re free to choose: vaccination or confinement as a threat to public health if you get infected.”

By Aaron Mesh

Last week, WW published a story on the surge of vaccine skeptics running for office in Oregon this election cycle ("A Shot at Politics," Oct. 28, 2020). The article explored the candidacy of Anna Kasachev, a member of the Old Believers religious sect who is seeking an Oregon House seat representing Woodburn. She opposes vaccination requirements for schoolchildren—as do Beaverton state Senate candidate Harmony Mulkey and McMinnville City Council candidate Brittany Ruiz. The question of who should be required to get a shot has turned into a campaign battleground. Here's what our readers had to say:

Eddie Blake via Facebook: "Make it stop. We need Bill Nye now more than ever."

Santino Cadiz via Facebook: "The right to get sick? That statement alone is really dumb."

@PDXperplexed via Twitter: "Same as we have the right to drive as fast as we want, own explosives, manufacture hazardous chemicals in residential neighborhoods—no. You can't have a right that infringes on the rights of others."

Jay Edwards via Facebook: "If she expanded her platform to abolish speed limits and food safety standards, she'd get my vote."

Laura Fister via Facebook: "People have the right to decline medical treatments, even if you disagree."

Nathan Steel via Facebook: "I'm pro-choice in all aspects."

Al Lesklar via wweek.com: "Anti-vaxxers, you're free to choose: vaccination or confinement as a threat to public health if you get infected."

Veronica Darling via Facebook: "In America, we have the right to reject an injectable medical procedure/product in accordance to our religious beliefs, philosophical views, dietary preferences and our individual bodies' unique makeup. I think it's an asset to our state to have a candidate who understands how detrimental 'one size fits all' medicine is to our country."

@Toripony via Twitter: "With freedom comes responsibility."

Gyre&Gimbal via wweek.com: "No one is forcing you to vaccinate your children. They can, however, be barred from public schools if they are not, and this practice is entirely legal. Perhaps you need to consult SCOTUS's Jacobson v. Massachusetts (1905) to understand the government's power viz: public health."

Yvonne Rice via Facebook: "So [Kasachev] may not be a fan of vaccinations, but we have learned from COVID-19 that if people do not take care of themselves, everyone gets infected."

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