Readers Write: Health policy, Musk’s meddling, tariffs

Opinion editor’s note: Strib Voices publishes letters from readers online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.

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I would like to know if Minnesota’s world-famous Mayo Clinic plans to sit on its hands while this new Republican administration guts the NIH, CDC and FDA, removes us from the WHO and cuts off USAID funding globally.

These are nonpartisan organizations that support public health and safety, do research and innovation, prevent and cure diseases and inform the public about these issues so that we can make good decisions for ourselves and our families. These organizations save American lives.

Federal funding supports research and innovation in the medical sciences and public health. How will Mayo Clinic continue to do good work and be a global leader in health care under these circumstances if federal funding is reduced or canceled?

I am not suggesting that Mayo goes it alone. The clinic should work in concert with the Cleveland Clinic and Johns Hopkins to send a clear and persistent message to this administration that modern medicine, public health and public safety are all interconnected.

These three world-famous hospitals should speak with one voice to protect the interests of the American people.

All concerned Americans should contact their leaders in Congress and demand consistent federal support for these organizations, for scientific research and for medical innovation that helps all citizens. Public health and medical care are not partisan issues.

Pam Whitfield, Rochester

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I am 87 years old and had polio in 1946. I was diagnosed the day before the election of Harry Truman as president. I remember that because I was wheeled from the lab where a spinal tap confirmed that I had the disease, down a long tunnel to Ancker Hospital’s contagious disease wings. The next morning, a masked nurse offered me and the other five kids in the ward free copies of the Pioneer Press. I took one for the comics. On the front page was a picture of a smiling Truman holding a copy of the Chicago Daily Tribune announcing, erroneously, the victory of Thomas Dewey. I read the comics.

I did not see mom, dad or my brothers until I limped back down the same long corridor in mid-March of 1947. The long quarantine was imposed because the world did not know how polio spread. In my junior year of high school, my class was dismissed so we could attend a funeral for Jim Casey, who died of lumbar polio. In 1955 Jonas Salk, after discovering the virus that caused polio, developed the vaccine that prevented it from spreading. Now, worldwide the disease is approaching elimination. Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a science denier who wants to restrict use of the vaccine in the name of further testing is not qualified to head our efforts to save children from death and crippling disease.

Thomas Bacig, Duluth

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Though many Americans believe tuberculosis (TB) is a disease of the past, it remains the world’s deadliest infectious disease, claiming 1.3 million lives annually. This devastating reality is particularly tragic given that TB is both preventable and curable, though treatment requires at least four months, posing significant challenges in resource-limited settings.

As the Partners in Health chapter at the University of Minnesota, we carry on the work of Dr. Paul Farmer, who dedicated his life to treating multidrug-resistant TB. We believe more can be done to eradicate this global health crisis. The recently passed Senate bill, the End Tuberculosis Now Act, offers a crucial step forward. This act aims to reduce TB deaths by 95%, incidence by 90% and the financial burden on families by 100% by 2035. Increased funding will enable the U.S. to provide TB tests and treatment for all forms of TB to underserved communities worldwide, dramatically reducing annual TB deaths. We urge Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., to support the End Tuberculosis Now Act in the House. Ensuring access to TB care is a matter of fundamental human rights. We implore the House to join this vital mission. Contact Rep. Omar’s office and voice your support for the End Tuberculosis Now Act! Your advocacy can help save lives.

Paige Anderson, Sydney Iverson, Ishika Jain, Ewan Kahnke, Annika Lillegard, Taylor Mosakowski and Abby Zumbrunnen

The writers are members of the University of Minnesota Partners in Health chapter.

”Is Musk’s blitz illegal?” was the headline on the Minnesota Star Tribune’s Feb. 5 reprint of a Washington Post article. My answer is yes and it is so obvious. I haven’t been this scared for my country since the Cuban missile crisis. I would love to hear any of the Strib’s regular conservative commenters answer these questions: If Kamala Harris had been elected and then fired all the management at the FBI, along with the inspectors general of all critical federal bureaus, would that get your attention? And then if President Harris invited George Soros to bring in a team of hackers, none of whom have any security clearances, and just let them have complete access to the U.S. Treasury’s payment system, and the entire federal government’s personnel database, would you be fine with that, or might you just worry a bit that something wasn’t on the up and up? How can any sane person be OK with this?

Terry Cannon, Castle Rock, Colo.

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I am at a loss for words.

I did not vote for the complete dismantling of the most essential parts of our government in such a reckless manner.

I view the rampant pace as an affront to the very security we, as U.S. citizens, have depended on for nearly 250 years.

I am appalled at the apparent control Elon Musk seems to have on this takeover. This, in my opinion, presents a huge conflict of interest since he holds many contracts with our government, and I certainly don’t recall seeing his name on the ballot I filled out in November.

Sheri Montgomery, Alexandria, Minn.

After enduring two weeks of daily wailing and gnashing of teeth over proposed tariffs in the Minnesota Star Tribune, including two front-page articles and four letters to the editor in the Feb. 4 issue, it was great to see Trump accomplish exactly what he set out to do. Trump never wanted tariffs — they were a bargaining chip. His goals were to stop the unrelenting flow of undocumented illegals and fentanyl from Mexico and Canada into the U.S. It worked. Both Mexico and Canada have agreed to do their part in securing our shared borders. China will be next. Trump has done more to secure our borders in two weeks than the Biden administration did in four years.

Chad Hagen, Cook, Minn.

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Given all the talk recently about tariffs and how they’re going to stop the smuggling of fentanyl into the U.S., it might be helpful to actually look at the data.

A 2022 study by the conservative CATO Institute found that:

So, all those of you who expect that Trump’s tariffs against Mexico and sending troops to the southern border are going to end America’s problem with fentanyl addiction, better think again. It won’t!

Thomas Trampf, Minneapolis