Letters to the Editor: I'm a childcare worker sick with COVID. Please, get your kid vaccinated

To the editor: We in the childcare field have tried very hard to stay open during the COVID-19 pandemic. I encourage all parents who need childcare or preschool to take advantage of the current vaccines available to children under 5.

The current surge is real. If not for political reasons, I think we would and should have mask mandates. I've worn a mask indoors everywhere but got more relaxed at work.

I got COVID-19 from a 1-year-old in my care. I've had three vaccine doses. I got severely sick with a fever for two days, tested positive, alerted my families and closed my childcare center.

I was able to get Paxlovid prescribed, so I hope I am on the road to recovery. Please, get your children vaccinated and wear a mask. This is not over.

Nancy Felix, Los Angeles

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To the editor: As a pediatrician and infectious diseases specialist, and as someone who has witnessed the remarkable, lifesaving impact of childhood vaccines, I was disappointed to see the front-page photo you chose to accompany the article about young children being eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine.

Using the photo of a crying child receiving the vaccine takes away from the bigger picture — protection against serious illness and death offered by the vaccine.

More than 1,000 children in this country have died of COVID-19, and more than 40,000 have been hospitalized. A vaccinated child will be less likely to develop COVID-19, causing them to miss school and other life events, and will also be less likely to bring the virus home to those more vulnerable.

In a time when vaccine misinformation and hesitancy abound, The Times should have chosen a photo that better represents what this vaccine means to millions of families instead of reinforcing negative vaccine imagery.

Deborah Lehman, M.D., Los Angeles

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.