Letter to the Editor (The Chronicle): Vaccine Math

In which I explain why, due to basic probability math, an effective vaccine administered to many people may result in more infections among vaccinated people than among unvaccinated people: https://www.chronline.com/stories/letter-to-the-editor-cooties-comparison-illustrates-effectiveness-of-vaccine. This was published in The Chronicle (Centralia, Washington), October 15, 2021.

I wrote this more quickly than the others letters I've written so far, and I think it shows. Oh well. It was a good idea for a letter, anyway!

The only issue here I won't claim responsibility for is comma errors. They edited this for AP style before publishing it, and when they did, they introduced some comma drama.

Letter to the Editor (The Chronicle): How COVID Vaccines Work

In which I describe how the COVID-19 vaccines work: https://www.chronline.com/stories/letter-to-the-editor-vaccines-works-heres-how,274124?. This was published in The Chronicle (Centralia, Washington), October 1, 2021.

The goal here is to demystify the COVID vaccines, which I hope will make them seem less scary.

Letter to the Editor (The Chronicle): COVID Vaccines Rewrite the Odds for the Pandemic

"Portrait of a Man Writing in his Study" by Gustave Caillebotte, 1885.

In which I explain that COVID-19 vaccines are good because they reduce the odds bad COVID outcomes: https://www.chronline.com/stories/letter-to-the-editor-daydreaming-about-changes-at-the-chronicle,269944?. This was published in The Chronicle (Centralia, Washington), September 17, 2021.

Best line:

Thanks especially to my grandparents’ generation, we’ve beaten smallpox, measles, and many others. Smallpox was an absolute monster, and measles is much, much more infectious than even the delta variant of COVID. But thanks to vaccines, smallpox was eradicated in 1977 and measles outbreaks are rare today.

We can do it again, but only if we seize our opportunities to rewrite the odds.

Letter to the Editor (The Chronicle): COVID-19 Vaccines are Safe and Effective

"Portrait of a Man Writing in his Study" by Gustave Caillebotte, 1885.

In which I praise COVID-19 vaccines because they work: https://www.chronline.com/stories/letter-to-the-editor-in-rotten-pandemic-vaccine-is-a-rare-win,272532?. This was published in The Chronicle (Centralia, Washington), September 13, 2021.