EDITORIAL
BY DHIREN SHAH
Hello Readers,
Since the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, school and other mass shootings increased quite a bit. On January 6, 2023, a 6th grade student got a gun and shot a teacher at Newport News (the city’s name) in Virginia. How a 6-year-old got a gun and gave someone a life threatening injury is a mystery. But it is true. This has been ongoing over the past decade.
A mass shooting is considered as any shooting with four or more victims, excluding the shooter. There have been 30 mass shootings in the past two years. Why is this going on? Our representatives talk about the same issue for a couple of days, and then go back to the political game. They are busy with promises, politics and power. Are they keeping their promises most of the time? I don’t think so. Are they helping people like they said in their campaign? I don’t think so. If it helps them or their popularity, they will do it. Otherwise, no.
Politics. They play politics under the instructions of their higher authority or higher power, usually party bosses or donors. They don’t use their brain to vote against their powerful leaders, even if they firmly believe that a resolution is not good for the people.
Moderna raised their rates for vaccination. Senator Bernie Sanders, a chairperson of the Senate’s Health, Education, Labor and Pensions committee is against it. The U.S. government spent $1.7 billion dollars to fund development of the vaccine. When the U.S. government bought the vaccine from Moderna, they paid about $27 per vaccine. Now, Moderna wants to charge $100 to $130 per vaccine. Right now, it is FREE, but is paid by the taxpayers anyway.
Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson and Johnson have been the main vaccine source since 2020. Hospitals in India, who get the more powerful and successful vaccine Covishield, were charging about $16.25 per vaccine. Now, they have reduced the rate from Rs. 600 to Rs. 225 and Rs. 150 for administering the vaccine. This is under US $5 per vaccine. We cannot compare one to one, but $5 and $130 is a huge difference. Senator Sanders is rightly supporting the people against these outrageous prices with the support of many senators and congresspersons, as the drug makers have big lobbyists in Washington DC.
Moderna’s vaccine sales were about $18.4 billion dollars in 2022, but due to lower demand, they want to raise the prices. Should the Biden administration give in and support the pharmaceutical giants Moderna and Pfizer?
A 70-year-old woman was killed in the afternoon on Jan. 9 in a two-vehicle crash in Roseland. She was taken to an area hospital and succumbed to her injuries. Lately, more accidents are happening in our area. Please drive carefully, especially where traffic lights and stop signs are posted. Reaching your destination a couple of minutes late is not as important as reaching there safely, and without tension to you and other vehicles as well.
I have noticed that people cross the roads early at night (between 5 to 7) with dark clothes. Please try to wear light colored clothes, so drivers can see you from a distance. There are some walking rules for our safety. 1. Use sidewalks 2. Walk facing traffic. 3. Avoid deserted routes. 4. Beware of tripping hazards and potholes. 5. Be aware of your surroundings. 6. Avoid walking while using cellphones. 7. Try to cross at marked crosswalks, if possible.
Have a wonderful week. I’ll talk to you next week.
