Editorial: ‘Exemption assistance’ carries tone of political play more than civic responsibility
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State Rep. Leslie Rossi, R-Unity, says she is not opposed to covid-19 vaccination, but for constituents who are, she’s offering to help.
Her latest newsletter declares “vaccination exemption assistance NOW AVAILABLE!”
The newsletter suggests if “you or someone you know (is) being forced to get the covid-19 vaccine,” you can ask for an exemption form. Bring that form to Rossi’s offices in Mt. Pleasant or Ligonier and someone will notarize it.
This is exactly the same thing any state legislator’s office will do for you no matter what you needed signed and sealed. Unclaimed property paperwork? Any of the myriad requests the state demands be officially attested? Your legislator’s staff is there to help you, regardless of party or politics.
“It’s a personal choice as to how you want to handle your situation,” Rossi’s newsletter says. That’s absolutely true.
But Rossi’s offer sounds less like advocating for personal choice than it does encouraging opposition in a situation that has become increasingly and unnecessarily political.
There is no reason to demonize the vaccine.
There have been more than 1,027 Westmoreland County residents lost to the pandemic since March 2020. Those deaths are exactly the reason the vaccine was pushed through development by the Trump administration and why the federal government under President Biden and state government under Gov. Tom Wolf are likewise encouraging people to get the shot.
The area’s infections are in an uptick, with the omicron variant being predicted to take over the delta variant’s prominence. At the same time, there is increasing concern from health officials about the availability of care due, in part, to a shortage of nursing staff.
It is appropriate for Rossi’s staff to notarize any documents brought to them, including vaccine exemptions. But it is responsible for an elected official to answer questions more than play politics with an issue as dangerous as a potentially deadly disease.