Clean water
There is a simple alternative to vaccines in the case of diarrhea which is clean water (“Invest in Child Health” letter, June 4).
About 10 years ago, I was at a meeting of Returned Peace Corps Volunteers. One member told me about a water filter that had been designed by a German. It was a concrete cistern with a tap at the bottom. The cistern was filled with sand and stones. For several weeks, water was put in the top of the cistern which then ran out of the tap. At this point, bacteria had built up that made the water potable. This cistern cost about $30.
As the story goes, each village had a woman who was trained to treat diarrhea. Once each family received a cistern, there were no more instances of diarrhea and subsequent deaths of children.
This seems to me to be a much better long-term solution to the problem of childhood diarrhea than vaccines.
Barbara Tansey Bush
Charlestown
School safety
I for one am sick of hearing Massachusetts schools say “student safety is of utmost importance to us…” Does anyone believe the schools are safe anymore? Every day there are reports of violence in school and on buses. Videos are everywhere. Schools need to put Police Resource Officers back in the schools and expel violent offenders. Schools used to be relatively safe. Nothing is going to be perfect, but allowing this mayhem is irresponsible and unacceptable. Keep our kids safe!
Joan Gonfrade
Ashland
Fare-free buses
The T is in trouble, so states the MBTA Advisory Board. A looming existential crisis will create “death-spiral-inducing” cuts in service. And still, the City of Boston will continue providing fare-free service on routes 23, 28 and 29 through March of 2026. This is how Democrats solve a budget crisis at the T. Granted, these bus routes run along the highest ridership bus corridors in Boston. Fare-free service saves riders money and increases ridership. But what good is it when a looming budget crisis causes routes to be eliminated? It’s too bad that the MBTA could not print its own currency. T Bucks could be used to solve all existential budget threats. That’s how the U.S. solves budget issues. Just print more dollars and provide free things. Mayor Michelle Wu is taking an economic lesson from the Biden book of money management.
Donald Houghton
Quincy
