Letters for Jan. 31, 2022

The PASTEUR Act

Recently, the Lancet published an article concluding that antimicrobial resistance is now a leading cause of death worldwide – killing more people than HIV/AIDs and malaria. Threat of infection is not new to people living with cystic fibrosis. The thick, sticky mucus in their lungs causes many to battle difficult-to-treat infections for which there are no effective antibiotics available.

As a registered nurse and program coordinator of Pediatric and Adult CF Centers in Washington, I have seen this firsthand. For example, I have a patient who has cultured for multiple drug-resistant infections. To compound the issue, he has multiple allergies that drastically limit the already limited antibiotic options. This leaves him with marginal coverage for treatment and having to use both inhaled and intravenous forms of antibiotics.

Antibiotic resistance is outpacing the development of new antibiotics, which is often a lengthy and expensive process. Once on the market, antibiotics are widely accessible and generally only prescribed for a brief period, and their effectiveness weakens over time.

The longer we go without comprehensive solutions to address the development pipeline, the more the pipeline of new antibiotics will degrade, threatening our chances of developing the new antibiotics people with CF – and all Americans – need. I am urging Rep. Cathy McMorris Rogers to cosponsor the PASTEUR Act, a bipartisan bill that, if passed, will offer a sustainable incentive structure that is currently missing, while also adding to existing incentives, helping much needed antibiotics stay on the market and encouraging appropriate use.

Demi Schneidmiller

Liberty Lake

Voting in circles

Now that the Republicans (and two DINOs) have waylaid the current voting rights bill and allowed the sovereign states to implement their own standards, perhaps we will go back to the early days of the republic when states allowed only white males of property to vote.

Ted Wert

Sagle, Idaho