NEWS | VACCINES
Spokane City Councilmembers Candace Mumm, Betsy Wilkerson and Kate Burke: A few of the vaccinated.
“LEADING BY EXAMPLE,” CONTINUED... LISA BROWN, WASHINGTON STATE COMMERCE DIRECTOR, FORMER STATE SENATE MAJORITY LEADER
Brown says she encourages friends and family members to get vaccinated or tells them to seek out information from medical experts at Washington State University, University of Washington, or their own doctor.
JIM WOODWARD, IDAHO STATE SENATOR (R-DISTRICT 1)
Woodward: “Vaccination is a personal choice, but to those interested in hearing my thoughts” — (that’s us!) — “I share what I know about modern vaccines including their efficacy and the difference between the mRNA-based vaccines and traditional virus-based vaccines.”
PAUL AMADOR, IDAHO STATE REPRESENTATIVE (R-COEUR D’ALENE)
Amador decided to get the vaccine after consulting with his physician. He encourages everyone to speak with their physician to determine if the COVID vaccine is an appropriate medical decision for their personal health background. When more people get the vaccine, we’ll be more able to return to normalcy and reduce illness and death, he says.
ANDY BILLIG, STATE SENATE MAJORITY LEADER (D-SPOKANE)
Billig points out that 96 percent of people hospitalized for COVID in Spokane County are unvaccinated. He “generally supports” the position that getting the vaccine should be an individual’s choice, but that doesn’t mean he understands the choice to avoid the vaccine, unless there’s a legitimate medical reason. “I do not understand the decision to put yourself, your family and your community at risk by not getting a vaccination that is proven to be so beneficial,” Billig says on his Facebook page.
MARCUS RICCELLI, STATE REPRESENTATIVE (D-SPOKANE)
When asked how he’s encouraging others to get vaccinated, Riccelli says he’s using social media, supporting public health and sharing information on vaccination sites locally.
KATE BURKE, SPOKANE CITY COUNCIL
Burke says she’s encouraging everyone she knows to get vaccinated, posting information on social media. She adds that she helped host a vaccination clinic for the Arc of Spokane, where she’s a board member.
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MICHAEL CATHCART, SPOKANE CITY COUNCIL
“As a new dad, I felt it was important to get the vaccine once it finally became available to the general public,” Cathcart says. “I am grateful for Operation Warp Speed in getting us to the point where we have multiple vaccine options for the community to consider, and I have supported local efforts to expand access for anyone and everyone who chooses to get vaccinated.”
BETSY WILKERSON, SPOKANE CITY COUNCIL, SPOKANE BOARD OF HEALTH
Wilkerson says she is vaccinated along with the staff and residents at the assisted-living facility that she owns. She’s helped get the word out through the media. “We are now keeping an eye on the booster shot,” she says.
LORI KINNEAR, SPOKANE CITY COUNCIL
“I do personal asking of people who I work with, and if they aren’t, I explain why it is vital. [I’m] careful of course not to be ‘that person.’”
CANDACE MUMM, SPOKANE CITY COUNCIL
Mumm was on vacation when we asked this, but council spokeswoman Lisa Gardner says Mumm “played a vital role in spearheading the ordinance passed unanimously by Council on May 17 to support communitywide vaccinations via Spokane Fire Department.”
KAREN STRATTON, SPOKANE CITY COUNCIL, SPOKANE BOARD OF HEALTH Stratton says both she and her husband had COVID in February, and it was “the worst experience of our lives,” even though they were never hospitalized. Now, she says not a day goes by that she doesn’t talk to someone about being vaccinated. She has raised the idea with other councilmembers of finding a way to mandate city employees get their shots, although the council may not have the authority to do that. Stratton adds that it would have to be something the union bargained as well.
AL FRENCH, SPOKANE COUNTY COMMISSIONER, SPOKANE BOARD OF HEALTH
French tells the Inlander that he’s trying to “lead by example,” but beyond that, he’s not doing much else to encourage others to get vaccinated. “It works for me,” French says. “But that doesn’t mean it’s going to work for everybody, so I respect that.”
JOSH KERNS, SPOKANE COUNTY COMMISSIONER, SPOKANE BOARD OF HEALTH
“I encourage people to discuss with their doctors and make the health care choice that is best for themselves and their family.”
MARY KUNEY, SPOKANE COUNTY COMMISSIONER, SPOKANE BOARD OF HEALTH
“I have and will continue to encourage members of our community and employees of Spokane County to get the vaccination so that we can move beyond this pandemic.”
TIM HATTENBURG, SPOKANE VALLEY CITY COUNCIL, SPOKANE BOARD OF HEALTH
Hattenburg says he has a friend who wasn’t able to get the polio vaccine and has been in a wheelchair his whole life because of polio. He says he tries to share stories like that as much as he can to encourage others to get the COVID-19 vaccine.
KEVIN FREEMAN, MILLWOOD MAYOR, SPOKANE BOARD OF HEALTH
Freeman notes that as someone who has worked in Africa and South America, he’s received many vaccines. He would urge people who have not got their shot yet to consider “all the good” vaccines have done for the world, remembering polio and smallpox. “The fact that we in the United States do not have to deal with these types of diseases is a direct result of vaccinations.” COVID isn’t going anywhere, he says, so the best way to minimize the risk of severe disease is through vaccination.
LINDA THOMPSON, SPOKANE VALLEY CITY COUNCIL
Thompson says she tries to promote the work of outreach organizations like the NATIVE Project, Carl Maxey Center and Latinos En Spokane. “It is my responsibility to lead by example. I care very deeply about my community — from the eldest to the youngest — everyone,” she says.
PAMELA HALEY, SPOKANE VALLEY CITY COUNCIL
Haley says getting the vaccine was a personal choice and that she believes each adult has the ability to make that choice themselves.
OZZIE KNEZOVICH, SPOKANE COUNTY SHERIFF
The sheriff says medical questions are “protected federal law” (they’re not in this case, we’ve been over this already). But yes, he
