Tom Crewe · A Girl Called Retina: You ll like it when you get there · LRB 13 August 2020 lrb.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from lrb.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Often when I am asked how reader opinions break down on a given issue pro or con, left or right, angry or pleased people are surprised when I say that they tend to trend in a certain direction over a period of time, and then swing another way. For example, on Jan. 30, two letters were published that called for schools in California to reopen because the preponderance of submissions at the time expressed that view; the following week, readers (many of them teachers) mostly expressed the opposite opinion, and the letters published reflected that.
So it is going now with vaccines. Initially, when the L.A. County ramped up its COVID-19 vaccination effort, the vast majority of letters were from seniors expressing fear and frustration over not being able to schedule an appointment. In the following weeks, the trend shifted more to readers conveying their gratitude to the vaccine site volunteers and staff who helped them get their shots.