None of the vaccines are claiming to protect from COVID infection, they offer protection from the disease the virus causes. With the vaccines you could still be infected, show no symptoms, and be infectious to others, so you would still need to be quarantined no matter which vaccine you took, however, you are less likely to get sick . The vaccines are a partial solution to a deadly pandemic and a miracle of modern science. Keep wearing that mask and expect to be quarantined. Neil Ormerod, Kingsgrove

Medical, not political, advice is needed for decisions on public health issues (''Two-step strategy to achieve herd immunity'', January 15). Australia has scientists and medical professionals who should be in charge of deciding which COVID vaccination is to be used to achieve the best results. It is the job of politicians to provide the organisation and funding needed for the medical decisions to become reality. A case of horses for courses. Joy Cooksey, Harrington

PM must silence the quacks

Your editorial calling on the Prime Minister to exercise his moral responsibility as leader should be heeded (''Vaccine confusion comes from Prime Minister's ranks'', January 15). If he cannot see the importance of doing so then he does not properly understand the significance of his position in a time of crisis. His senior ministers should break ranks with him and call out their snake oil merchants and keep faith with the electorate. We cannot have a national leader looking the other way while irresponsible misinformation is promulgated to populations who do not have access to the expert medical advisers as do he and senior ministers. To do so is an abrogation of the PM's responsibilities. What is at stake is not simply internal party cohesion. Maintaining the trust of the people has never been more important. Everything is on the line. The stakes couldn’t be higher. Rosemary McDonald, Beecroft

Stop reporting criticism of MP Craig Kelly because all this does is give the PM and his deputy a free kick when they endorse his right to hold his own view. This resonates with those in the community who have opinions which are different to any conventional wisdom – one example might be those who oppose compulsory vaccination. The political strategy is to find some issues where other parties are effectively locked into the conventional view and to have one or two voices where your side seems strong enough to support different views. No one anywhere might agree with Kelly’s opinions, but what is important at the ballot box is that he is part of a party which allows a difference of opinion. Michael Harrington, Bonnet Bay

Can we really afford to have such people in positions of power? Of course, all individuals are allowed to have their own views, but elected officials have a duty to be truthful. Ed Marel, Bathurst

The PM needs the support of Kelly and Christensen in the party room and for so long as he does these two and their Trumpite ravings are a protected species. Paul Duncan, Leura

Quarantine blues

Quarantine has been a hopeless failure in every state because cleaners are paid low wages by contractors and work in multiple hotels. The same with security workers. The only solution is what Queensland is suggesting - ship people out to a remote mining camp or detention centre. Yet NSW government disagrees. The Premier needs to do a reality check and come up with a coherent COVID policy. To date it's been a bumbling shambles.
Conrad Mill, Parkes

It is very tough in quarantine. I survived two weeks in April, no fresh air and personal contact only once a day with the military or police. I might have scared them on the twelfth day, when I leant against the door and said how lovely it was to see a man in uniform. Janet Scilly, Wollstonecraft

Double fault

Four words only for Tennis Australia, who are going ahead with the Australian Open and allowing positively tested COVID players into the country: You MUST be joking (''Victoria open for 'positive' US player'', January 15)! Rose Panidis, Graceville (Qld)

Pivot point

The in-word for our leaders at crisis point is "pivot". But doesn't "pivot" mean to stand in the same place and just twist and turn? Oh, maybe it is right. Lin Sinton, Killarney Heights

The US, democracy and its man of ‘steal’

What exactly does a "stolen" election mean? Invented by Donald Trump, this term continues to be used by his supporters and others ("Trump's stench will follow party for years", January 15). It is meaningless, aiming to paint Trump as the victim of some vague election conspiracy, impossible to be uncovered through the investigative channels of the law or media. It creates a fearful emotive response because of its very vagueness. An election is either won or lost. It is either run fairly and legally, according to a country's constitution and law, or not. If not, it could be through threat or bribery, through the illegal creation or destruction of votes, or incompetence. But it can't be "stolen". Jill Merrin, Austinmer

With regard to peacemaker Joe Biden's safety, why am I not reassured by the vast numbers of National Guard troops now fortifying the US Capitol ("Trump impeached", January 15)? Is it because of the gathering evidence that there were members of the police force and ex-militia who were either a part of last week's invasion of that building or at least complicit in it? Or the historical fact that Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi was assassinated by two of her bodyguards? Anne Ring, Coogee

It is disquieting to know that 197 legislators voted against impeachment, even though there is such a huge evidence of wrongdoings. Now, to carry out the impeachment, 17 Republicans need to cross the floor. Trump knew this and he is not going to be punished. I hope and pray the incoming government will be able unite the country. Dina Lawes, Malabar

Has anyone else noticed the bitter irony in the authorities’ decision to build a fence around the Capitol while Trump relishes his decision to build the southern wall? Where is the greater threat? Tony Griffiths, Arcadia

It's worth noting that Trump has now been responsible for more metres of unscalable fence around the Capitol than on the Mexican border. Colin Stokes, Camperdown

Turns out an antidote can work twice (Letters, January 14). The West Wing was originally the antidote to the George W. Bush years. However, for a spine-chilling comparison, try Stephen King’s The Deadzone. Anthony van den Broek, Erskineville

We are watching two episodes of The West Wing most days. This is like a vaccine to the pathological hell that must have been the Trump White House for the past four years. Darrall Cutting, Forestville

At least Trump will be able to legitimately claim the crowds at his inauguration were huge compared with Biden's, if you exclude the security personnel. Graeme Finn, St Peters

Kean for change

After reading Matt Kean’s opinion piece on Trump I have decided to use his career progression as a barometer for the state of the Liberal Party in NSW ("Twitter is right to ban undemocratic President", January 15). If he advances, I will judge the party as becoming truly liberal, sensible and standing by its morals. More likely he will be squashed by the right. Peter Hull, Hat Head

Choose China too

The Morrison government’s refusal to recognise China’s rise to be the pre-eminent global power is slowly destroying Australia’s economy ("China to bid for Pacific mobile assets", January 15). The Treasurer’s restrictions on Chinese investments and the government’s intention to provide subsidised loans to companies in opposition to Chinese acquisitions in the Pacific is the exact reverse of what we should be doing. With the Biden administration just days away, now is the time to show independence in foreign affairs and trade instead of slavishly following the United States. The rise of China and the diminished US global standing is beyond our control, but we must rebuild our relationship with China, instead of demonising it, and maintain our friendship with the US, which should be easy with the many reforms expected from the Democrats, now in control of the Senate. Steve Johnson, Elizabeth Beach

Gender v sex

It is biologically incorrect to conflate that a person's sex can change "based on their chromosomes, hormones and reproductive organs" changing ("Gender no longer binary in the census", January 15). Our sex chromosomes can never change. Every cell in individuals of normal karyotype carries two sex chromosomes, either XX (female) or XY (male). There are some sex chromosome congenital abnormalities, but again, these can never change in affected individuals. It is correct, however, that hormones and reproductive organs can change for individuals who choose this, but this must be achieved by medical, surgical and chemical interventions to in fact override and alter the phenotype that our sex chromosomes dictate. So, the census can ethically and scientifically enable accurate data collection on non-binary gender, but normal genetic sex can only ever be binary. Robyn Dalziell, Kellyville

Long tail of abuse

Your correspondent suggests that the worst European migrants had to deal with was the occasional "wog" (Letters, January 14). I can assure him that bashings in the playground and ostracism are not mere words. German migrants were locked up in Australia in camps during WWII and faced nasty racist comments well into the 1970s. Even children of such migrants, like me, born here, faced racist comments of "Nazi" and "jackboots", including in my employment as recently as the 2000s. Many have it far, far worse, but you should never make an assumption about anyone’s racial or cultural background. So when people tell me I have "white privilege" and assume I’m English because I’m green-eyed and very pale, I ponder the fact that Humans are always trying to feel they are superior to someone else and I content myself with the knowledge that genetically speaking we are more alike than different, and ultimately we are all humans spinning on a small ball in space.
Eva Elbourne, Pennant Hills

Chapter and worse

I agree that Proust's Remembrance of Things Past qualifies as the most boring book ever written. However, it is also profound and the only book I have read that actually slows your experience of time passing while you read it. It helps us to understand the existential significance of boredom in our lives (Letters, January 15). Glenn Larner, Freshwater

Many years ago I got into great trouble for stating that the only book more boring than Pilgrim's Progress was the Bible. Kate Fraser, Scone

I remember watching Waiting for Godot a very, very long time ago. I still lie awake some nights wondering what the heck it was all about. David Taylor, Horsley

When we were very young, my two older brothers found a copy of Lady Chatterley’s Lover. Being young capitalists, they tried to charge me money to read it. Before long, my father found the book, heavily dog-earred and hidden under a brother’s mattress. I played the innocent. Judy Hungerford, North Curl Curl

I raise the opening sentence of Don Winslow's The San Diego Zoo as the best ever: “No one knows how the chimp got the revolver. Only that it’s a problem.” Nick Andrews, Bellevue Hill

How about the first sentence of One Hundred Years of Solitude: “Many years later, as he faced the firing squad, Colonel Aureliano Buendia was to remember that distant afternoon when his father took him to discover ice.”
Joan Short, Killara

The best book I have read so far is Jostein Gaarder's Sophie's World. Alice in Wonderland meets philosophy in a beautiful book where there is always something new each time you read it. A marvel.
Alexander Elliott, Bilgola Plateau

Howard Charles, did you ever pick up the White Pages back in the day? Lots of characters, but not much plot (Letters, January 15). Helen Robilliard, Rodd Point

Postscript

''How about a new guideline – it’s only free speech if it is the truth?'' This suggestion by Roz Townsend of Bathurst encapsulated the feelings of many this week who voiced their concerns about the Deputy Prime Minister and Coalition MPs Craig Kelly and George Christensen's alternative view of the world. Letters poured in clarifying that ''lying is not free speech'' and calling for politicians who can't tell the difference between a lie and the truth to resign. Writers were furious the Prime Minister was not pulling his team into line and Australian politicians were being guided by what appeared to be Trump-influenced US politics.

We also received many letters about the twice-impeached US President, all supporting his ban from social media. Not surprisingly, many wrote of their hope that Donald Trump's departure would lead to a better America, that “facts and truth, fair-minded discourse and integrity-based behaviour” would return to the US and consequently Australia. Although Tony Moo of North Sydney reminded us that won't be so: ''Sadly, our politicians aren’t leaving yet'', he wrote.

The most boring book I've read series continued, although variations on the theme began to spring up after some correspondents, such as Bunty Carmichael, found it all too much: ''What next? 'I went to the art gallery and saw ridiculous paintings by some bloke called Picasso – couldn't make head nor tail of 'em. He's just a phony who can't draw, if you ask me!' Or, 'My wife dragged me to the Opera House to hear Beethoven's Fifth Symphony – never been so bored in my life!''' We do enjoy a diversity of opinions, and are slowly morphing into our favourite, or raciest, books. Pat Stringa, Letters editor

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