Modesto mayor would be sicker without vaccine, and schools make good on equity pledge

Yes, even people who do virtually everything right to protect against COVID-19 — including Modesto Mayor Sue Zwahlen, who got a vaccine and faithfully masks up in public, and as a retired nurse knows all the hygiene do’s and don’ts — still can get it.

She did.

“I wore my mask, other than in my office by myself, and took every precaution possible, and here we are,” she said on the telephone Monday afternoon, quarantining at home after a positive test. “That’s how contagious and virulent this disease is.”

Zwahlen, 67, said she came down with classic symptoms — headache, runny nose, sore throat and loss of taste and smell. But she is not short of breath and has stayed busy conducting mayoral duties by phone and online.

“I won’t deny that the symptoms are real,” she said. “But all in all, I’m able to continue working. I’m getting up and getting going in the morning and living life, even at home.”

One might hope that the pandemic could give a moral pass to someone who has used her unique position of authority — as the elected leader of our city, and as someone who spent three decades caring for the ill in a Modesto hospital — to issue press releases and to make and distribute not just one, but two videos encouraging people to do the right thing and get vaccinated.

The shots remain our best hope at keeping schools and our economy open, and someday returning to something like normal.

But the coronavirus doesn’t play favorites.

As of Monday afternoon, Stanislaus County had lost 1,139 souls to COVID, and the virus had sickened 66,642. Most recent cases are among the unvaccinated, but breakthrough cases like Zwahlen’s do happen. She credits the vaccine with keeping her symptoms manageable.

“I will keep doing my part to get the word out, to encourage all people to follow the guidelines and to get vaccinated. It’s the reason why so far I seem to be doing well,” she said.

Those who have yet to protect themselves by getting the shots — for whatever reason — are playing with fire.

If you are among the hesitant, use your free will and choose to do the right thing and get vaccinated. It could save your life, or the life of someone you love.

Good work on equity, Modesto schools

In April, the Modesto City Schools board adopted six equity goals, signaling a top-level desire to improve the district’s support for marginalized students, including those of color and their families. Recommendations from a task force ranged from implementing ethnic studies to training teachers how to confront unconscious bias.

The danger with making such grand gestures is when they end up being mere gestures.

As The Bee’s Emily Isaacman reported, the district recently brought on Fallon Ferris as its first equity and intervention specialist. Her job includes helping schools strive to reach the district’s equity goals.

This hire represents real progress.

Ferris grew up here. No one understands better what attending Modesto schools is like.

“My mother, Black with brown hair and brown eyes and my father, white with blond hair and blue eyes, birthed me, a hazel-eyed, caramel-complexion girl who never knew where she fit in,” Ferris wrote in a February column for this opinion page. No one has more sympathy for unique challenges facing students of color.

Last year, having succeeded in college and in the business world, Ferris co-founded the Stanislaus County Youth Empowerment Program, a nonprofit connecting young people of color to academic and career opportunities. No one knows better how to help lift the rising generation.

In its search for elusive equity, Modesto City Schools deserves credit this time for going beyond lip service.

This story was originally published August 30, 2021 at 3:39 PM.