To the editor: I am a retired public school educator who started teaching in the early 1980s with a clear credential. In the 1990s, I was presented with a situation similar to the one now faced by Los Angeles firefighters, who are required to get vaccinated against COVID-19. I had a choice: I could go back to school on my own time and get the required credential, or I could no longer teach. I realized that I chose to serve the public, whose needs outweighed my personal ones. So I got the credential and continued teaching. I believe the Los Angeles Fire Department captain who spoke against the city's vaccine mandate in a video does have a choice: He can be vaccinated or seek employment elsewhere.