I am grateful to The Dispatch for their interview of former UMMC head and Columbus native, Dr. James Keeton. This interview, along with the recent columns by Dr. Martin Tucker, UMMC OB-GYN, and Birney Imes, all shared the admirable goal of providing information on the pandemic and endorsing the safety and efficacy of the vaccines available with clarity and objectivity. These efforts are sorely needed at a time when state leadership inexplicably takes a back seat while the state’s hospital system is overwhelmed with hospitalized COVID patients while those with other emergencies are forced to wait.
I wish to also commend our local state representative, Dana McLean, for her defense of embattled state health officer, Dr. Thomas Dobbs, who has simply done exactly what he should in following the data to warn of the dangers of not getting vaccinated, especially now with the emergence of the Delta variant.
Thanks, too, to Dispatch publisher Peter Imes for courageously making public his moves to maintain a healthy and viable workplace. Sadly, given the poor response by state leadership, Imes’ moves are necessary to continue producing a paper that provides everything I described above in addition to serving the more general purpose of keeping us all informed on the current state of our city, county, region, and state.
Lastly, I applaud Dr. William Ford of Columbus, whose recent letter illustrated beautifully the view of the great majority of doctors and other health professionals. Dr. Ford neatly summed up the negative effect of misinformation, then clearly put politics aside to describe the only appropriate medical and ethical path forward. Thank you, Dr. Ford. I hope others like you will also speak up.
Paul Mack, Columbus
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