I am writing to express some thoughts about the current state of affairs in our community and our state.
I would like to know where you stand on these issues.
I am a licensed, retired physician boarded in Internal Medicine and Anesthesiology, with 45 years of studying and practicing medicine under my belt.
COVID:
I am appalled by the lack of scientific evidence, and outright ignoring of scientific principles in the response to the pandemic. I believe that the Great Barrington Declaration was the correct response, and I advocated for that approach early on once it was obvious that COVID was of little risk to healthy and younger people. I am dismayed by the use of PCR-RT testing with cycle thresholds of 40+, which greatly exaggerated the number of cases (80+% false positives). I am frustrated and angered by the changes in hospital reporting policies that reported all patients with a positive PCR within 28 days of hospitalization as either a COVID-related hospitalization or death whether those patients had symptoms of COVID or not. These two policies alone spread unnecessary fear and panic among our citizens, and fostered other policies like lockdowns, school closures, etc. which have resulted in untold harms to businesses and children in particular.
For decades the medical literature has confirmed that cloth and simple operating room masks are of little or no benefit in preventing the spread of viral respiratory illness. Properly-fitting, expensive HEPA masks can help prevent the wearer from contracting these diseases, but they have to be changed frequently and handled properly. All the mask mandates have done NOTHING to prevent the spread of COVID. Someone is making billions of dollars selling masks.
I am not an anti vaxxer. I have had all of the recommended vaccines here and for my travels abroad, including yearly influenza vaccination.
I resent the touting of the mRNA and adenovirus Covid vaccines as “safe and effective” despite the lack of scientific evidence supporting those claims. The recommendation of vaccination for all is certainly not motivated by the scientific process. The mandates for vaccination, especially for children (who are at almost zero risk from COVID), border on criminal and are at the very least a hysterical reaction to the Fauci pseudoscience and media hype. The rush to make the vaccines available and the ignoring of VAERS reporting of deaths and serious adverse reactions is beyond my comprehension. Someone is making billions of dollars on vaccinations.
I want a State Senator who recognizes the folly of the response to COVID, and who will fight for a balanced and truly science-based approach to state public health policy.
MEDIA HYPE AND CENSORING OF VOICES IN DISSENT:
The NARRATIVE promoted by the major media and social internet media surrounding COVID and “Progressive” policies like gender identity and Critical Race Theory is antithetical to the US Constitution and our way of life. The censoring of dissenting voices, bullying and unfounded discrediting of those who speak out against this NARRATIVE is a direct affront to all citizens’ right to free speech.
The Truth in News Initiative (joined by all the major news outlets and social media {Reuters, AP, UPI, BBC, ABC, NBC, CNN, Facebook, et al} have publicly stated that they would print nothing that doesn’t promote universal vaccination). This is wrong on every level.
I want a State Senator who will fight to curb the ability of Big Tech and the Media to manipulate what we hear and see. They should be liable for inappropriate censoring, deplatforming, or otherwise restricting the free exchange of ideas. This freedom of speech is paramount to our ability to self-govern.
GENDER IDENTITY FLUIDITY and CRITICAL RACE THEORY
The Progressive plan seems to be to take the nurturing of our children’s social development out of their parents’ hands and put it in the hands of misguided educators who push the “Woke” agenda. I want our children to be free of this drivel while they are too young to be able to process these complex issues. I want our education system to teach our kids HOW to think, not WHAT to think. I want our kids to learn what they need to get and keep the best job they can hold. I want our schools to teach middle and high school teens the fundamental skills of the trades if they aren’t going to get a higher education. Leave the social engineering to the parents.
Our school system has been failing our young people for decades. It’s past time to reverse course and get back to basics. Throwing money at schools isn’t going to change what our kids learn. Accepting money from federal programs and other outside agencies in exchange for teaching a woke curriculum is not the way to improving our schools.
I want a State Senator who will fight to restore traditional values to our schools, and give parents the final say as to what their children are exposed while in school.
Thank you for your prompt replies.
Kent A Robertson, MD
Easton
Easton
Gary Ball says
Very well stated and I agree 100%
Rod Coleman says
So glad you were never my physician, and really cannot imagine how you managed to practice for 45 years.
According to my GP, also licensed in internal medicine, almost everything you say above is 100% wrong.
There are no vaccine “mandates” in this country, and certainly not for children.
As for your positions on education, they are exactly that — your opinions, to which you are welcome. I hope they are shared by few.
Susan Kemp says
I agree with your very wise position
Jayne Bourke says
Ditto, Susan … and I’m weary of people asking for other people’s opinions, yet just taking the opportunity to vent and simply rant their own.
Jen Coleman says
Many colleges and universities are still requiring COVID vaccinations for entry. If a child wants to continue their education, these are indeed mandates.
Brian Wroten says
The Great Barrington Declaration is heavily falsified. “Dr Johnny Bananas, Professor Cominic Dummings” are some of the fake professors whose names are on it as well as 18 doctors that are self-declared “homeopaths”. It also predicates it’s arguments on an out-dated moving target concept of “herd immunity” and offers no solutions on how to protect people with compromised immunity. It’s been internationally and publicly slammed by the real scientific community as being “ridiculous”, “total nonsense”, “a dangerous fallacy unsupported by scientific evidence.”
There is also well documented evidence on the efficacy of mRNA vaccines, N95 masks, and mandates. (I would be happy to provide you with sources)
Your opinions on CRT and what you characterize as the “woke” agenda are similarly baseless and unsubstantiated other than by far right media.
It’s very dangerous for people with your qualification to be peddling disinformation. I urge you to critically vet the information you believe before filling the public space with more dangerous false information.
Susan E Kemp says
👍
Lyn Banghart says
Thank you!
Judy Wixted says
Excellent response. This kind of misinformation literally killed people all over the United States.
Eva M. Smorzaniuk, MD says
I was going to write a detailed and fact- based response to Dr. Robertson’s opinion piece, but decided it was not worth my time, as he appears to be firmly entrenched in misinformation. All I can say is that readers of his missive can, and should, fact-check every topic he discusses, and come up with more accurate and informed opinions. With his extensive years of experience in medicine he should understand that the practice of medicine is an art as well as a science. The past two years have seen the research and medical communities scrambling to contain the morbidity and mortality of COVID, and have had, in many instances, only real-time feedback to gauge results. In 10-25 years we will, hopefully, be able to critique our response based on long term outcomes.
Susan E Kemp says
👍
Lyn Banghart says
Thank you, Eva!
Patti Wells says
Thank you
Charles Barranco says
Kent,
Stick with sailing, but check the weather before venturing out. It seems sailing in heavy seas is not your only misjudgment.
Jayne Bourke says
👍
Michael Davis says
Dr. Robertson’s letter is so wrong on so many levels that it is not worth a point-by-point refutation. He promotes pseudo-science which is doubly problematic as he claims to be trained in science. And then he ventures off the rails into subjects he has no expertise in at all, such as the media, child development and educational philosophy. One is reminded of Doctor Oz who uses his title to expound on political views although his degree has nothing to do with 99% of what he says. I recently found a wonderful quote that certainly applies to Doctor Oz and may apply to others in our troubling times. “When things go ill, every fool considers himself wise.” The quote is from the early 1700s in America. The more things change, the more they remain the same.
Jayne Bourke says
👍
Forest Hansen says
👍
Carl Pergler says
Finally, an appeal to reason. I will anxiously await a response form candidates of both parties.
Jeffrey Staley says
Mr. Robertson, I am disappointed by your letter in general and especially because you were formerly a practicing physician. It seems you gave up attending professional seminars to keep up with medical developments in your areas of practice. Instead, your comments indicate you have been sitting at home attending the Fox News School of Medicine.
If readers want to learn about how vaccines are actually tested and approved, they can visit the very approachable Centers for Disease Control web site: https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/basics/test-approve.html
If older readers or readers without children want some evidence of how normal and accepted vaccination has become in America, they only need to scan the requirements of Talbot County Schools: https://health.maryland.gov/phpa/OIDEOR/IMMUN/Shared%20Documents/Min_Vacc_Req%2022_23%20_Final.pdf
For those who would enjoy some historical perspective, I recommend reading about Dr. Jonas Salk’s amazing development of the first vaccine for polio in 1953 and its use starting in 1955. It took 24 years to essentially eradicate polio in the U.S.: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6351694/#sec1-4title
As best I can remember, I received the polio vaccine as a young child in school. It was, I think, the first of many vaccines I have benefited from in my nearly 70 years of life. While not every vaccine is able to create the same level of efficacy, the contributions of vaccines to the quality of life in America are unquestionable. Worries about side effects are natural, especially when new drugs are developed. The CDC and FDA have strong reputations for balancing tradeoffs between potential benefits for millions versus the harms much smaller populations may suffer.
Jeffrey Staley
Bozman
Kathleen Nilsen says
Well put Jeff.
Jayne Bourke says
👍
Eva M. Smorzaniuk, MD says
Thank you!
Lyn Banghart says
Thank you for your great response, Jeff! Good to hear from you!
Charles Barranco says
Thanks Jeff for an article based on fact!
Mary Hunt-Miller says
Jeff,
You give a sane and tempered response to Dr. Robertson’s extreme views. Thank you.
Mary Hunt-Miller
Neavitt
Jerry McConnell says
Ain’t much in Dr Robertson’s epistle that ain’t hogwash. Like in false and misleading statements that are right from the Trumpo’phile’s handbook. Back before the US became a feuding, name-calling, white envy driven civic dumpster, it was assumed that well-educated folks, especially professionals, scholars, and distinguished politicians (if there is such a thing), were not only intelligent, but immune from lying and intentionally deceiving others. We have seen enough in the past six years to know this ain’t so. Ivy League PhD’s and academic pedigree-waving zealots from all over the country are demonstrating that without a doubt they can be just plain stupid….as in, sayin’ stuff that’s nonsense and apparently believing it themselves. A good example is the Barrington Gizmo. I’m sure scientists around the world have many alternatives to masking and isolating, such as doing nothing and just letting the disease run its course.
If you have the Koch brothers and other far-right, ultra conservative money bags behind you, you can find a few disgruntled certified experts and publish a manifesto on pretty much anything that resonates with you at the moment. A good premise for a new Gizmo Manifesto would be: How folks who have attained major academic achievement and elite professional education and experience levels can be so mentally impaired…and not afraid to show it.
Keith Alan Watts, Esq. says
“Medice, cura te ipsum.”
CDR Jim Moses, USN (Ret.) says
Thank you for leading with the “Great Barrington Debate.” Saved me from wasting any more time reading.
Carolyn Pokrywka says
I’m with you Dr. Robertson. I think the problem is that most replies are coming from a deep science indoctrination. We should be going deep the other way and learning more about topics the news will never tell you. The fraudster Dr. Fauci, Project 2030, Biden’s et al ties with Ukraine and the real story there, deep fakes, and deep state. Hopefully people will watch 2000 Mules to see why Covid even happened.
Your critics seem to think your entire piece is hogwash which means they are fine with what is taught in schools today. Anyone who thinks it’s okay to give the schools so much power and authority over parents are already lockstep in their generational plan, put in place decades ago, to erode sovereignty so slowly you don’t realize it until it’s too late. We must have strong leadership at every level to fight for what is true and good.
Jerry McConnell says
The notion that parents should have major influence, let alone decision making power over the curriculum taught in schools is hogwash. By nature parents are a) unrealistic about their children’s ability to absorb what they’re taught; and, b) their primary focus is making sure that their kids see the world the same way they do…. not necessarily the actual, real world, but the Proud Girls and Boys version of it. Ms Q doesn’t believe in science unless it’s consistent with her congregation’s beliefs that since nothing can be proven absolutely it can’t be factual. People like this are influenced by their peers and want to open the container marked “Science” and root around for what they want to find. If that squares with their religious beliefs they’re all good to go.
Carolyn Ewing says
Bravo, and they need to state their positions on these critical issues.