Dear Community,
We are your physicians. You have honored us by entrusting your lives to us, as well as the lives of your loved ones. We are also your neighbors, your friends, and your relatives. We share with you a deep love of this region and of our communities. Like you, we dream of a safe, Covid-free future.
Please get vaccinated. We ask this from the bottom of our hearts. As your physicians, and as the people with whom you have worked, played, laughed, and cried, we must admit we are tired. We will keep working, of course. But we are tired. We are tired of the suffering, pain and death that can be avoided by getting vaccinated.
We have studied the data, and we have seen the benefits of vaccination with our own eyes. The vaccines are well tested, very safe, and highly effective. Yes, masking must continue, especially with the highly contagious Delta variant. But nothing is as important as being vaccinated.
You’ve trusted us with every other aspect of your health. Please trust us with this. We are not asking you to do anything that we have not already done. Please, for the sake of our community: the young, the old, and all the in-betweens, get vaccinated.
Signed…..
G. Beth Abels, M.D. (Internal Medicine)
Igor Z. Abolnik, M.D. (Infectious Disease)
Christian D. Agricola, M.D. (Psychiatry)
John Aryanpur, M.D. (NeuroSurgery)
Steven E. Aussenberg, M.D. (Family Medicine)
Donald I. Baird, M.D. (Family Medicine)
Gary H. Baker, M.D. (Radiology, Ret.)
Connie V. Basch, M.D. (Family Medicine)
J. Kim Bauriedel, M.D. (Urology, Ret.)
Brandon E. Bireley, D.O. (General Surgery)
Michael T. Borrello, M.D. (Interventional Pain Management)
Kevin J. Caldwell, M.D. (Family Medicine)
William P. Carlson, M.D. (Family Medicine)
Joseph E. Carroll, M.D. (Family Medicine, Ret.)
Katie M. Cassel, M.D. (Family Medicine)
Luther F. Cobb, M.D. (General Surgery)
Christopher L. Cody, M.D. (Pediatrics, Ret.)
Caroline L. Connor, M.D., MPH (Family Medicine)
Nathan R. Copple, M.D. (Family Medicine)
Emily L. Dalton, M.D. (Pediatrics)
Amy L. Darwin, M.D. (Family Medicine)
Tamara S. Dennis, M.D. (Family Medicine)
Stephen R. Dieker,Jr., M.D. (Anesthesiology)
John Disiere, M.D. (Age Management/Cosmetic)
Stephanie S. Dittmer, M.D. (Family Medicine)
Ishai Erez, M.D. (Anesthesiology)
Kim S. Ervin, M.D. (Gynecology)
Katherine A. Estlin, M.D. (Family Medicine/ Deputy Health Officer)
Neal E. Feuerman, M.D. (Anesthesiology)
Alan J. Fischel, M.D. (Anesthesiology)
Leslie S. Fittinghoff, M.D. (Pediatrics)
Matthew M. Fluke, M.D. (Radiology)
Teresa L. Frankovich, M.D., MPH (Pediatrics)
Corinne E. Frugoni, M.D. (Family Medicine)
Eric H. Gerdes, D.O. (Emergency Medicine)
Gregory N. Gibb, M.D. (Ophthalmology)
Bret R. Gorham, D.O. (Emergency Medicine)
Peggy L. Grossman, M.D. (Family Medicine)
Lei H. Han, M.D. (Family Medicine/Hospitalist)
Jennifer A. Heidmann, M.D. (Internal Medicine)
Gregory S. Holst, M.D. (Family Medicine)
Ian P. Hoffman, M.D., MPH (FM / Public Health Officer)
Malia A. Honda, M.D. (Internal Medicine)
May C. Hong, M.D. (Family Medicine)
Ted R. Humphry, M.D. (Pediatrics, Ret.)
George W. Ingraham, M.D. (Ophthalmology, Ret.)
Kendra N. Iskander, M.D. (General Surgery)
Erik J. Janssen, M.D. (Ophthalmology)
Andrew C. Johnston, M.D. (Internal Medicine)
Jeffrey S. Johnston, M.D. (Anesthesiology)
Stephen M. Kamelgarn, M.D. (Family Medicine, Ret.)
Michelle M. Keeter, M.D. (Family Medicine)
Martin E. Kernberg, M.D. (Radiology)
Bruce E. Kessler, M.D. (Internal Medicine, Ret.)
Charles I. Knoll, M.D. (Phys. Med/Rehab)
Steven J. Korenstein, M.D. (Family Medicine)
Marissa L. Kummerling, M.D. (Family Medicine)
John C. Kurylo, M.D. (Orthopedics)
Courtney C. Ladika, M.D. (Family Medicine)
Lee R. Leer, M.D. (Family Medicine)
Harry B. Lesch, M.D. (Psychiatry)
Join Y. Luh, M.D. (Radiation Oncology)
Tuan A. Luu, M.D. (Emergency Medicine)
Dusten M. Macdonald, M.D. (Radiation Oncology)
Marcelle O. Mahan, M.D. (Family Medicine)
M. Ellen Mahoney, M.D. (General Surgery)
Thach D. Mai, D.O. (Anesthesiology)
Michael F. Mangahas, M.S., M.D. (Pediatrics)
John S. Mastroni, M.D. (Ophthalmology)
Allen S. Matthew, M.D. (Nephrology)
Kate McCaffrey, D.O. (Family Medicine, Ret.)
Mary L. Meengs, M.D. (FM / Deputy Health Officer)
Louise A. Minor, M.D. (Ophthalmology, Ret.)
Michael B. Mizoguchi, M.D. (Ophthalmology)
John A. Montgomery, M.D. (General Surgery, Ret.)
Christopher R. Myers, D.O. (General Surgery)
Michael A. Newdow, M.D. (Emergency Medicine)
Julie M. Ohnemus, M.D. (Family Medicine/Addiction Medicine)
Margot L. Oliver, M.D. (Family Medicine)
Philip L. Olkin, M.D. (Family Medicine, Ret.)
Alison M. Palacios, D.O. (Family Medicine)
William B. Parks, M.D. (Pediatrics)
Lorien M. Paulson, M.D. (Otolaryngology)
David A. Philips, M.D. (Interventional Cardiology)
Madeleine S. Ramos, M.D. (Allergy and Immunology)
Jerryl L. Rubin, M.D. (Psychiatry, Ret.)
Thomas J. Rydz, M.D. (General Surgery)
Sarah A. Scher, M.D. (Family Medicine)
Uzi M. Selcer, M.D. (Infectious Disease, Ret.)
Lawrence A. Senffner, M.D. (Internal Medicine)
Nicole C. Shattuck, D.O. (Emergency Medicine)
Alexey Shereshevsky, M.D. aka Dr. Shev (Family Medicine)
Glenn O. Siegfried, M.D. (Emergency Medicine)
Robert E. Soper, M.D. (Psychiatry)
Candy A. Stockton, M.D. (Family Medicine/Addiction Medicine)
Kusum G. Stokes, M.D. (Gastroenterology)
Aaron M. Stutz, M.D. (EM / Del Norte Public Health Officer)
Masato Sugiura, D.O. (FM / Hospitalist)
Donna M. Sund, D.O. (Family Medicine)
Thomas H. Taylor, M.D. (Emergency Medicine)
Irv M. Tessler, M.D. (Psychiatry)
Jessica L. VanArsdale, M.D. (Family Medicine)
Amy G. Voet, D.O. (Anesthesiology)
Kelvin K. Vu, D.O. (Family Medicine)
Tara A. Vu, M.D. (Family Medicine)
Wahidullah Wahidullah, M.D. (Internal Medicine)
Russell H. Wheatley, D.O. (Family Medicine)
Donald C. Wheeler, M.D. (Radiology)
Ellen A. Weiss, M.D. (Family Medicine)
Sawar C. Young-Tripp, M.D. (Family Medicine)
Alden P. Zwerling, M.D. (Family Medicine)
This article appears in I Wish I had Been Vaccinated.
I can’t wrap my head around the reasons people will not get vaccinated. Are people that ignorant. I blame a lot of the vaccine hesitancy on fuckhead Donald Trump. Too bad he survived Covid. Had he died, the story might be much different.
Sorry to say but the 2020 election was way too close across the country…2024 could see the same thing. U.S. domestic and foreign policy remains largely unchanged. A change in “decor” is nice but insufficient.
Public schooling and religious beliefs are mostly to blame for the ignorance and dismissal of science.
With millions more victims to come…followed by an unprecedented economic crash…we might as well be living in the dark ages.
Thank you dear docs for you words of kindness and you work.
If Americans thought they’d be well cared-for by a public healthcare system they’d be far more inclined to risk the potentially debilitating side- effects from a vaccination and the bankrupting costs of the emergency room.
It is inexplicable and sad to read so many local docs continuing to self-censor this obvious connection and the desperate need for a public healthcare system.
18-months of ubiquitous self-censorship among local and national “experts”…officials and elected “leaders” share responsibility for this nation’s record-high cases and deaths estimated to be three-times higher than reported due to the number of people too afraid of bankruptcy to visit the emergency room…some recover at home, some do not.
Is there an echo chamber here? Don’t go against the community standards…
Differences of opinion and science not allowed. Keep your trap shut and your mask on mentality.
Strange times we’re living in. So much for freedom of speech.
What about the letter from the 111 local doctors who state “don’t get a vaccination.” It seems only fair. Voice for both sides.
America First-
The thing is, though, that there aren’t 111 doctors locally who don’t believe in the efficacy and safety of the vaccines and would write a letter espousing that view. There’s no equivalence. Just as the number of scientists who believe the climate crisis is real dwarf the tiny number of those in denial on the fringes, the medical and scientific communities are incredibly united in saying the COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective. When 99 people are saying the sky is blue but one color blind guy is saying it’s green, it’s hard to argue “both sides” warrant equal voice.
Thadeus Greenson
Me too.
Jerome Terres, M.D. Anesthesiology
https://sharylattkisson.com/2021/06/poll-m…
SURVEY: Most doctors are skipping Covid-19 vaccine
The following is an excerpt from the post by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons.
Of the 700 physicians responding to an internet survey by the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS), nearly 60 percent said they were not fully vaccinated against COVID.
This contrasts with the claim by the American Medical Association that 96 percent of practicing physicians are fully vaccinated. This was based on 300 respondents.
Neither survey represents a random sample of all American physicians, but the AAPS survey shows that physician support for the mass injection campaign is far from unanimous.
It is wrong to call a person who declines a shot an anti-vaxxer, states AAPS executive director Jane Orient, M.D. Virtually no physicians are anti-antibiotics or anti-surgery, whereas all are opposed to treatments that they think are unnecessary, more likely to harm than to benefit an individual patient, or inadequately tested.
The AAPS survey also showed that 54 percent of physician respondents were aware of patients suffering a significant adverse reaction. Of the unvaccinated physicians, 80 percent said I believe risk of shots exceeds risk of disease, and 30% said I already had COVID.
Other: The comments in this particular article are even more earth shattering. In other words, not everyone’s on board with this.
America First-
Well, an “internet survey” is hardly scientific or worthy of anything more than naming the Best Burger of Humboldt County. (Arguable whether it even should be trusted with that.) But the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons? Did you do any research on this group or just look for something that supported your already-held belief and post it?
Let’s take a look at the AAPS:
First off, there are roughly 1 million licensed doctors practicing in the United States and fewer than 5,000 are members of AAPS. That’s 0.5 percent. The American Medical Association, meanwhile, has roughly 250,000 practicing members and last month came out in support of COVID-19 vaccine mandates for healthcare workers.
From Wikipedia:
“The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons is a conservative non-profit association that promotes medical disinformation, such as HIV/AIDS denialism, the abortion-breast cancer hypothesis, vaccine and autism connections, and homosexuality reducing life expectancy.”
From Science and Medicine (2008):
“… a major booster of antivaccinationism, HIV/AIDS denialism, and the now discredited hypothesis that abortion causes breast cancer, while on its pages it regularly attacks the very concept of evidence-based medicine and peer-review.”
In fact, it’s a group so wing nutty that Sen. Rand Paul dropped from its ranks and distanced himself from it when he was outed as a member in early 2020.
Again, the medical and scientific communities are incredibly united in saying the COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective.
Thadeus Greenson
Yes my primary doctor from Open door Arcata signed this letter! I trust my doctor and we are equal partners in my medical treatment. She is open to my questions and I am open to her medical knowledge. Works out well.
Thadeus, your coveted AMA with 250k members distributed a press release claiming 96% of US doctors are vaccinated, and that claim is regurgitated countless times across the world wide web. One has to dig deeper to see that their claim is based on a survey of ONLY 300 PEOPLE in the field! It’s within your power to call that the bullshit that it is, but you won’t.
In a previous editorial you’ve claimed to have spent a weekend researching vaccine hesitancy. I call bullshit, and as evidence present every North Coast Journal in which you’ve covered the subject. You’re either unable or unwilling to really be objective and look at the proverbial big picture of what’s going on regarding all things COVID-19. You are polarizing, you aren’t a fair reporter.
You write that the medical and scientific communities are “incredibly united’ about the issue, but the fact is there is no such “incredible” consensus, and that you are somebody who has repeatedly written about the importance of fair and impartial journalism, you should be embarrassed by your own work. If you really care about fair reporting.
When the healthiest people in the world are being told to subject themselves and their childred to chemical inoculations against their own better judgement, something’s very wrong. When one’s own hometown media jumps on the polarizing bandwagon of fearmongering and half assed, bias confirmation, something’s very wrong.
Two years ago you would have been happy to write an article about how incredibly fucked up the pharmaceutical industry is. Now you present them as our saviors. Do you even know who runs them? Are you going to “research” that right now?
If you wonder why people don’t trust the media, read your own newspaper. The NCJ receives moneys from how many non-profits? Are they “politicized” non-profits? Because you badmouth such non-profits. But that’s also how you put food on your table. That’s your business.