Right-wing attack on Alaska's health care experts warrants response

The right-wing attack on Alaska’s hospitals comes at a time when these institutions are overwhelmed with the demands of caring for people who could have saved themselves by getting vaccinated.

One facet is the disinformation campaign mounted by experts with no medical training who claim to know what COVID-19 patients really need to get better.

The ivermectin intelligentsia may owe their opinions to Google searches, talk radio and Facebook philosophers, but their enthusiasm for the drug reminds me of nothing other than Don Quixote’s steadfast belief in the Balm of Fierabras.

After suffering one of many beatings on the pages of Miguel de Cervantes’s great novel, Quixote was certain his suffering would end if only he had a drop of the precious drug.

What was for Quixote the internet of his day—hundreds of nonsensical romances about knights-errant that he regarded as absolutely true—he had discovered that the balm made of rosemary, salt, oil and wine could cure whatever ailed him.

He told his squire Sancho Panza how to administer the magic elixir when the need arose:

“All you need do, when you see in some battle that they have cut my body in two (as is wont to happen), is to pick up the part of my body that has fallen to the ground, and very artfully, and with great cunning, before the blood congeals, place it on top of the other half still in the saddle, being careful to fit them together precisely and exactly. Then you will give me only two mouthfuls to drink of the balm I have mentioned, and you will see me sounder than an apple.”

The secret of the balm has been suppressed by the medical establishment and Big Pharma ever since the publication of the novel 400 years ago. (Let’s hope Sen. Reinbold will add this to her list of grievances.)

Sancho believed every word about the curative powers of the balm. Later, after another vicious beating, Quixote mixed the ingredients and each man partook. Quixote vomited his guts out, while Sancho erupted from both ends. He was certain he would die from the balm, not from the beatings.

Sancho cursed the balm and his master, promising never again. It seems Quixote had forgotten to mention that the potion would only work on knights-errant, not on lowly squires.

The deluded Don never lost his belief in the balm, despite the lack of evidence. Sancho, on the other hand, learned from his mistake.

If I need medical advice, I’m going to err on the side of Sancho Panza and trust the professionals at Providence Hospital, Fairbanks Memorial Hospital and dozens of other Alaska institutions that are being maligned by the likes of Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson, Sen. Lora Reinbold and lots of others from the screaming and shouting community.

In Fairbanks, one way to show community support for health care workers is by attending the “positive picketing” event outside Fairbanks Memorial Hospital Tuesday from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.

Dress for the weather, as this will be all outdoors, and meet at 6:20 p.m. in the visitors’ parking lot outside the hospital. This event is to recognize all health care workers and thank them for what they’ve done and what they are still trying to do.

It’s a great idea. The email I got mentioning this event said:

“The organizers are folks in the tourist industry, who realize their livelihoods depend on doctors, nurses, health aides, office workers, nutrition and kitchen workers, drivers, EMTs, and all the folks who've been serving so doggedly during this pandemic. It has spread to other businesses in the community, and they intend to hand out signs in what they're calling ‘Positive Picketing.’”

Your contributions help support independent analysis and political commentary by Alaska reporter and author Dermot Cole. Thank you for reading and for your support. Either click here to use PayPal or send checks to: Dermot Cole, Box 10673, Fairbanks, AK 99710-0673