In April of last year, President Trump said, “And then I see the disinfectant where it knocks him out in a minute. One minute. And is there a way to do something like this, injecting inside or almost cleaning? So it would be interesting to check that out. Showing his head, Mr. Trump went on to say, “I’m not a doctor. But I’m like a person with a good you-know-what.

Poison control centers in at least five states reported they had a noticeable increase in the number of calls within 18 hours of Trump’s remarks. The makers of Clorox, Lysol, and Dettol have issued statements advising Americans not to ingest their products. When reporters asked the president about these developments, he replied, “I can’t imagine why.

The conservative media and Trump still promote the use of the malaria drug hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19. The medical community has long advised against this “off-label” use of the drug. And when Trump actually had COVID-19, his GP did not include hydroxychloroquine in his treatment plan.

The latest novelty concocted on conservative social and audiovisual media for the treatment of COVID-19 is an animal dewormer drug called ivermectin. Senior Mississippi health officials issued an alert last week advising against using the drug to treat or prevent COVID-19 after calls to the state’s poison control center increased, with 70% of calls associated to people ingesting ivermectin.

The United States National Library of Medicine has said that 31 completed, withdrawn, or ongoing U.S. clinical trials have not produced evidence that ivermectin can treat COVID-19 (Martin Pengelly for The Guardian). The FDA has issued numerous warnings that the drug formula used for animals is significantly different from that tested on humans and should only be consumed by animals and for the physical conditions for which it is sold.

Essentially, these people are prepared to consume substances that are harmful to humans in order to avoid taking vaccines that have been administered safely to millions of people and have been shown to be effective. How to explain this? Part of the explanation is opposition to vaccinations of any type by many evangelical Christians, which long predated COVID-19.

Doctors advised another segment of the population not to take the vaccine due to medical conditions such as allergies to vaccine components, Guillain-Barré syndrome, and other conditions that would make the vaccine too risky for them. .

But as for the rest of these people, especially since the FDA has given full approval to a COVID-19 vaccine, that seems to me like a manifestation of an old recklessness. Even Trump was booed at a rally in Alabama recently for saying, “But I recommend taking the vaccines. I did it. It’s good. Take the vaccines.

I have seen many articles and books analyzing the cause of the susceptibility of 21st century American conservatives to health and other misinformation. It is a very disturbing reality. And GOP politicians are adept at taking advantage of this problem.

News Channel 5 of Nashville reported on a local first-year nurse’s experience with anti-vaccines. “Unlike the start of the pandemic, the people she is seeing dying now are the ones who simply made the decision not to get the vaccine. “

When asked how many people she had seen die from COVID, she replied, “Too many to count. She said, “I’m really, really angry all the time. People are dying who don’t have to die. But many of those who survive COVID are unable to return to their old lives. She mentions those who will depend on oxygen for the rest of their lives and those who, due to COVID, suffered an anoxic brain injury and are now so brain damaged that they will have to live in a care facility for the rest. of their lives.

A tweet from a Monday guy says it all. “My friend teaches in high school and I asked him how was his first week back to school. … “The friend replied,” Thanks, man! The kids arrive on Wednesday, but we were in a meeting last week asking questions like “Can I leave my door open for the lethal virus ventilation?” ” ‘No. You need to keep it closed for active shooters. So that’s kind of where the American school system is right now. Ditto for the whole nation.

Debbie Arrington lives in Kingsport and has degrees in history and accounting. You can send him an e-mail at [email protected].