With deaths and hospitalizations mounting, it is time to put aside disinformation

To the editor:

It has been agonizing for me to watch the mounting hospitalization rate and death toll in Lincoln County. There have been 29 deaths and 115 hospitalizations in just the last three months. This is far more deaths and hospitalizations than we had in the previous 18 months of the pandemic. It is also one of the worst death rates in the region from COVID-19.

We have the tools and weapons to stop the pandemic. Seeing many Lincoln County residents choose not to use these tools is terrifying. I now understand first-hand the power of disinformation. Even the hospitalizations and deaths of friends and family members fail to stop it.

Many times in human history normal citizens have been led astray with misleading or inaccurate information, with “pundits or experts” casting doubt or making false claims, and promoting falsehoods. In some cases this has led to the death and despair of so many. Nazi Germany comes to mind.

I encourage my fellow Lincoln County residents to stop listening to pundits, supposed experts, politically motivated leaders, social media and cable news. Simply look at the raw statistics. They clearly show that the places that have the highest vaccination rates and the highest percentage of the population complying with pandemic guidelines have much lower hospitalization and death rates.

We have the weapons and tools to stop the sickness, despair and death from this pandemic. We need to put the propaganda aside and pull together as a community — as I have seen happen so many times before in this wonderful county we live in.

God bless each and every one of you!

Greg Rice, MD

Libby