We would like to assure the public at large that your beliefs are in no way sanctioned by the Town of Great Barrington, nor was the use of our town name. In addressing this concern, as well as the unwanted media attention your declaration has received, we, as a board of elected officials, wish to clearly repudiate your philosophy. Your declaration’s complete dismissal of the experts and their advice has caused many of our residents considerable alarm. Great Barrington, as a community, has listened to these experts and remains committed to following the recommended COVID-19 safety protocols. Lockdowns, focused protection, and herd immunity. They have stated that herd immunity is “scientifically and ethically problematic,” “very dangerous” and “total nonsense.” Ultimately, The Great Barrington Declaration may be oversimplifying the choices when it comes to responding to the Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, as well as those of Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the head of the World Health Organization. Let the record show that we emphatically disagree that spreading more disease is the solution to the COVID pandemic.įurthermore, your declaration ignores the growing evidence on long-COVID, whereby thousands of young and healthy people who contract the virus are left with debilitating symptoms months after a mild infection. The so-called Great Barrington Declaration embraced by the White House argues that authorities should allow Covid-19 to spread uncontrollably through young healthy people while protecting. So far, COVID-19 has killed over one million people and infected more than 40 million. We are proud to have one of the lowest infection rates in the state, and your theory runs counter to our precautions. You mock our town’s efforts to maintain safety measures and undermine the heroic endeavors of our community’s healthcare workers, including those at our beloved Fairview Hospital (recognized as one of America's Top Rural Hospitals). The set of policy positions you are advancing, which favor short-term economic gains over public health and safety, are an affront to our citizens' difficult sacrifices. Your co-opting of our town’s name in the title of your declaration, whether intentional or not, is exploitative and unwelcome for reasons which are stated further in this letter. We believe they run counter to our town’s collective value system, namely caring for and protecting the vulnerable in our community. Recently, the American Institute for Economic Research has made international headlines with your publication of the “Great Barrington Declaration.” It is in response to this declaration that we, the Great Barrington Selectboard, are writing to express our disagreement with the ideas expressed therein. In a direct letter to the declaration's authors, who are affiliated with the American Institute for Economic Research (AIER), the Selectboard also chastized AIER for its use of the town's name.Ģ50 Division Street Great Barrington MA 01230-1000ĭear Dr. The Town of Great Barrington has further denounced the recent 'Great Barrington Declaration' for its reckless promotion of herd immunity to combat COVID-19.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |