I haven't done an update in quite a while. Actually, after talking to each of the board members, some a few times, I figured this was going to play out slowly and would eventually move in the direction we want.

Wow! Was I wrong!

Last night, I received an email from a member of the board who thought I'd like to know about a counter-petition that's circulating and several pages of data and signatures being provided to the Board today to block any vaccine mandates in Humboldt. I personally was named several times in their group's rebuttal to our petition, including multiple comments about my writing. (Everyone's a critic...)  I don't know whether to be flattered or angry. I expected some push back but the mistruths and misrepresentations of this petition (and me) are quite surprising. 

In a nutshell, here's the summary of what the "Humboldt Freedom Coalition" (or Humboldt Freedom Initiative, depending on where you see them reference themselves) is saying, "After reading the written report from the HCHO and being shocked by the overwhelmingly clear agenda the Humboldt County Public Health Department is pushing comes directly from political biases fueled by either a willing ignorance of pertinent facts or blind acceptance of outright false narratives, or both. The conclusion of Humboldt Freedom Initiative: Humboldt County Public Health Department needs a swift overhaul and redirection, as well as a revocation of any emergency powers. Additionally we conclude the Humboldt County Health Officer shall be recalled as well. His Written report contains falsehoods, he omitted pertinent facts, included propaganda and false narratives to influence the readers to his and his departments political agenda, he used logical fallacies to support his positions, and concluded his report with an absolute insult to the good people of Humboldt County." (bold text added by me) 

I reached out to Supervisor Mike Wilson and asked if I should craft a reply (which would not be ready by the board meeting anyway). Instead, he suggested I don't do that but instead replied, "The best thing I think people can do is to let the [Public Health Officer] know that he is supported. There is a lot of unease in that department as you might imagine." 

I suggest we all do that. They are just trying to do what's best for the County, based on science and data, and for that, they are under attack. You can reach them at (707) 445-6200 and hhsphb@co.humboldt.ca.us. Of course, making your opinions known to the Board and sharing this petition is also helpful. 

By the way, one of the most surprising comments in their rebuttal is, "The overwhelming majority of Humboldt Citizens are not a vulnerable population to Covid-19, they have a 0.00% chance of death." Really? Zero percent? We've had deaths in every age group over 19. (Full text of their rebuttal can be found here.)

Since this is all public information, I've put their links in it. Feel free to check them out. I'd still like to believe that reasonable people can agree to disagree reasonably and we could find some solution that's better than what we have now. Maybe I'm naive. But, I still hold out hope.

Finally, I know they're reading this. I'm open to talking to find a mutually acceptable method of stopping the illness. (Hi HFC! Welcome to our petition.)