By JOHN MORRIS, MD
Do no harm, the foundation of modern medicine since Hippocrates, the creed that taught physicians treatments better than shamans, witch doctors, and quacks. It is an approach to healing that focuses on objective scientific results rather than anecdote or emotion, antibiotics instead of blood letting, and X-rays above incantations.
This year has seen our Anchorage leaders from the Assembly to the mayors, called upon to make decisions about our health, an unfair tasking, given that most of these well-meaning individuals lack medical training or experience.
Worse still, they have been asked to treat not just one person at a time, but entire communities, basing their decisions largely on the advice of others. Without the years of training that go into making a modern physician, or the experience of practice, do no harm is not the basis of their logic and, because of that, emotions, anecdote, and perhaps politics have all too often guided decisions.
A city is a living thing, its citizens and their businesses its cells and organs. When we ask a part of our community, for example our restaurants, to stop functioning, we hurt all of us, but the people who work in those businesses most of all.
There must be both a compelling, logical reason to take such a step but also a great compassion for that part of our city once such a decision is made. It is our community’s responsibility to help those we hurt in the name of our greater good. This is morally right but even more it is the contract between our government and our people. Anchorage leaders must care, and be shown to care for every one of their citizens.
It is a very hard thing for physicians to learn, and they have years of formal training and experience to accomplish it, that sometimes the right thing to do is nothing at all. Let us hope that our leaders can rise above this, be extraordinary, treat our community as a whole, and open our businesses. Failing that, help them with every means at our disposal.
We are in this together — if our restaurants, businesses, and neighbors must hurt to help the rest of us then we, and our leaders, must help them. Better still, we could simply decide that now is the time to reopen and recover.
The author is an Anchorage medical doctor.
WOW … That was very well written. Kudos!
This current state of “Science” where the media settles scientific debate by finding the “experts” who can propel the narrative they need for clicks/views it has to end. “Journalists” are the deciding factor on science. It’s incredible.
The Mandates cannot be proven to have saved a single life yet it can easily be proven the damage they are doing.
The Mandates need to end.
If only someone would stand up, someone who will call us to all stand behind them. In “peaceful protest”. Where are you Paul Revere are you reading?
Very well stated ?
“This year has seen our Anchorage leaders from the Assembly to the mayors, called upon to make decisions about our health, an unfair tasking, given that most of these well-meaning individuals lack medical training or experience.” Unfortunately these non medical leaders are getting their advice from these so called “expert” physicians.
Exactly right!
“Do no harm, the foundation of modern medicine since Hippocrates…”
” It is an approach to healing that focuses on objective scientific results rather than anecdote or emotion…”
“A city is a living thing, its citizens and their businesses its cells and organs…” If the best outcome is for the individual, but not the whole, is that the definition of “do no harm?” Or is the definition of “do no harm” the best outcome for the whole? Do we think, as a society, about ourselves or about us as a whole, the common good? In the time of Covid, if we go out into the community, do we put ourselves at risk or others, or if we go out into the community, do we put others at risk or ourselves?
Is it correct to assume that the city is a living thing, and that we are its cells, and that we can be expended to prevent the greater harm to the city? Are the cells who are health care workers more important for the overall good than the cells who are workers in restaurants and bars? Which are inexpendable?
“It is our community’s responsibility to help those we hurt in the name of our greater good. This is morally right but even more it is the contract between our government and our people. ” Does this include the downtrodden, the despised, those who, through no fault of their own, are out on the street, and not just those who have been put out of work because of a virus, or a governmental policy meant to protect the vulnerable (do no harm), but those whom society has decided are not worthy, for whatever reason?
This virus is bringing things into focus. We may soon be tasked with deciding what we are to become in the future.
Agreed do no harm should apply to vaccines and vaccine mandates as well. One has to wonder, why would anyone take a vaccine with potentially more harmful side effects than the disease? Time for all science to stop being censored and a transparent open debate to begin. The truth may be different than what has become political battles. Immoral leaders should be held accountable.
Vaccines have saved millions and millions of lives. They are arguably the greatest advancement in medicine since germ theory. Getting vaccinated , to prevent a disease and save lives is the ultimate manifestation of doing no harm.
There have been miscues, but the overall effect of vaccines has been to render serious, often fatal diseases memories of the past. The effects of the new COVID vaccines are still unknown because they have no been around long, but they are looking promising.
To deny the practical future effectiveness of vaccines to control COVID is patently absurd.
COVID vaccine reactions are more than miscues. Vaccines must be safe and effective and should be reserved for diseases where the negative side effects outweigh all risks. Everyone should ask, who benefits from COVID vaccines and who will be harmed? Follow the money before you roll up your sleeve. 99.6% recovery rate never justifies what is/has been happening worldwide. Everyone should seek the truth for themselves and stop listening to propaganda. Why are doctors being censored, should be a concern to everyone?
The Assembly will never change because it is all about control to them. They are intellectually deficient when it comes to medical advice they only look at the narrative that will drive their own agenda and be dam with the public. They should heed advice and leave this state because in the long run they will be driven from their homes for their stupidity.
Sorry Doc but I respectfully disagree. Our city “leaders” were not called upon to do anything, They chose to insert themselves into the equation. And then, drunk on power, they doubled down. I don’t think they are done yet. In fact, in spite of the vaccine, I expect them to keep their collective boot on the neck of the citizenry. They have seen how easily the public is cowed into submission and like an addictive drug, they will want more.
Thank you, Dr. Morris, for pointing out what should be obvious to everyone now, that the substitute mayor really has no idea what is best for this community when it comes to Covid-19 precautions. If it is her ignorance that is to blame it is also her complete lack of insight in respecting what these acts of a medical simpleton will do to finish off so many of our city’s fine business people who have been clinging by their fingernails for months. We know how to social distance. We know how to wear masks. We know how to wash our hands. Open up and let our community go about its businesses!
But people are not distancing, and they are gathering in crowds, and they are gathering close together, and even if they are wearing mask, that will not be enough. We know what to do. We know what is recommended, but many of us are not believers, and we think we will not catch the disease, so we gather and, for a day or a year, deny that there is pestilence abroad that it is deadly and defy the recommendations and spread the virus, as we have been told will happen, and yet we deny the reality of it all, and in the name of freedom spread the disease so that businesses are forced to close to respond to our defiance while we chant, “Open up and let our community go about its business!”
And so it goes.
I think I could buy into this perspective if, and only if, we had done something significant to even the score with China. I would have been proud and impressed if President Trump had done to China what the Israelis would have done to an equivalent enemy; assassinated Xing and blown up something that belongs to China. Blowing up an aircraft carrier would have been great. But no, we acted like sheep (so far), so in my view being bold with the disease, putting the old and the unwell in danger but shrinking from the real enemy (because admittedly, they are militarily strong) continues our regression with Asian communists. We drew a line on a map to end the Korean War. We came home from Vietnam with our tails between our legs – our friends grabbed at helicopter skids as we pulled out. And now we do nothing to retaliate for Covid. When has being weak prevented or even postponed a war? What will China do to us next?
Yeah. Blowing up a Chinese aircraft carrier sounds like a great idea.
Well-stated and prudent, Dr. Morris. The belligerents who worship Fauci and political talking heads……..send them to me………for psychotherapy. They’ve earned it.
Not sure what your message is, Doc…
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You have licensure rules and malpractice law to keep you in line
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… but Anchorage’s Fraudulent Hyphenate-Mayor and Friends seem to have no such constraints.
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You prescribe hydroxychloroquine but your pharma buddies refuse to fill the scrip, so we do what, watch “John Q.” and figure out what to do next?
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You bow to the Mask Police just because “… we’re all in it together”?
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You say, “It is our community’s responsibility to help those we hurt in the name of our greater good.” but what do you mean mean when you know –we– didn’t hurt anybody and damned sure didn’t hurt anybody “…in the name of our greater good.”?
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Your message needs work, Doctor J.
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Get back to us, yes?
History is replete with examples of sacrifices made in the name of “the greater good” and it rarely turned out well for the citizenry. Those in positions of authority always made out well, though.
For the hardcore Liberals its not about saving lives or the welfare of our society. This is a very targeted attack on the middle class and especially the small business owner. They want to eliminate this from out society and create greater government dependence. That’s why all the large corporations were allowed to stay open while industries with the highest number of sole proprietors (restaurants, bars, hair salons, barbers, etc) were immediately shut down. They’re being persecuted in California if one hasn’t noticed.
That expresses The Prodigal son. The child a parent couldnt do nothing influencing them make better choices except pray interceding prayers, watch their adult child make bad choices and self destruct. It is their life how they choose living it; Their life is their own gift. They can honor it or they can waste it. It goes the same way for the elect and unelected leaders presiding over Anchorage’s economic future. They are the rulers whether or not by a fair election or mail-in-ballot cheating. They just as the prodigal son, they will face the consequences and either be destroyed by them or they will be humbled to live better.
There should be some kind of economic response to China for knowingly releasing this virus on us and the world. Instead, Biden will resume business as usual, kissing their backsides. He and the others in DC don’t want to upset their personal business, while the rest of the country deteriorates.
Well, I guess I won’t be a patient of Dr. John Morris, MD anytime soon…
Suzanne, I strongly suggest true names be attached to comments. Some with fake names use vitriol and invective to be as provocative as they please with no accountability. Kindly change the program to require real names in order to separate the cowards from the patriots.
Hi Wayne, there is an issue with that — people impersonate others. I watch for that and delete them. This problem of vitriol in comments is why many other sites have disabled the comments, since it takes too long to try to edit civility into them. – sd
Juneau Empire dramatically reduced the nonsense by requiring commenters to post with real names. It reduced their moderating efforts… but also reduced the number of comments. The key is accountability. There is no accountability with anonymity.
As to this article, the writer is engaging in a classic fallacy: argumentum ad auctoritate, or argumentum ad verecundiam. In its most basic form, this fallacy asserts people must have certain letters following their names before engaging a particular topic. I would remind John Morris that the Anchorage Assembly is not functioning in a vacuum. The have consulted experts directly and through their own media research. Additionally, you, Dr. Morris, are welcome to submit your opinion to them at any time. Finally, if you are displeased, you can run for office too. Remember, if you are elected, you may need to study and make a decision regarding the city water system even though you are not a trained and licensed civil engineer.
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