Stand aside, politicians. Time to let doctors lead

As the primary inches closer, the November general election looms and campaigns start again in earnest, it’s increasingly hard to tell if what we’re hearing from our elected officials are the best plans and policies for us — or for their reelection campaigns.

So it’s time for the politicians to stand aside and let the medical professionals lead. Yes, we have doctors and epidemiologists on panels and task forces, but they’re playing second fiddle to elected officials.

If you remember, we ran an editorial about Gunnison, Colo., and its response to the 1918 flu pandemic (DP-03-27-20). The town turned leadership over to the county physician and, as a result, experienced no cases during the first two waves of the flu and only mild cases during the third.

We’re not talking about a task force that advised county commissioners. We’re talking about politicians who realized they were in over their heads and let a doctor take the reins.

As polarized as politics has become, any order, mandate or suggestion coming from an elected official is going to meet resistance — generally from across the aisle — even if said politician is reciting verbatim what a medical professional said. We tend to assume there’s a spin or an ulterior motive, and sometimes we flat out refuse to comply because of that mistrust.

So it’s time to remove even the suggestion of politicizing the virus. Mayors, governors, presidents: Step aside.
The president has been repeatedly accused of using his coronavirus briefings as a substitute for his rallies. And here in West Virginia, Gov. Justice has been accused of using his daily briefings as campaign fodder.

We don’t have high aspirations for Trump, but we know Justice is trying his best to get the Mountain State through this pandemic. The best thing he can do right now is turn his briefings over to Dr. Clay Marsh for the foreseeable future. Here’s why:

Information is more trustworthy when it comes straight from the horse’s mouth, so to speak. If Dr. Marsh is on our screens telling us to wear masks in public and stay six feet apart, we know there is sound medical reasoning behind the edict.

It’s far less likely anyone will suggest information or guidelines serve a political purpose if it comes directly from medical professionals. Health advice is easier to take seriously when it comes from someone with a medical degree.

Justice can be hard to understand sometimes. Dr. Marsh is articulate and concise, and he has expertise on the subject at hand. Justice’s messages can get muddled, and some people pay more attention to his verbal flubs than his actual speeches.

Politicians, it’s time to follow through on the promises you’ve been making for years to do the best thing for Americans: Cede the stage to medical professionals so we can emerge from this pandemic as unscathed as possible.