In response to Matt Janes’ letter to the editor on April 26 regarding “COVID: ‘It was all a humbug’”: We want to remind Matt that it wasn’t a humbug that impacted the county. Sixty-five people died from COVID; 7,000 people reported getting COVID, and hundreds of people still have lingering long term effects from COVID.

From a personal standpoint, my mother lost a significant amount of her hearing after contracting COVID, and is one of the hundreds impacted by long-term COVID. It was certainly unfortunate that it resulted in the inability “to go to the pub and hoist a cold one,” but sacrifice for the greater good is what defines a community.

Dr. Silka saw firsthand in the Emergency Department (ED) the impact COVID had on hundreds of families. He placed patients on ventilators, and cared for them for days in the ED because all the Intensive Care Unit beds were gridlocked with COVID patients who came before. Many of these patients died alone in the ED.

March 13, 2020, is the date that our president made a difficult decision to “lock down” communities to flatten the curve of infection. It worked.

We are grateful to all those who endured the hardships associated with the intense public health measures, and to those who provided care to those stricken.

Perhaps now we can hoist a cold one and celebrate our successes, pay homage to those we lost, and consider how best to prepare for the next public health challenge.

MIKE BROSIUS
PAUL A. SILKA, M.D.