Shame on the Medical Establishment

I have just read a well-balanced review of the major shortcomings of many of the leaders of the medical establishment in The City Journal by Nicholas Wade. I hope that you can access it (link is at the end of this posting). It is worth the time to read and ponder. The article is focused on how the lab leak theory of SARS-CoV-2 emanating from the Wuhan Virology Laboratory. You may remember that the comedian and generally progressive-leaning Jon Stewart made a joke of the obvious link between the origins of the pandemic in Wuhan itself and the laboratory. Wade also points out how leading medical journals lined up with Francis Collins and Anthony Fauci who, it turned out, had the embarrassing connection of having a modest amount of NIH funds finding their way to the Wuhan laboratory.

Another good read is a recent posting on The Dispatch by David French on our societal problem with “gurus”. He uses Elon Musk among other examples. The whole problem is imbuing experts or successful individuals with respect and presumed expertise outside their zone of performance. Apparently, both Tom Brady and Steph Curry, great athletes in their own right, endorsing the now bankrupt cryptocurrency firm FTX. How about famous actors endorsing investments in gold? Sure, this is common advertising policy. Perhaps, this is why the well-known cardiac surgeon Mehmet Oz ran for Senate in Pennsylvania even though he lived most of the time in New Jersey. How did that work out?

So, you may ask, why is George Mallory, a retired pediatric pulmonologist, sharing his perspectives on COVID for fellow citizens to cover? Actually, because I have the time and interest and precisely because I am not an expert. Not being an expert gives me a humility and an interest in being open to the ideas of the establishment and iconoclasts like me. I have loved challenging medical dogmas in my career.

In any case, I will seek out the opinions of gurus and let you know what I think. The link below is to the Nicholas Wade article.

https://manhattan-institute.us4.list-manage.com/track/click?u=b75d222a8ff4ade269f9efd3b&id=96c3df0208&e=a3ba643b8e