Shaw: A scathing look at North Dakota’s COVID response

“It was the greatest public health failure in the history of our state. It didn’t need to happen.”

That comment comes from Dr. Stephen McDonough, longtime pediatrician and public health officer in North Dakota. McDonough has now written an e-book,

available on Amazon, called “The Power of a Question.”

It’s about North Dakota’s pathetic response to COVID-19.

“I was shocked to find out that North Dakota had the highest death rate in the world from COVID-19 for one month, and the highest in the country for two months,” he said. “I wanted to find out what happened, where it happened, when it happened, why it happened and how it happened.”

McDonough rightfully delivered a scathing attack against state leaders for how they handled the pandemic.

“Our state leaders were like a deer in the headlights,” he said. “They pushed for a light touch of government, which was a huge failure and not based on any data. They were following the leads of President Trump and Fox News. We became an anti-science state. Leaders were busy doing the wrong things and wouldn’t admit to their mistakes. So, the bodies kept piling up.”

McDonough emphasizes that there were more than 1,000 preventable deaths in the state from COVID. They came at first from people not wearing masks and later from people who refused to take the vaccine.

“There should have been a statewide mask mandate in June or July of 2020, before the vaccine was available. Instead, we waited until November. We could have saved hundreds of lives. Our state leadership was terrible.”

McDonough wrote that the lack of mask wearing and social distancing became deadly.

“Rural North Dakota was devastated by COVID,” he said. “People got together not wearing masks and social distancing. We had a large number of people in nursing homes who were sitting ducks.”

Still, there is a bright side to McDonough’s book. He interviewed 75 North Dakotans whom he calls heroes. They are doctors, nurses, teachers, journalists, clergy and community leaders. People who pushed the truth about COVID and tried hard to save lives under difficult circumstances.

“They were extraordinarily courageous,” McDonough said. “They said the right things about mask mandates. They worked hard in the face of opposition from the president and state leaders. Many of them were harassed. It was very difficult for them. What they did was truly heroic, given that their messages were not well received.”

McDonough is highly critical of the

North Dakota Legislature,

which has banned mask mandates and pushed for anti-vaccine laws.

“Legislative leaders won’t admit their mistakes and are showing their ignorance,” he said.

North Dakotans should read this important book or at least listen to what McDonough says. Our lives may depend upon it. He courageously tells us what we need to hear. The state response to COVID was a disaster and must not happen again.

“There will be another pandemic. It’s just a question of when,” McDonough said. “We haven’t learned from this one. We need to make sure that this kind of response never happens again in our state.”

Shaw is a former WDAY TV reporter and former KVRR TV news director.

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Forum’s editorial board nor Forum ownership.

InForum columnist Jim Shaw is a former WDAY TV reporter and former KVRR TV news director.