Kolette Kramer, Towner

First off, let me say I do believe COVID is real. It is a virus that effects a lot of us. Some handle it better than others. Some couldn’t handle it and are no longer with us. I am not making light of that fact.

Our state, our communities, and our livelihoods are being affected by this disease as well. It has pitted neighbor against neighbor, family against family. What is an effective way to conquer us? Divide us. And we are divided. Mask up! Don’t mask! Get the vaccine! Not getting the vaccine! We each have our opinions. And guess what? I have mine!

I spoke at a committee hearing in Bismarck to end the state of emergency. Do I believe if we end the emergency COVID will miraculously disappear? No.

But I still believe we will be able to fight it without a “State of Emergency.” Those in opposition to ending the emergency focused on funding. What will we do without all the funding? Nobody spoke about the COVID battle per say, just the funding that we might miss out on. And I’m a firm believer that money does NOT cure COVID.

How will we pay for tests? Maybe the same way we have been? Maybe we don’t need drive through testing. Maybe we need people who get sick to be able to go to the doctor and get treated. Just like we did before the State of Emergency.

If you feel sick – go in and get checked out. Funding doesn’t cure COVID, it just takes our nation further in debt.

There was a lot of “What if’s” too….what if things get bad? Can’t the governor call a state of emergency if things get bad? He did once, I’m sure he could again. What qualifies as an emergency? And how long do emergencies last? Isn’t an emergency an…emergency? Not a lifestyle?

Here’s a scenario. We get all emergency systems to run a train wreck training. The fire department, ambulance, emergency personnel are there. Everyone makes a plan of attack and we prepare. We don’t put a “state of emergency” in force waiting for the train wreck. We feel prepared to handle it when it happens. And hopefully, it won’t.

So should we have 10 months of a state of emergency in place and then just keep it up in case something happens? We have had 10 months to plan, to research, to wait. What now? When will COVID end?

Most thought that the state of emergency should end when everyone is vaccinated. The magic vaccine. But how can we convince everyone to take it?

Are the manufacturers liable for this brand new MRNA vaccine that has never before been used? And never before been successful? No. We are all part of a giant experiment.

The trial phases have not been completed. Emergency Use Authorization. Because there is no other option. In order to obtain Emergency Use Authorization, all other treatments have to be proven ineffective. Death rates should be high. Place fear in everyones lives. So that’s what we do? Fail because we have to? How do we strike enough fear in people they will want to take the vaccine?

Treatments have been denied. People have went in for chronic illness and have been tested for COVID and put in the hospital with no choice. People have died and tested post mortem and have been added to the death toll. Governor Burgum stated in one of his addresses, We will not be saying if they have underlying health issues anymore because that confuses people. (Paraphrased) Like we would think they might have died of something else instead of COVID and they just wanted to inflate the numbers and use fear to control us?

Yes, he got that right, I do think they might have inflated the numbers. But I’m not sure because they won’t tell us.

The medical industry has come a long way since the Spanish flu. Why do we believe that we will live forever though? Are we a healthy nation? Are we a healthy state? You can’t wipe out all other diseases and have everyone dying from COVID for one year. Is the death rate up? By how much?

Take the normal death rate and subtract it from this year’s death rate. Is there any “inflation” that should be adjusted? What is the “extra” cases of death? Are they “State of Emergency” worthy?

I have more questions than answers. And I have opinions. I just gave you mine. Please note that I already know that I am not a licensed medical professional. Don’t attack me for that. I’m just opinionated.

Thanks for taking the time… and start to ask questions too. Get active. Call your legislatures and let them know what you as a constituent of their district thinks. They would love to hear from you!