As Gov. Greg Abbott continues to enable local governments to enforce mask orders and impose other restrictions ostensibly engineered to contain the Chinese coronavirus pandemic, a lawmaker critical of those actions is seeking input from medical leaders and challenging his decision.
On Wednesday evening, State Sen. Bob Hall (R–Edgewood) hosted a Facebook conversation with six Texas medical doctors, who all described the success they are having in early intervention medical treatments for COVID-19 patients.
Hall asked questions that challenged the underlying assumptions being made by federal and state officials that existing drugs are not safe or effective, and the doctors he hosted debunked many of those assumptions.
Following the discussion, Hall argued Abbott and other leaders should be pursuing a different strategy.
“It greatly concerns me that Texas has maintained a defensive-only strategy based not on facts, but fear,” said Hall. “We are continuing to use tactics that don’t recognize what we have learned over the past months from doctors who are successfully treating this disease. Being able to bring information to Texans is one of my duties, and giving these medical doctors a platform to tell their testimonies is a privilege.”
“We must shift from a defensive strategy to an offensive strategy. These medical doctors tell you what they have learned about early intervention medical treatment and why they are no longer afraid of COVID-19. We can shift our strategy to that of early intervention medical treatment of those who are infected and the medically vulnerable,” he added.
