​Vern’s view from the road: science and medicine save lives

By Vern Thompson

vern.thompson@rocketmail.com

Working in the Bakken oil fields of the Williston Basin is so different from my home in Fargo. I'm not judging, because the people working and living in western North Dakota are very hard workers. Work in the oil fields isn't for everyone. It involves long hours away from home and family for long periods, affecting thousands of people.

The mindset and philosophy are much different in the Bakken than those of my friends back home. Don't get me wrong; they have a right to their way of thinking, and I respect that. Perhaps my philosophy and way of thinking are in the minority now. Even though I have worked the last 13 years in the oil patch, it is still a culture shock at times.

The philosophical difference resurfaced with the measles outbreak and a new strain of Covid. I interact with people who are passionately anti-science and anti-vaccination. I first noticed this in 2020 when COVID-19 began to spread. None of us knew what the outcome of the pandemic would be. We saw that thousands of people were dying daily. Many of us had friends or relatives who contracted COVID-19 and died.

Like many of my closest friends and family, I believe in science and medicine. So I went to my doctor and asked him if I should get a COVID-19 vaccine. He told me that I should get the shot because this new strain of disease was attacking people's lungs, and I would be a prime target at my age and with my history of lung infections. I trusted my doctor and got the COVID-19 vaccine shot, along with thousands of others, from the Fargo Cass County Health Department.

Last week, I was due for my Department of Transportation (DOT) physical so I could continue driving our semi-truck. I was grateful to pass the physical without any issues. My new DOT medical card allows me to drive for two more years.

While waiting for some test results, the doctor and I had an in-depth conversation about vaccines. He told me that even in eastern North Dakota, fewer people are getting vaccinated against measles and other communicable diseases. The doctor said it is troubling that more people are believing misinformation and conspiracy theories regarding their families' healthcare.

We talked about how vaccinations eradicated polio, smallpox and measles. It is hard to understand why more parents, who were immunized as children, are now refusing to vaccinate their children. It was just reported that North Dakota has the highest per capita rate of measles in the United States.

The doctor explained how it took years of science and research to develop vaccines to eliminate contagious diseases. He is very troubled by the current administration's cutting of funds for research and development on diseases ranging from Covid to cancer. The doctor said that the anti-science and anti-vaccination policies Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert Kennedy Jr. believes in will set us back decades.

One troubling policy change taking place is combating new strains of Covid. Kennedy announced Covid shots would be removed from the federal immunization schedule for children 6 months to 17 years old. A top coronavirus vaccine adviser, Lakshmi Panagiotakopoulos, resigned after Secretary Kennedy's announcement.

Fortunately, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) contradicted Kennedy's policy and maintained the advice that children may receive Covid shots. That means 38 million low-income children who rely on the Vaccines for Children (VFC) program will still be able to get the vaccine.

Now the Trump administration is imposing new testing requirements that will make it harder for people who want vaccination shots to get them. Health experts say the new requirements could take years and cost hundreds of thousands of lives.

Science and medicine saved President Trump's life when he had COVID-19. Changing the Covid vaccine for a new strain has become fairly easy with mRNA technology. Moderna can have variant-adapted mRNA vaccines ready for clinical trials in a month. Adopting the new Trump policy would take too long to effectively respond with vaccines to help the public. What will be the next vaccine targeted by the anti-vaccination crowd?

Science and medicine save lives. Our daughter was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) at 17 years old. Her medicine costs ten thousand dollars a month. Her MS doctor said that if she follows her medical advice, she will have a productive life for the next fifth to sixty years. Our daughter was active and successful throughout high school and college, graduating with honors, including summa cum laude at DePaul University. I am thankful every day that science, medicine and good doctors give her the opportunity to fulfill her dreams, working full-time in a profession she loves and living on her own.

I still interact with anti-science and anti-vaccination individuals at work. They are the same people who told me I would die within two years because I took the COVID-19 vaccine. That was five years ago. Guess what, I have taken every Covid booster, flu shot, and every other vaccine my doctor recommends, and I'm still alive. We can have our philosophical differences, but I have a new DOT medical card that says I am still physically fit and legally able to drive a semi-truck for another two years.

Vern Thompson and his wife Cindy own a trucking business. He has spent the last 13 years working in the Williston Basin of the Bakken Oil Patch. He spent seven years as Program Manager of the national Ed Schultz Show. Vern served in both the North Dakota State House and Senate. He helped lead the Devils Lake flood fight effort that brought over $1 billion to mitigate damages.