Sanders County’s Board of Health officer resigns
Nick Lawyer
Sanders County’s Board of Health officer has resigned.
Nick Lawyer, a physician assistant at Clark Fork Valley Hospital in Plains, made the announcement last Friday on social media.
In his letter to the county commissioners and the Montana Department of Health of Human Services, Lawyer said “While I am disappointed in your request for my resignation I symphathize with your desire to govern Sanders County without the strife and conflict coming from a minority of people objecting to my recommendations and actions.”
Lawyer continued, “Since January, 2021, I have done my utmost to fill the duties and responsibilities of this position including working to identify, assess, prevent, and ameliorate conditions of public health importance. It is well within my responsibility and duty to speak and work to educate our community about how to prevent and contain the spread of Covid-19 (and other illnesses) - and I will continue to do so regardless of this letter.”
The reasons for Lawyer’s decision to resign after a request by the commissioners appear to be related to more than one factor.
In a Tweet on Saturday, Sept. 18, Lawyer wrote that their request for his resignation was in part as a response to a column he wrote in the Flathead Beacon, touting the safety and effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines. He wrote that “Commissioners felt I should’ve gotten their approval before sending this and other letters.”
CBS News reporter David Begnaud also shared an interview on Twitter that he had with Lawyer.
In it, Lawyer said he was forced to resign after a local man blamed him for his wife’s death. The man accused Lawyer of preventing his wife from receiving Ivermectin, hydrochloroquine and antibodies before she died due to Covid.
According to a Sept. 12 story in the Daily Inter Lake, at least a few people in the Flathead Valley have become ill after taking a widely available antiparasitic drug meant for animals in hopes of treating or preventing Covid-19, according to local hospital officials.
Ivermectin has been used since the 1970s to kill parasites in humans, including head lice, scabies and a worm that causes a condition known as river blindness. The drug is inexpensive and comes in a variety of forms, including tablets, injectables and topical ointments, and the World Health Organization has deemed it an essential medicine for treating several kinds of infections in people. It's also commonly used to purge heartworms from livestock such as horses, sheep and cattle.
A recent wave of misinformation fueled by some media figures and politicians, as well as a small contingent of doctors, has prompted thousands of Americans to try self-medicating with ivermectin to fight Covid, despite warnings from public health experts and ivermectin manufacturers that the drug doesn't work against the coronavirus.
Many have pressed their physicians and pharmacists for ivermectin prescriptions, ordered ivermectin products of dubious origin via the internet, and even sought out foul-tasting, veterinary-grade ivermectin pastes from their local ranch supply stores. Some have overdosed after taking quantities of the drug intended for large animals, or trying to figure out appropriate doses based on veterinary guidelines.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last month reported a fivefold increase in ivermectin-related calls to poison control centers across the U.S., as well as a 24-fold increase in weekly ivermectin prescriptions, from pre-pandemic baselines. And the Food and Drug Administration recently cautioned on Twitter against using veterinary ivermectin products: "You are not a horse. You are not a cow. Seriously, y'all. Stop it."
In the Flathead, at least a few people have shown up at the hospital with symptoms of ivermectin toxicity, which can include severe nausea, abdominal pain, vomiting and diarrhea, as well as neurological issues such as headaches, confusion, seizures and visual hallucinations.
According to figures from the state, 36% of Sanders County residents have been vaccinated for the coronavirus. Only 11 other Montana counties have lower rates.
As of Sept. 17, Sanders County had 39 new cases and 115 active. The county has reported 987 total Covid-19 cases with 856 recovered and 16 deaths.
In Montana, 1,877 people have died of Covid-19, according to state officials.