Virus: Health chief needs support, not criticism

Re: “Tacoma health chief fails as communicator,” (TNT, 8/16).

I read with great disappointment the op-ed piece by Dr. Stephanie Smith criticizing Dr. Anthony Chen.

Her public reprimands of Chen’s local handling of our current global pandemic were shocking at best, offensive at worst.

At a time when there is uncertainty regarding the progression of COVID-19 in our community in the coming months, we need unification of our medical community, not trivial castigation.

The message from all healthcare providers should be aligned: Wear a mask, practice social distancing, wash your hands.

As far as Chen’s risk communication goes, I feel he has been very clear. To mandate distance learning in both public and private schools seems to indicate to the public that he is very serious about the risks of sending kids back to school and his mandating their closure for now sends a crystal clear message.

There is so much divisiveness coming from our elected officials in Washington, D.C., regarding the threat of COVID-19. We need a cooperative, collective response from our local healthcare professionals.

This story was originally published August 25, 2020 at 10:23 AM with the headline "Virus: Health chief needs support, not criticism."