I moved back to Utah in 1989, about the time UDOT decided to use Syn-crete to resurface 26 blocks of the northbound lanes of I-15. Seems like the alliance between Dan Richards (Meds in Motion) and Stuart Adams (Utah Senate president) is setting Utah up for a new Syn-crete debacle, this time in the health care area.
For those who don’t remember, Syn-crete was sold as a cheap resurfacing. Our UDOT bought into this apparently miraculous combination of polymer and concrete, seemingly partly to help a struggling Utah company.
The magical thinking didn’t work out well, as Syn-crete soon cracked, broke up and damaged autos traveling I-15. Within a year UDOT had to tear it out, at about half the cost of putting it in.
Now the state is being pushed to use its resources to put an anti-malarial drug, produced by Richards, in pharmacies. One claim is that its effect in saving dying COVID-19 patients is Lazarus-like. (“Pharmacist urges use of malaria drug, has Utah leaders listening,” Salt Lake Tribune, April 13).
Adams’ magical thinking is based on anecdotes, (flawed) studies that have been done and a “conversation with a neighbor” who was helped by the drug. Oh, and President Trump being an “aggressive promotor.”
So in Utah we are being offered another magical solution by our political leaders, despite the careful and informed cautions of medical experts, who point out the unproven results and the detrimental side-effects of taking the drug.
One can only hope that Gen. Jefferson Burton, head of the Utah coronavirus response team, will listen to the informed opinion of health care experts rather than the combination of a well-meaning (I assume) businessman and a magical thinking politician.
Peoples’ lives are at stake, not just dented fenders.
Ken Jameson, Salt Lake City
Donate to the newsroom now. The Salt Lake Tribune, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public charity and contributions are tax deductible