In response to Dr. Doug Rollins’ letter to the editor published July 29, it’s a good thing to leave the World Health Organization.
For 2020, this country was assessed $57,883,460 by WHO. Considering this United States is on its way to $30 trillion in debt, it's important to ask where the money to pay will come from. Not only does WHO depend on our assessment, we voluntarily contribute much more than any country in the world for little return.
It is true that pandemics cross borders, but it's not as if we do not have methods of acquiring information and our own experts to handle a pandemic. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health, specially mentioned by Dr. Rollins, exist to do several things, including gathering and reporting information.
Remember that WHO did not tell the world about Chinese travelers who had been exposed to this version of coronavirus, until the disease had spread worldwide. Not only does this oversight point to a special relationship WHO has with China, its assessment is minuscule.
Let’s take Washington’s advice of avoiding entanglements. Not an isolationist, but pulling back a bit from the world, allowing other countries to handle their own health challenges, cutting out the middleman of WHO so others can come to us directly, if needed, is a much better idea.
I don't know what leadership Dr. Rollins thinks is missing in the response to COVID-19. A federally mandated, one-size-fits-all policy rarely fits anyone. Allowing governors to take the lead in their states makes sense. Government closest to the people governs best. The fact that in many states governors have fallen short is not the president's responsibility. The people of those states have abdicated their responsibility.
Mary Burkett, St. George