“I think anyone in the state of Alabama is perfectly in their rights to reach out to us for information and ask for an explanation for things,” Dr. Scott Harris said in a January 2021 interview with Alabama Public Radio. “That’s our job, we’re here to serve the people of Alabama. We do everything we possibly can to be transparent and to give the people the information they want.”
Nearly four years later, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials said, “ASTHO president and @ALPUBLICHEALTH SHO Scott Harris addresses the importance of trust and transparency in public health.”
Using these two statements as a guide, let’s go through several more comments by Harris.
“Changing human behavior is actually what all health orders are about,” Harris said in an April 2020 radio interview discussing the already contentious COVID mandates. “[I]t’s really difficult to get people to stay six feet apart, and wear masks and not touch each other, no matter what,” he continued, stating this reason for why we could not go to church while Home Depot, Costco, Lowe’s, and Publix were full. “I think it’s just common sense that if you’re a physician and you understand how disease gets transmitted,” he said.
These statements set the stage for Harris’s interference in every social and medical decision for months to come. He viewed his job as changing the behavior of every Alabamian, despite providing no scientific studies, and used the logical fallacy of appealing to his authority as a doctor to ensure people followed his edicts.
Yet these same things that Harris advanced were later denied by those in higher positions. Dr. Anthony Fauci, for example, was repeatedly questioned during his Jan. 9, 2023, congressional testimony about the science behind social distancing requirements, to which he responded, “it sort of just appeared, that 6 feet is going to be the distance.”
“Have you seen any evidence since then supporting six feet [social distancing]?” Congress asked Fauci’s boss, Francis Collins, two days later. “No,” he replied.
Examples abound of Harris’s persistence in these ineffective COVID measures. In an October 2021 report on WHNT TV, Harris said, “My medical opinion as a physician is, when there’s a pandemic still going on, you ought to wear a mask. That seems like the very least you could do.” This was 18 months into the pandemic, yet Harris cited no scientific study to back up his claims. Harris also said at that same time that 14,756 deaths, or 1 in every 330 citizens, had occurred due to the virus. ADPH's annual reports called his claim into question, showing that in 2020, 1 in 751 citizens died of COVID, while 1 in 532 citizens died of it in 2021. The latter rate was the second-worst rate in the nation.
Harris returned to masks in July 2022, with Alabama Public Health tweeting: “When in doubt, it’s always better to be safe than sorry. Let’s normalize masking and protect our community.”
Governor Kay Ivey would not provide political cover for Harris as her spokesperson, however, saying: “Normalizing masking, COVID restrictions and the like are not anywhere in Governor Ivey’s vocabulary. Alabamians have common sense and can choose what is best for them.”
On Dec. 23, 2022, Harris encouraged us through the Alabama Public Health Twitter account to “Make the Holidays safer,” suggesting “lower risk activities" such as “having a small outdoor dinner and gift exchange with family and friends who live in your community.” I chose not to follow his advice because the outside air temperature at my house was three degrees Fahrenheit, with the rest of the state well below freezing.
Harris also made repeated statements about hospitals being under stress. In the June 2020 minutes of the State Committee of Public Health, Harris “discussed the significant stress on hospitals across the state due to the influx of COVID-19 patients.”
Yet the KaufmanHall healthcare consulting company produced a study, “The Financial Impact of the Pandemic on Alabama Hospitals,” in the winter of 2023, with the following findings:
- Margins remain depressed relative to pre-pandemic levels.
- Hospital volumes remain below pre-pandemic levels.
- Hospitals have faced a profound financial toll, with no relief in sight.
“Hospitals also are facing a host of other related challenges, including workforce shortages and supply disruptions,” the study concluded.
“The best indication we have is that it only took two weeks for Alabama’s COVID-19 infection rates to decrease after a mask mandate began in July,” Harris said in his January 2021 State Health Officer Message. Harris never provided electronic data, but a private citizen, Bama Tracker, provided data daily during 2020-21 showing that cases, tests, hospitalizations and deaths were greater 14 days after the mask mandate than before. ADPH’s own charts show hospitalizations and deaths were at higher levels than in July 2020, well before Harris wrote this message.
Below is a chart using the Centers for Disease Control data showing total per capita deaths from 2016 to 2023. Deaths follow a regional and seasonal pattern in Alabama and the four surrounding states. The same pattern is apparent regardless of mask, social distancing, or any other choices made by Harris or different choices in any of the surrounding states. I have asked Harris, using his own charts, whether any of his policies made a difference. He never answered any of my questions.
Why is data access transparency important to citizens? By restricting data access, Harris prevented citizens from being able to question his numbers or his policies. Bama Tracker and Mortality Watch were provided by interested private citizens using their own money. Georgia and Florida both have extensive electronic data access for interested citizens. Alabama has talented people who could provide transparency, but Harris doesn’t use them. Instead, he provides static, stale PDF reports months or years later.
How does Harris, who fails his own job self-assessment and has proven defects in trustworthiness and transparency, continue to be Alabama’s State Health Officer?
Donnie Claxton is an Auburn graduate, retired accountant, and an inveterate reader who is concerned about lack of accountability in Alabama state government.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to [email protected].
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