Dr. Daniel Herring sent a message to Craig Jelinek that said:
I am a family physician in Northwest Ohio. I am married and have 3 children. I am writing to oppose your policy regarding no entry into your stores. Masks have not been proven to significantly affect the transmission of COVID-19. 85% of people that have contracted COVID-19 have worn a mask. How again do masks help? And by the way, do you know which masks are effective and which are not? You don't because neither the state of Ohio nor the Federal Government have indicated which masks they believe are effective and which are not. Neither the state nor the government have properly told people who to correctly wear a mask. Are you going to have several people walking around each of your stores and confronting people that wear a mask below their nose or are wearing a homemade mask which does nothing or wearing a face shield which has been shown not to protect people from anything. Are you going to enforce mandatory masks at your gas pumps or in the parking lot while people are coming in and out of the store. If you are really serious about saving lives and protecting people from COVID then you should have a uniform policy throughout your entire property and not just inside. FYI, people can contract COVID outside as well. My biggest problem with your decision is the choice to not allow medical exemptions to your mask mandate. The governor of Ohio has indicated that medical exemptions should be honored and I personally and professionally think that not doing so is discrimination against people. My wife suffers from severe anxiety. Just reading the news about your store caused a panic attack. Just the thought of walking into your store and being confronted causes her a panic attack. If you have never seen someone with a panic attack, I suggest you Youtube it. Its paralyzing and not pretty. To enact a policy that discriminates against people who didn't choose to have anxiety or other mental health disorders, is wrong and immoral and inhumane. Why should my wife have to do "pick-up" or online shopping? She should have the same freedoms as anyone else. No one wants anyone to die from COVID, but these mask mandates are leaving a large portion of people in America feeling trapped and forgotten. Who is fighting for them? Why are you giving into fear and pressure from the states and ignoring peoples freedom? Why are you discriminating against people? Why didn't you have a mask policy last year during flu season? Tens of thousands of people die each year from influenza. Do you feel bad that someone could have contracted influenza in one of your stores last year due to people not wearing masks? Do you feel bad that some of those people probably died? You should. You have the power to educate people and push back against states who are trying to unlawfully dictate to you certain policies. Do you know that in Ohio the governors mask mandate is just that - a mandate? It is not a law and never went through any legislation. In addition any statute of limitations on mandates are well past. Im sure you don't want anyone to die from possible exposure to COVID at one of your stores, but are you willing to accept that people are committing suicide due to feeling isolated and ignored because no one cares about them and their mental health. I have seen it in my practice. My wife and I will be canceling our executive membership to your store and will use other businesses to get similar products. I hope your bottom line is worth more than treating people equally and fairly. If you have the courage to call me I would love to talk to you further regarding this. 419-467-3876
