To the Editor:
As a resident of 145th District, I was troubled to learn that our own elected State Rep. Chris Johansen and his wife Cindy (corresponding secretary of the Aroostook County Republicans) had both contracted COVID-19 (BDN, July 23; Maine Public, July 24, et al).
Sadly, Mrs. Johansen succumbed to this horrific disease.
To date there has been no official update regarding the health of the representative himself. Why the local media has been reluctant to report on this matter remains an enigma.
Clearly, this is not a time to call out the representative or his late wife for their numerous anti-mask and anti-vaccine activities, Facebook posts, etc. However, one must ask the question: how many residents of District 145 have blindly followed the disinformation they propagated and, in so doing, put at risk their own health, the well-being of their family, neighbors and members of the public (especially children under 12 who are not yet eligible) by discouraging the use of highly safe and efficacious vaccines?
It is my hope that Rep. Johansen has a rapid and complete recovery. I offer my sincere condolences to him and his family for the untimely loss of his wife.
It is my fervent hope that the representative uses his tragic circumstance to become part of the solution, for the remainder of this horrific global pandemic, and that he dedicate himself toward encouraging his constituents to get vaccinated becoming, for the remainder of his term in office, a fierce advocate for public health.
The good residents of the 145th District, The County and state deserve nothing less.
Brian Culverhouse
Littleton
