Mt. Vernon School Board Meeting

On Friday, August 7, local family physician Dan Stock offered commentary concerning COVID-19 mitigation protocols to the Mt. Vernon School Board. Stock’s claims were accusatory of state medical institutions and their advice, specifically naming the Centers for Disease Control and Indiana State Department of Health as “not bothering to read science.” 

Indiana Department of Health Media Relations Coordinator Megan Wade-Taxter told the Associated Press, “Throughout this pandemic, we have relied on data and science to make recommendations, and we will continue to do so.” 

Mt. Vernon School Board President Kellie Freeman stated in an email that, “…we will continue to follow the guidance given by the County Health Department and the Indiana Department of Health and make adjustments if needed or required. We know we cannot please everyone; however; our first priority is the students and staff.” She continued, “…we have to make the best decisions based on the data and on the laws.”

Recordings of Stock’s speech rapidly gained mass attention on the internet. Mt. Vernon’s livestream archive of the entire meeting got to over 500,000 views before being taken down by YouTube for violation of community guidelines regarding COVID-19 misinformation. Re-uploads of the speech on Facebook, YouTube, and other social media platforms got to tens of millions before being removed for continuing to spread COVID-19 misinformation.