Ferndale legislator ailing with COVID in El Salvador
State Sen. Doug Ericksen of Ferndale, Whatcom County’s only Republican in the state Legislature, is suffering from COVID-19 in El Salvador and unable to receive advanced treatment.
Ericksen’s spokesman Erik Smith told The Bellingham Herald that the senator has reached out to legislative colleagues for advice on how to receive monoclonal antibodies, which are unavailable in that Latin American nation.
“I took a trip to El Salvador and tested positive for COVID shortly after I arrived,” Ericksen said in a message to members of the state House and Senate.
Smith said members of the senator’s staff have been unable to reach Ericksen directly.
“We have been unable to get ahold of Sen. Ericksen but we believe (the message) to be true,” Smith told The Herald.
Ericksen didn’t immediately respond to a text message from The Herald.
In his message to legislators, Ericksen said his condition was “to the point that I feel it would be beneficial for me to receive an IV of monoclonal antibodies (Regeneron). I have a doctor here who can administer the IV, but the product is not available here.”
Former President Trump was given Regeneron, which has been approved by the FDA to treat mild to moderate COVID-19 symptoms, when he contracted the virus in October 2020.
Smith told The Herald that he was unsure if Ericksen had been vaccinated against COVID-19.
Because of pandemic-related travel restrictions, Ericksen likely would be unable to take a commercial flight out of El Salvador after testing positive for COVID-19.
El Salvador has high COVID spread, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends against travel there unless fully vaccinated.
Former state Rep. Luanne Van Werven of Lynden said she hasn’t spoken with Ericksen, but she hoped he will recover and said she would keep him in her prayers.
“I just wish him all the best in the health crisis,” Van Werven said. “I can’t imagine trying to arrange the logistics of medical care or flying out of a Third World country when you are as sick as a dog,” she said.
Ericksen’s 42nd District colleagues, state Rep. Alicia Rule, D-Blaine, and state Rep. Sharon Shewmake, D-Bellingham, expressed their concern in text messages to The Herald.
“COVID-19 is not something you want anyone to get and I hope he makes a full recovery,” Shewmake said.
“Being sick away from home is always miserable and I can’t imagine how hard this is. I hope he gets better soon,” she told The Herald.
Rule also wished her colleague well and said she hopes his illness would persuade more people to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
“I’m praying for my seatmate state Sen. Doug Ericksen, that he gets well and he gets home, but I also am praying that I might be able to reach someone who is on the fence about getting a vaccine. Please protect yourself, your family and your community,” Rule said.
“I just met with PeaceHealth and they told me this is a pandemic of the unvaccinated,” she said. “What hits home is the people in the ICU are the people I grew up with, at school and church, and it’s hard to watch this happen when there is a safe and effective way to protect yourself.”
John Ramsey, chairman of the Whatcom Republicans, told The Herald that he hadn’t spoken to Ericksen.
“My prayers are for a speedy recovery,” Ramsey said.
Ramsey called the U.S. reliance on vaccines alone a “short-sighted” approach to fighting the new coronavirus pandemic.
“If the government had done more with therapeutics we might not be in this position,” he said.
Ericksen’s 42nd Legislative District covers the north side of Bellingham and rural northern Whatcom County.
He has been elected to the state Senate three times, most recently in 2018. He served in the house from 1998 to 2010, when he ran for the Senate.
Ericksen said in December that he would introduce a state law to prevent vaccine mandates of the kind issued in August by Gov. Jay Inslee, several counties and cities, and private employers.
He’s also been critical of continuing state measures aimed at limiting the spread of COVID-19, including social distancing and masking.
According to photos posted on the Whatcom Business Alliance public Facebook page, Ericksen attended the organization’s Oct. 28 “Leaders of Industry Issues Forum” and is shown not wearing a mask or face covering.
This story was originally published November 12, 2021 at 12:55 PM.
