Back in
the middle of May, I wrote an essay titled "If the
United States were my patient," pondering what it would be like
if the United States were a flesh-and-blood person who had gotten sick with a
persistent infection.
Seven
weeks later, I thought it would be a good time to check in and see
how the patient is doing. It turns out, the answer is: not well at
all.
In fact,
with daily infection rates breaking records on many days during the last couple
of weeks, we are arguably worse off today than at any point earlier in the
pandemic. We have less than 5% of the global population, but about 25% of the
confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths.
As a
doctor, I'm frustrated. I feel our patient's deterioration didn't have to
happen, and there were too many unforced errors.
We’ve had
the benefit of excellent medical care. But after a few short weeks of following
doctors' orders, our patient – our country – has chosen to turn its back on the
advice of these health experts. It didn't like what the doctors were saying and
it stopped taking the prescribed medicines because they were unpalatable.
Some of
the prescriptions, like physical distancing and curtailing our daily activities,
tasted bad and were hard to swallow. Others, like wearing a face mask, created
a bit of physical discomfort and a lot of political friction. And the most
aggressive medicine of all, the stay-at-home orders, triggered
never-before-seen mass layoffs across many sectors of the economy, and the
fallout just rippled outward from there. In other words: very real pain.
I worried
back then about stopping the medicine too early – and that is exactly what
happened. Make no mistake: The patient will feel worse in the coming days until
the medicine begins to work; until the public health measures that are once
again being put in place have a chance to do their job.
I still
think our patient can be rehabilitated to good health, but it may require more
aggressive treatment for the time being and diligent monitoring into the
future.
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