My wife and I are healthcare providers at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in the division of internal medicine. We have noticed that despite recent events, many people we know, including friends and even some who work alongside us, think the threat of COVID-19 is overblown: that it is less infectious or deadly than the flu, that it is a product of media hype, and that there is little reason for concern. We know this sentiment well. In medicine we often reassure our patients over many concerns – that the symptoms they might feel are normal, that some changes they experience are expected, that everything will be fine. I wish this were one of those times.
COVID-19 is more infectious than the flu. It does not spread the same way the flu does – it’s faster. It plays out differently than the flu: certainly, on average, people with preexisting health problems are likely to do worse, but averages by definition mean healthy people have done poorly, too. Half of critically ill patients in France are younger than 60. Healthy young people have fallen ill, seemingly improved, then rapidly, fatally worsened, possibly as an overreaction of their immune system to the virus. Roughly half of the patients who become critically ill with this infection die. This is really happening. There are thousands of epidemiologists, intensivists and infectious disease experts, on the ground, in these countries, in these states, who are resorting to Twitter to share their experiences, to tell people as quickly as possible how dangerous this is, and yet so few have listened, because certain politicians and personalities continue to call it fake news, panic, hysteria. Media hype.
I am asking you to forget the media. The World Health Organization labeling this a pandemic and global emergency is not media hype. The National Institutes of Health putting their very limited funding toward finding a cure is not media hype. The Centers for Disease Control’s recommendations to slow the spread of COVID-19 so our hospitals aren't flooded with patients we cannot care for are not media hype. Over 360 people in Italy have died from this virus in just the last 24 hours. They have filled all their available ICU beds – beds that otherwise would have gone to people with end-stage heart disease, lung disease, or other life-threatening infections. Providers are being forced to decide which patients they should attempt to save and those they cannot.
There is no hype here, only tragedy. And by the numbers, we, the people of the United States, are following in their footsteps.
Because our administration has been slow to clamp down on COVID-19’s spread, it is on you, personally, to stop willing participation in making this worse. You have a moral and public responsibility to avoid unnecessary social gatherings and prevent transmission. Please do not be so foolish to think this disease will leave you, your friends or family unscathed. Countries doing better have widespread testing to identify which groups to quarantine, and their citizens put collective safety over their social lives and egos to isolate themselves and slow the onslaught of new cases hitting hospitals. The United States does not have the capacity to test widely; therefore, the only way to prevent this virus’ rapid spread among people who might not have symptoms is to assume you already have it, and to take the measures infectious disease experts – not the news – have recommended. They are drastic, but necessary. We are not asking for panic. We are asking for action. It is your moral responsibility.
If you are looking for further reliable information regarding COVID-19, please visit the CDC's website.
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