Community response to virus needs improvement
After 32 years as a family doctor in Western Montana I have cared for a broad spectrum of patients with a vast range of health issues. Now we are all facing uncharted territory and I feel a responsibility to speak out.
Statistics indicate that our community response to the COVID-19 pandemic needs improvement. I hope to offer some explanations that could help us unite to battle this virus.
Why shouldn't we relax and let COVID-19 spread through the community? Most of us won't get sick or die. We could develop "herd immunity" this way without a fuss. These arguments have appeal in theory. In practice, we as a society have historically acted to protect our vulnerable. Since we do not live in a society segregated by health or age, the approach of letting the virus rip through the community won't work.
Early in the pandemic we saw fatal spread within families from bar and event attendance. Even with the most rigorous control measures COVID has spread within local nursing homes. Should we leave our elderly completely on their own to protect themselves? That is both impractical and inhumane. It is virtually impossible to protect the vulnerable among us once the disease is rampant in the general community.
Another argument against letting the virus spread unimpeded is the lack of capacity within the health-care system. American medical care operates on a business model. Hospitals and clinics try to operate at close to full capacity to reduce the impact of high overhead. This model may be adequate for predictable chronic disease management, but it leaves little room for ongoing mass casualties.
Across the nation there is not only a problem with materials like masks, beds and ventilators. Staffing is an even larger problem. Nurses, physicians, respiratory therapists and housekeeping staff (to name a few) can't be replaced as easily as materials. They are being asked to work even longer hours under more stressful and dangerous conditions.
The amazing advancements in human health that have occurred in recent decades have been achieved through public health measures. Potable water, sanitation and vaccinations (not tests and medications) account for extended life expectancy around the world. While we wait for a COVID vaccine, masks and social distancing are our available tools to control this highly contagious respiratory virus.
An unmasked young woman who I recently confronted at a grocery store angrily responded that I needn't worry since I was masked. That is wrong. Wearing a mask has a modest protective benefit to the wearer. However, masks are significantly more effective in protecting others.
My colleagues and I are hard pressed to find medical conditions to justify not wearing a mask. Any condition that makes it difficult to wear a mask would place the individual at greater risk for serious complications of COVID. If you can't wear a mask, please stay home.
Some say wearing a mask impairs their constitutional freedom. Although I doubt the Bill of Rights was intended to provide unrestricted personal choice, I'll agree that citizens are not legally bound to wear a mask. I can't understand why someone wouldn't wear the mask anyway for the sake of their family, friends and fellow Americans.
The crisis reminds me of my childhood during the Vietnam War. Young men were exposed to physical risk and horrors of battle. When they came home from this duty they faced a hostile anti-war community. In modern times it is patriotic to honor our active military and veterans regardless of how we feel about military policies and war.
Health-care workers are soldiers in this modern day pandemic. Our training and protocols are based on medical science. We are also humans who are exhausted, fearful and perplexed. When we go to the grocery store and see people wearing masks it says, "thank you for your service." The unmasked spit in our faces.
— Dr. Lisa Fleischer is a Family Medicine Specialist in Kalispell.