ATLANTA — Dr. Patrice Harris has a very simple message for anyone who will listen.
“As much as everybody is doing now, we need to do more," said Harris, the president or the American Medical Association.
From protective gear and ventilators to efforts at social distancing, Harris said medical professionals need help.
“When physicians are writing their wills, updating their wills, not seeing their family – it is really a call to action,” said Harris. “It’s certainly not a secret that we still don’t have what we need.”
Two weeks ago, Harris explained to President Donald Trump in an online meeting, that there is a large gap in supplies and asked for a national tracking system on protective gear, test kits and ventilators.
“Who has what? Who needs what? And what the priorities are? If there was a national system there could be coordination of all of these supplies.”
Lobbying groups, non-profits, medical associations, and community activists have put together tracking systems, but so far there is not a resource for hospitals, emergency workers and other medical professionals to track who has protective gear and how to get it.
“Physicians go into this profession knowing there’s some risk of infection,” said Harris, “but there’s an accountability contract I say in that we expect to have the tools that we need when we go in day in and day out on the front lines.”
Harris said everyone has a part to play in preserving the ventilators and protective equipment that is available. She applauds those who have been able to make masks or use 3D printers to construct other necessary items. But said the most helpful thing anyone can do, is stay home and stay healthy.
“If it hasn’t hit home for you and you’re staying in, thank you. Because what you have done by staying in, is decrease the chance that you will see it and that’s a good thing. But that is a hard concept to get to. By an action, nothing is happening? Yes. It’s a little bit counter intuitive," explained Harris.
She is grateful to see increases in testing, but believes much more needs to be done. Anyone who wants a test should be able to access one and results should come in hours, not days. Without it, Harris said communities are existing with false and potentially dangerous comfort.
“Until we get the really widespread testing, we don’t really know how a particular community has been impacted," said Harris.
Increased testing, she believes would also provide valuable data, not just on age, but ethnicities and risk factors to help doctors better understand the virus.
“African Americans have higher incidents of diabetes and hypertension which are risk factors, other than that age," said Harris.
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