🚨I wrote about what health-care workers are going through, how exhausted & scared they are, and what this 3rd pandemic surge is doing to them.
It’s not like the first 2. It’s worse. How much slack is left in the system? Iowa nurse: “There is none” 1/
theatlantic.com/health/archive…
You’ve seen the huge numbers. Here’s what they can mean.
➡️36-hour shifts
➡️Docs on standby in case a colleague and their substitute AND their substitute’s substitute get sick
➡️“We’re all running on fear”
➡️“There’s only so many bags you can zip” 2/
theatlantic.com/health/archive…
The issue isn’t beds or ventilators. It’s people.
In many states, there already aren’t enough nurses/docs to care for the incoming COVID-19 patients.
Here’s what it takes to care for one in an ICU. (Non-COVID patients are coming in sicker too.) 3/
theatlantic.com/health/archive…
Good news: death rates are lower now than March.
But that’s partly because health-care workers are savvier & better at treating COVID-19.
Those gains are not givens. They’re *contingent on people not burning out*. And people are. 4/
theatlantic.com/health/archive…
Surges 1 & 2 were concentrated in specific areas, so hard-hit hospitals could call for help.
The big difference this time: The 3rd surge is everywhere. Reinforcements are scarce. 5/
theatlantic.com/health/archive…
Last weekend, when everyone else was reacting to election results, many of the folks I talked to for this story were working ER shifts.
Many Americans have habituated to the horror of the pandemic. Health-care workers are still drowning in it. 6/
theatlantic.com/health/archive…
Biden’s win gave many health-care workers a second wind. Help is coming. A vaccine is coming. There is absolutely hope on the horizon.
But it’s still *on the horizon* and everything from here to there is on fire. 7/
theatlantic.com/health/archive…
This is the crux of it: The U.S. must flatten the curve again.
In the next weeks, we will collectively decide how many Americans die before they can get a vaccine next year & how many health-care workers are broken in the process. /8
theatlantic.com/health/archive…
I know this is horrible & depressing. But we all have to sit with this and not look away. Health-care workers don’t get to. And they need help.
Who saves the people who save everyone else?
Everyone else. /9
theatlantic.com/health/archive…
For more stories, look at some of the replies to this thread:
And if you read my piece on health-care workers, do also read Caroline’s. It really captures what is at stake.
In which @zeynep continues her incredible streak of being very right about things. Listen to her.
theatlantic.com/health/archive…
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