1/ Been meaning to read this #COVID19 piece by @Yascha_Mounk in @TheAtlantic.
He talks about Italian doctors having to ration ventilators.
They based it on who would survive & how quickly they might come off the vent, so they could treat more people.
theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…
He talks about Italian doctors having to ration ventilators.
They based it on who would survive & how quickly they might come off the vent, so they could treat more people.
theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…
2/ Rationing of limited medical equipment is not really an American concept & hardly done in the vast majority of our hospitals.
In my work internationally, rationing of resources is a daily part of patient care.
What seems insane bc of #COVID19 is regular practice for many.
In my work internationally, rationing of resources is a daily part of patient care.
What seems insane bc of #COVID19 is regular practice for many.
3/ These are our colleagues in impoverished places, many who I know are worried for America & Americans right now.
A number of close friends have reached out to me expressing their concerns & well wishes.
Yet these are people that average Americans probably never think about.
A number of close friends have reached out to me expressing their concerns & well wishes.
Yet these are people that average Americans probably never think about.
4/ When I worked in wards in parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, many times you were lucky if you just made it to a bed.
I mentioned before that sometimes, people died right on the floor.
No ventilators.
Oxygen tanks were what were being rationed.
I mentioned before that sometimes, people died right on the floor.
No ventilators.
Oxygen tanks were what were being rationed.
6/ I am not worried about the will of the people in places that lack resources to overcome #COVID19.
They have more heart, creativity, & perseverance than many of us do in places with an abundance of privilege.
You have no choice when daily life can be a matter of survival.
They have more heart, creativity, & perseverance than many of us do in places with an abundance of privilege.
You have no choice when daily life can be a matter of survival.
7/ But what do you do in an epidemic virus that causes substantial portions of its victims to need ventilators or healthcare facilities with ICU level care when you have neither?
In countries that were brutally colonized once by people, & now again by diseases, this matters.
In countries that were brutally colonized once by people, & now again by diseases, this matters.
8/ As we brace for impact here in the United States, just remember that we live in a world that is interconnected.
A virus in Sub Saharan Africa, Asia, South America- wherever it may be- can become a virus in America overnight, & vice versa.
We are all in this together.
A virus in Sub Saharan Africa, Asia, South America- wherever it may be- can become a virus in America overnight, & vice versa.
We are all in this together.
9/
I wrote about some of these ideas in our Jan 2020 @JournalofEthics pandemics theme issue
Pandemics expose real weaknesses in the ethical frameworks we use to operationalize #globalhealth care.
journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/respon…
journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/how-sh…
/photo 13 yrs ago in rural India
I wrote about some of these ideas in our Jan 2020 @JournalofEthics pandemics theme issue
Pandemics expose real weaknesses in the ethical frameworks we use to operationalize #globalhealth care.
journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/respon…
journalofethics.ama-assn.org/article/how-sh…
/photo 13 yrs ago in rural India
