Thread by @ShikhaJainMD

Thread: Something happened in my home state of Michigan today that made me sad. I wasn't going to comment initially, but then I went to Facebook & saw people I grew up w, who know my husband and I are physicians and call us for medical advice, were defending these actions.

I was flabbergasted that there are educated people who still don't understand the importance of #SocialDistancing in this #COVID19 global pandemic. Here is what happened in Michigan. I will try and respond to some of the inaccurate info still out there.
nypost.com/2020/04/15/mic…

MYTH: #SocialDistancing is the govts way of overreaching and taking away civil liberties
FACT: Govts didn't enforce #ShelterInPlace bc they want to take away rights. There is no political gain for shutting down a state. The gain is saving lives by slowing spread of the virus.

MYTH: It's people's right to do what they want and congregate.
FACT: Laws, rules, regulations exist to protect members of society. The govt has the power to enact measures for the safety of the people and enforce if needed.

E.g. It’s the law not to drink and drive, to wear a seat belt. These are not ways in which the govt takes away civil liberties. Right now, there is a need to put in place some rules and regulations to prevent massive numbers of deaths and protect the population. @IMPACT4HC

By ignoring these short-term rules, these ppl risk 1000s, likely 100,000s of lives. The mentality of “it’s my right to do what I want” is killing ppl. Just as you can't shoot someone in the street and get away with it, these people should be disciplined.
bit.ly/3afTahU

This type of mass gathering is directly responsible for physicians, nurses and other health care workers deaths. The people who take care of you and put themselves and their families in harm's way every day to keep you safe are dying.
bit.ly/2VcUpdy

It makes me sad that people don’t understand that this type of behavior is actually killing the people who are sacrificing their lives to take care of you and your loved ones. @voxdotcom

This is a temporary situation and bc we are in a pandemic. It isn’t permanent and it isn’t taking away people’s rights. It’s implementing measures to saves lives.
impact4hc.com/publications

MYTH: Social distancing doesn't work because the death numbers aren't as high and all hospitals aren't running out of equipment.
FACT: The reason the death count isn’t even higher is bc people have been practicing social distancing.

Under the leadership of @GovPritzker we have been able to increase the doubling time of the virus in Illinois #AllInIllinois from 2 days to 8 days, showing the spread of the virus is slowing down and we are bending the curve.
usnews.com/news/best-stat…

#SocialDistancing works.
bbc.com/future/article…

#SocialDistancing works
washingtonpost.com

#SocialDistancing works
nationalreview.com/corner/coronav…

I was also asked to provide actual statistics and not "just opinion articles." To that I explained, the opinion articles explain the statistics for the general public, but I'm also happy to share pure stats #SocialDistancingWorks
healthdata.org/covid

MYTH: HC workers risk their lives every day just by nature of the job/taking care of sick people
FACT: We didn't go into medicine to risk our lives. We aren’t soldiers who enlist and expect to die because we don’t have the equipment needed to protect ourselves. #GetUsPPE

Our jobs do not automatically put us in harms way. When we treat sick ppl, we wear masks and other things to protect ourselves & prevent ourselves from getting sick and dying. Currently, hc workers are dying because not only are we being exposed we don't have protective gear.

MYTH: The medical supply shortage is complex and should not be required to be fixed by the govt.
FACT: The problem is complex, but a natl plan is essential. States should not be pitted against each other for supplies.
nbcnews.com/politics/white…

Healthcare workers NEED protective equipment to take care of your loved ones safely. The federal govt has the authority to use the Defense Protection Act to work on getting materials to the states. getusppe.org/getmeppe/

The federal government was OUTBIDDING states for equipment. We should all be helping each other against this global pandemic, not competing for supplies.
businessinsider.com/coronavirus-tr…

At the beginning of Feb, after the first known #COVID19 case on American soil, after the govt was informed that we should start to prepare for the onslaught here, the federal govt sent 17.8 tons of essential equipment to China.
cnn.com/2020/03/29/opi…

MYTH: Decisions r being made with emotion
FACT: Scientists, physicians, epidemiologists, public health experts guide based on facts, evidence, science. Unfortunately, much of the messaging from our natl leaders have been inconsistent, inaccurate & wrong.
huffpost.com/entry/trump-co…

Decisions should be made using evidence and science, not a gut feeling and "political instinct."
dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8…

MYTH: Drs want to keep the country closed indefinitely bc we aren't thinking about economy
FACT: HC workers want life to go back to normal too! This isn't fun for us. BUT we want to avoid a 2nd wave by reopening the country methodically & strategically.
reuters.com/article/us-hea…

SUMMARY: #StayHomeSaveLives #6ftApartNotUnder #ShelterInPlace #FlattenTheCurve #SocialDistancingWorks @FutureDocs @evebmd @LJoyZ_MD @alikhan28 @traependergrast @GetMePPEchi @meganranney @choo_ek @darakass @tmprowell @IMPACT4HC @Covid19Docs @pedsmd2b @COVID19Tracking @CDCgov