Thread by @Prof_John_Frink

(1/16)

Friends,

Sorry it's been a while since I last posted. I haven't had a lot to add to the generally excellent conversation taking place among those I follow.

I do, however, have to get my observations regarding #COVID19 off my chest.

(2/16) My background:

I am in healthcare.

I'm not in NYC.

I work at a hospital that has the largest number of #COVID19 patients in our county.

(3/16) My first impressions of the virus came from Twitter, and my reaction was extreme alarm. Aside from the terrifying posts about people collapsing in the streets and being welded into their homes, claxons were being sounded by people I've come to respect, including

(4/16) @EpsilonTheory, @ErikSTownsend, and @chrismartenson. I contrasted this to the preparations we were taking - which were, essentially, nothing - and I was very concerned.

I worried we'd be overwhelmed to the point of rationing care. I worried I'd catch the virus and kill

(5/16) a family member or die myself. I read everything about Wuhan, about Lombardy, about Qom, and I feared the absolute worst.

However, with the surge of #COVID19 projected to be a couple of weeks away, our preparation kicked into high gear. Parts of the hospital were

(6/16) designated #COVID19 areas and were emptied. All elective procedures were canceled. PPE that had been lying around for anyone to use was locked away to be parceled out. Eventually the entire state went into lockdown.

And then we waited. We had a fair number of people

(7/16) coming in with flu-like symptoms, but the vast majority didn't have #COVID19. We did have a handful of confirmed cases, some of whom did end up on the vent. Most of them came off after a few days. Our only deaths have been extremely old patients with multiple

(8/16) co-morbidities.

Far from the war-zone-esque imagery I had seen from abroad, and increasingly, within the United States, what we experienced was unprecedented, eerie quiet. Not only did the surge, perpetually two weeks away, never come, but even the normal emergencies

(9/16) were mysteriously absent. The absence of traumas was maybe understandable since everyone was stuck at home. But where were the heart attacks? Where were the strokes?

Tragically, we learned where they were some time later. They were at home. They didn't come in either

(9/16) because they thought we were too busy on the "front lines" to care for them, or because they thought the risk of catching the virus in the hospital was a greater threat to their health than their relentless crushing chest pain or the sudden inability to move half their

(10/16) body. By the time they did come in the damage was often irreversible.

And now the traumas have shown up, with a vengeance. We're seeing broken bones as people go stir crazy and engage in ill-advised home improvement projects on their roofs. Assaults are up, too. Worst

(11/16) of all are the injuries born of despair, such as the guys who have been drinking non-stop since they got laid off, who eventually fall and hurt themselves. Our observed death toll from self-inflicted gunshot wounds alone eclipses that of #COVID19.

I understand the

(12/16) concern regarding the virus, truly. I can't speak to the experiences in NYC. But there are parts of this country that aren't NYC, and I suspect that many are seeing what I've seen. Beyond the tragedies unfolding in the hospital, the transformation in my community is

(13/16) almost unbearable. As the corona surge fails to materialize week after week, restrictions become more severe and panic worsens by the day. Everyone's on edge because they've been told that everyone else is a bioweapon that's probably going to kill them. There are no

(14/16) handshakes, no hugs, and if anyone's smiling it's hidden by a mask. It would be difficult to accept all this if I thought the virus was a significant threat here. Knowing that the true killer has been isolation and depression makes it intolerable.

(15/16) I make no assertions about what public policy should be, and I don't rule out the possibility that the virus eventually sweeps in and fulfills the prophecies of doom. I will suggest, however, that any debate regarding ongoing responses to the virus take

(16/16) the very real costs of forced inactivity into consideration.