We Need a Federal Task Force to Protect Health Care Workers

Akash Goel for The Hill

U.S. President Donald Trump listens as Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony S. Fauci delivers remarks during a coronavirus update briefing Sunday, March 29, 2020, in the Rose Garden at the White House

U.S. President Donald Trump listens as Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony S. Fauci delivers remarks during a coronavirus update briefing Sunday, March 29, 2020, in the Rose Garden at the White House. (Official White House Photo by Andrea Hanks/Wikimedia Commons)

April 10th, 2020

Below is an excerpt of the op-ed co-authored by Asia 21 Young Leader Dr. Akash Goel, originally published in The Hill on April 2nd, 2020. 

We have never been more proud of our field as medical professionals, yet also more concerned. The COVID-19 pandemic is severely endangering the lives of frontline health care providers. 

In China where it began, thousands of health care workers were infected, of which 15 percent were seriously or critically ill, and five died. In Spain, 14 percent of its 40,000 confirmed coronavirus cases are among health care professionals, and 50 have died in France, Italy, and Spain. As COVID-19 strikes New York City and possibly many U.S. cities, we want to prevent a situation in which colleagues must take care of their colleagues in ICUs across America. 

 

Read the full article in The Hill.