CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The president of the American Medical Association says the country has done well overall with its response to the coronavirus pandemic.
“I hope everyone remembers that because I think when the worse doesn’t come true, there will be some people who will say we overreacted. But I say no,” Dr. Patrice Harris said. “We came together and overall did well.”
Harris, a Bluefield, West Virginia native, spoke about the response to the virus on MetroNews “Talkline” last week; she pointed out the changes in the coronavirus response and concerns as the pandemic continued.
“Just about a month ago, we were worried about whether or not we would have to make decisions about who gets a ventilator,” she said. “We certainly employed what I call emergency mitigation measures.”
Practices that Harris said helped the country include staying at home and limiting trips.
“It did not get to the point where we were making those unthinkable decisions,” she added.
Harris mentioned the use of models, which — while changing with new data — helped medical leaders and public officials with “scenario planning.”
“I think that we saw what the worst-case scenarios would be. Folks would assume that no one, perhaps, would stay in, or we would continue life as usual, but we did not,” she said. “We made the sacrifice as a country. Certainly, those who live in harder-hit areas made greater sacrifices than needed to.”
According to the Johns Hopkins University of Medicine, more than 96,000 Americans have died from the pandemic. The University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation estimates more than 143,000 Americans will die from the virus by Aug. 1, with a range between 115,000 and 207,000 people. The institute also predicts 107 West Virginians will die by the same date due to the virus.
Patrice said people must remain diligent and continue to protect themselves to prevent a further spike in cases.