The president of the American Medical Association, a Georgia doctor speaking to reporters across the nation from her home base in Atlanta on Tuesday, pleaded with citizens and leaders to listen to science amid the coronavirus pandemic, and to act accordingly.
This year, the AMA, the nation's premier advocacy group of doctors, is led by Dr. Patrice Harris, a Stone Mountain psychiatrist.
Harris didn’t call any leaders or states out by name. But she had choice words for certain practices.
For anyone thinking about Georgia beach parties this weekend, Harris raised “the direct link between a large social gathering and a spike in cases.”
» COMPLETE COVERAGE: Coronavirus in Georgia
She praised faith leaders who led services by internet and helped their members refrain from meeting in person.
“That gets back to our critical need to make sure that everyone is staying at home and sheltering in place,” she said. “We all have to act together. We all have that responsibility. Taking responsibility to stay at home. … I know this is a holy time for many. But we can still experience those services remotely.”
Confusion — and stubbornness — persist across metro Atlanta and the state. At most any public place where people are gathering for what they deem "essential" reasons, conflicting responses to the public orders abound. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has advised every American to wear masks when among the public; many do, some don't, including many store staffs.
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp has issued a shelter-in-place order. But some local coastal leaders complained that the order had the effect of reopening beaches, because it came after they had decided to close their beaches and trumped local decisions.
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Aides for Kemp explained that people need exercise and beaches are open-air public space where they can do that while socially distancing. Locals said the open beaches were attracting travelers from places that were more restrictive, and they feared the travelers could bring the virus with them.
Credit: David Hathcox
Credit: David Hathcox
Harris also condemned the rapid spread of misinformation, whether “due to fear, or to various political agendas.” Among those she pointed out as false: that African Americans are less susceptible to the coronavirus, that children can’t get COVID-19, and that the pandemic is a way to force vaccinations on people.
She didn't bring up the controversy over the drug hydroxychloroquine, which President Donald Trump is encouraging people to use off-label while scientific experts demur. Harris did call for decisions over treatment to be made between people and their doctors, "without intrusion by any third-party, government or otherwise."
Harris’ hour-long remarks served as a call to end the intrusion of politics into science and for people to trust the hallmark institutions of medical science. After praising states that issued shelter-in-place orders, she said “In truth, the nation needs more – much more – from our leaders,” and called on them, on media and on the public to affirm science and data as a priority and spurn misinformation. Key points included trusting credible sources, and ensuring scientific institutions were led by experts “protected from political influence … free to communicate evidence-based, factual information.”
The association also called for robust data collection, including data segmented by race and ethnicity. News reports are currently noting what appears to be a bigger hit to African American men among coronavirus victims, but data on it is spotty.
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