This was a long time coming
To some of us, it was obvious long ago that the American healthcare system was irretrievably broken. It was not a question of if it would catastrophically fail. The only question was when. Indeed, it is even clear that the way we go about fixing it is was completely wrong. The industrialization and politicization of medicine- efforts to make it more and more efficient and more “popular’- were just pushing it closer and closer to the edge of the cliff. It is a matter of public record and even common knowledge that American as a nation was at risk because of our terribly flawed healthcare system and healthcare leadership.
The biggest threat to America has always been fundamental. It’s been healthcare. That’s obvious now. Our healthcare system is in tatters. Our economy is wrecked. Even our way of life is at least for the short term, fundamentally altered our way of life. The financial future of America has been permanently ruined for generations. Making matters worse, there is no real end in sight because we can’t get our act together to test ourselves with a swab, call people who get a positive test, and keep them at home.
A serious catastrophe was averted in many countries that have less talent, far less structure, and significantly less money invested. And like a COVID-19 patient who is just getting out of the hospital after a month on a ventilator, American, too, is going to have to learn how to walk again- and slowly.
We knew that a catastrophic failure of the healthcare system was inevitable.
The longstanding and fundamental flaws in modern American healthcare, and the rapid and targeted deconstruction of an already woefully inadequate national public health system, created the perfect playground for COVID-19. Everybody knew that modern industrialized healthcare wasn’t working. Remember the healthcare debates of the Clinton years? We have never had the collective will to do what had to be done. Now we have no choice.
How have we done so far?
Compared to every industrialized nation in the world and even some which are still developing, America has been a near-complete failure in its COVID response. It’s not just a national catastrophe. Our disaster is affecting the whole world. Almost everybody outside of the United States knows this and even most people in the states due to. except a few people who just don’t want to accept it know this. the world knows it. It is shameful, tragic, and absurd that our nation, The United States of America, is handling COVID-19 worse than any developed nation on earth. Historians will record and judge why and who is to blame, but there is no denying all the numbers that point to our current incompetence.
Copyright. 2020. Jason M. Fish MD FAAFP
Do you think schools should reopen in the Fall?
Dear Beth,
If you wish to provide me with any more details about your situation and concerns, I will craft a more specific answer. But here is my default answer to your question:
Do you think schools should reopen in the Fall? (Should a student attend on site school in August?)
Unless the school can prove in advance that the student will be physically safe, academically enriched, AND socially healthy, (all three), the answer is definitely no.
Thanks again for your question.
Sincerely,
Jason Fish MD FAAFP
Good answer. It would be impossible to implement safe procedures in high populated areas. It would also be traumatizing to young students to be put under such regulatory conditions for 7hrs a day. Imagine not being able to comfort a child when they must be 3ft to 6ft away from their teachers and peers. Many districts are switchIng to online learning for the fall of which I think teachers will rally and do a masterful job. Especially if they collaborate with their colleagues and teachers across the nation.
Dear Beth, your comments are right. In an age when politicians aren’t to be trusted, and so many of their agents are confused about priorities, the default has to be safe at home until proven otherwise.