Page 9 - Delaware Medical Journal - September/October 2020
P. 9
PRESIDENT’S PAGE
JOSEPH J. STRAIGHT, MD
MSD President Joseph J. Straight, MD
is a Primary Care Sports Medicine Physician with First State Orthopaedics.
COVID-19: Past, Present, and Future
As we move into the fall, I look back, both before COVID-19 and where
we are now. We have certainly come
thinking, in our understanding, and in our daily activities. I have also been thinking, visualizing, and preparing for what the future has in store, as well as the stability of our health care system.
Every aspect of our lives has been touched by the coronavirus: our economy, education, organized sports, politics, and recreation/ socialization. And at the heart of it all is health care.
adjustments in response to COVID-19, a spotlight still shines on the negative impact the community continues to experience, including delay of care, an increase in addiction and mental health issues, lower vaccination rates, and the weaknesses in our health care system, to name a few.
There is a generalized fear of this virus and our current inability to return back to our perceived normal. However, the message has been clear on a local as well as national level: We must continue to wear masks, social distance, practice good hand hygiene, and stay home when sick in order to control the spread of the coronavirus. Still, some refuse to wear a mask in public or wear it properly. Summer weather may have tempted people to be lax in social distancing. There seems to be a wave of complacency, leading us to drop our guard.
As of the end of July, the total reported infections in the U.S. doubled in the prior mark, with the U.S. accounting for a quarter of all infections across the globe.1 We have also seen a swell of reported infections among children.2 Overall testing rates have risen, to include more children. Studies now suggest children can get the virus, as well as be spreaders of the disease, although severe illness is rare. But yet, some young people that is linked to COVID-19.
seen a delay in preventive medical care, the treatment of chronic medical diseases, as well as interventional and surgical procedures. These delays have caused detrimental consequences for some.
There is an uptick in drug overdose-related deaths and this pandemic has put further stress on our already taxed mental health system. We need to be diligent in addressing these two major issues that were present prior to the pandemic and continue to affect our community.
COVID-19 has also affected students in multiple ways. A sudden change from in-person learning to a mixed bag of virtual education left students of all ages, teachers, and parents unprepared and many children isolated at home. There has been a lot of dialogue and planning for the upcoming school year. Our state leaders, colleges and universities, school districts
Del Med J | September/October 2020 | Vol. 92 | No. 5 201
