Dear Editor:
As a retired physician I found Kelley Williams article discussing Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx somewhat perplexing. Physicians, including Dr. Fauci and Dr. Birx, are trained to save lives. Mr. Williams mocked them for doing just that. He also mocked them for adjusting their recommendations as new data arrived. Business men are allowed to modify a business plan if circumstances (sales, interest rates, rent, cost of goods, cost of labor, taxes, etc.) change, and football coaches can throw out a game plan if unforeseen developments (fumbles, interceptions, injuries, broken coverage, etc.) occur, but according to Mr. Williams physicians aren’t allowed to adapt as disease unfolds. He also says the predicted “hordes” of patients did not overrun hospitals. Fortunately for most cities that is true; but ask New York City and New Orleans if they did not feel overrun. The mayor of Montgomery, Alabama, said 10 days ago that its health system's capacity to manage the crisis has hit unsustainable levels. Collapse of the health care system remains a possibility if COVID-19 accelerates. Hopefully it will not. We do not know what would have happened if “lockdowns” had not occurred, but it is a likelihood that at least 10’s of thousands more Americans would have died. As it is, we are approaching 110,000 COVID-19 deaths that have occurred over the past three months. On the other hand we want to avoid an economic collapse. Where to draw the line between preserving American lives and preserving our economy is unclear. As a country, I hope we search for that line with a spirit of goodwill.
Dr. George Schimmel
