Health Care Heroes of the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has accounted for tens of thousands of deaths and ultimately will affect millions more people who will survive. There will be time to mourn the victims and care for the survivors. But it is also time to recognize and thank some of the heroes who have emerged so far.

Li Wenliang, MD, Chinese ophthalmologist at Wuhan Central Hospital, who alerted Chinese authorities of a disease that resembled severe acute respiratory syndrome, was initially censored, and died 6 weeks later of COVID-19.

Anthony S. Fauci, MD, director of the US National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who has calmly led the US through this pandemic, with experience and intelligence, and who has tried mightily to reassure a worried nation, with science and utmost professionalism.

Maurizio Cecconi, MD, head of the Anaesthesia and Intensive Care Department of Humanitas Research Hospital in Milan, Italy, who looked into a camera, told the story of the early days in Lombardy, Italy, and galvanized the world to prepare for the tsunami of COVID-19 disease to come.

Millions of health care workers—physicians, nurses, technicians, other health care professionals, and hospital support staff, as well as first responders including emergency rescue personnel, law enforcement officers, and others who provide essential services and products—around the world have faced the challenge of providing care for patients with COVID-19, while often ill-equipped and poorly prepared, risking their own lives to save the lives of others. They honor us all with their commitment, dedication, and professionalism.

JAMA and the JAMA Network salute and sincerely thank the countless heroes of this pandemic.

Source: JAMA Network