First Responders of COVID-19
Chijioke Agbam '21 Staff Writer
Since its inception, COVID-19 has put many people’s lives at risk, but the ones that risk their lives every day are doctors and nurses. Doctors and nurses have served as very important people throughout history. They have eradicated many diseases that have threatened our safety, such as smallpox. Now, we need them more than ever to help stop the spread of COVID-19 and contain it. Many people are not aware of how many lives have been lost within the population of first responders. In the United States, 55 first responders have lost their lives to COVID-19. Compared to the 375,000 deaths in the U.S. and the 1.94 million deaths worldwide, this number may seem small, but the people who comprise it risked their lives to fight this virus and died because of it.
When COVID-19 made its way into the United States, those in the medical field were immediately at risk. In fact, Cordillia Agbam, a supervisor at Meadow Park Rehabilitation & Healthcare, states, “For the first few weeks, we were not |
Meritus Medical Center
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allowed to wear masks. The higher-ups had told us that wearing a mask would instill fear and worry into the patients, so it was prohibited. They started allowing masks and face shields after many patients and staff had caught the virus.” Today, most doctors and nurses have to do everything they can to protect themselves from the virus. That goes as far as wearing the most effective N-95 masks, face shields, scrubs and more. They cannot risk sharing the same fate as those who have fallen to COVID-19, so many doctors and nurses have found ways to avoid contact with both staff and patients unless it is absolutely necessary. These methods are simple but have gone a long way. They include but are not limited to: locking personal offices, reducing the amount of time that doctors and nurses talk with patients and completing assessments as quickly and efficiently as possible. First responders, fittingly, are first in line to receive the coronavirus vaccine, ensuring that the most vulnerable workers will have greater protection against experiencing serious symptoms of viral contraction.