The president of Massachusetts General Hospital evoked the creation of the first nuclear weapons during World War II to urge the government to step up its fight against the coronavirus.
Dr. Peter Slaven said the public needs to adopt a “war-like” stance to combat the coronavirus. During an interview on NBC’s Meet the Press, he discussed his fear that supplies for healthcare workers could run out if there is not a nationwide effort to confront the COVID-19 virus challenge.
“My concern is, I think we need to think about this in almost a war-like stance. My concern is that we have millions of healthcare workers around this country who are prepared to do battle against this virus, but I’m concerned that there are at least a couple of areas of supplies that they need in order to fight that virus as effectively as possible,” Slaven said.
Slaven said the ability to conduct testing was delayed for several weeks because of Food and Drug Administration regulations that have since been revoked, allowing local hospitals to produce their own test kits. Although tests are important to keep track of the illness, Slaven said a top priority should be ensuring healthcare workers have the supplies they need.
“My other big concern is personal protective equipment. Even before the most significant battles lie ahead, our supplies are low,” the doctor said. “I heard from hospitals around our region and around our country that their supplies are low.”
He also called for the federal government to treat the coronavirus in the same way they treated the creation of the atom bomb in the 1940s.
“We need the federal government to engage in a Manhattan Project to get industry to create surgical masks, eye protection devices, gowns, so that our healthcare workers can, can engage in this battle,” Slaven said. “We wouldn’t want to send soldiers into war without helmets and armor. We don’t want to do the same with our healthcare workers.”
The coronavirus has infected more than 3,200 people in the United States, including 138 in Massachusetts.
