WILLIE? >> GOOD TO SEE TOM HANKS LOOKING
GOOD.
GOOD. KATHY PARK OUTSIDE ST. PATRICK’S
CATHEDRAL.
CATHEDRAL. LET’S BRING IN NBC NEWS MEDICAL
CONTRIBUTOR, NATALIE AZAR, A
DOCTOR OF INTERNAL MEDICINE
SPECIALIZING IN RHEUMATOLOGY BUT
SHE SPENT THE PAST FEW WEEKS
WORKING ON A COVID FLOOR IN NEW
YORK CITY.
YORK CITY. THANK YOU FOR THE WORK YOU’VE
STEPPED UP TO DO INSIDE THAT
HOSPITAL.
HOSPITAL. WE’VE HEARD ABOUT THE PROBLEMS
WITH PERSONAL PROTECTIVE
EQUIPMENT, WE’VE HEARD ABOUT THE
PROBLEMS WITH VENTILATORS.
WHAT IS YOUR EXPERIENCE OVER THE
LAST WEEK?
LAST WEEK? WHAT DID YOU SEE AND HEAR ON
THAT FLOOR?
THAT FLOOR? >> WELL, FIRST, WILLIE, LET ME
JUST ACKNOWLEDGE, I NEED TO
ACKNOWLEDGE MY COLLEAGUES AND
HEALTH CARE WORKERS ALL ACROSS
THE NATION WHO HAVE BEEN DOING
THIS FOR DAY ONE.
WHAT I DID LAST WEEK FEELS LIKE
A DROP IN THE BUCKET.
I WILL ALSO SAY THAT THERE ARE
MANY, MANY TIMES AS A TRAINEE,
AS A MEDICAL STUDENT, AS A
DOCTOR WHERE YOU FEEL LIKE IT’S
SUCH A PRIVILEGE TO TAKE CARE OF
THESE PATIENTS.
THESE PATIENTS. AND LAST WEEK TRULY WAS THAT TO
ME.
ME. TO YOUR QUESTION, SOME
OBSERVATIONS THAT I THOUGHT WERE
REALLY, REALLY INTERESTING WAS
THIS DICHOTOMY BETWEEN REPORTING
ON SOMETHING AND THEN ACTUALLY
GOING TO THE PROVERBIAL FRONT
LINE AND SEEING WHAT IT WAS
REALLY LIKE.
REALLY LIKE. WHAT HAPPENED IN MY HOSPITAL IS
NOT NECESSARILY REFLECTIVE OF
WHAT’S HAPPENING IN THE NATION.
WE TALK ABOUT THESE TWO DISTINCT
GROUPS OF PATIENTS WHO DECLARED
THEMSELVES QUITE EARLY, THOSE
WHO DO WELL AND THOSE WHO
DECLINE VERY RAPIDLY, AND THAT
WAS CERTAINLY THE CASE.
A COUPLE OTHER THINGS WORTH
MENTIONING.
MENTIONING. WE TALK ABOUT HOW THESE PATIENTS
ARE SO ISOLATED, AND SO IT’S
TRUE.
TRUE. THE PATIENTS WE WERE TAKING CARE
OF WERE EACH IN THEIR INDIVIDUAL
ROOMS.
ROOMS. THE NUMBER OF TIMES HEALTH CARE
WORKERS WERE ASKED TO OR NEEDED
TO GO TO BE BY THE BEDSIDE WAS
REALLY RESTRICTED BECAUSE EACH
TIME WE DID THAT WE HAD TO DON
AND DOFT THE PPE.
WE HAD ENOUGH SUPPLY, THANK
GOODNESS.
GOODNESS. THE VENTILATOR ISSUE WASN’T AN
ISSUE FOR US AT NYU AT THE
MOMENT.
MOMENT. BUT WE WERE ALWAYS TOLD TO BE
VERY, VERY CAREFUL, THAT WE
DIDN’T WANT TO SQUANDER THOSE
RESOURCES.
RESOURCES. LASTLY, I WOULD JUST SAY THE
COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE NURSES
AND RESPIRATORY THERAPISTS AND
ALL THE DOCTORS AND ALL THE
PEOPLE INVOLVED IN THE PATIENT
CARE, IT WAS A MATRIX THAT WAS
KEEPING THE WHOLE THING
TOGETHER.
TOGETHER. I JUST HAVE THE UTMOST RESPECT
AND ADMIRATION FOR ALL THOSE
PEOPLE.
PEOPLE. >> IT’S INCREDIBLE.
WE APPRECIATE THE ACCOUNT FROM
INSIDE.
INSIDE. I WANT TO ASK YOU ABOUT THE
BIGGER PICTURE AND FLATTENING
THE CURVE.
THE CURVE. WE HEARD HOSPITALIZATIONS ARE
DOWN IN NEW YORK.
THAT’S GOOD NEWS.
DEATHS ARE UP, WHICH THE
GOVERNOR HAS CALLED A LAGGING
INDICATOR.
INDICATOR. WHERE DO YOU SEE THIS HEADED
NEXT NATIONALLY?
NEXT NATIONALLY? >> YEAH, I THINK THAT -- I THINK
THAT THE TRAJECTORY IS EXACTLY
WHAT WE WERE ANTICIPATING.
THE SOCIAL DISTANCING WOULD END
UP HELPING TO FLATTEN THE CURVE
AND WE WILL SEE TO GET ON THE
OTHER SIDE OF THE CURVE.
AS DR. FAUCI ALWAYS SAYS, I
THINK IT’S A GOOD WAY TO
DESCRIBE IT, NOW IS NOT THE TIME
TO TAKE THE FOOT OFF THE PEDAL.
YOU CAN ANALOGYIZE IT SO MANY
DIFFERENT WAYS.
DIFFERENT WAYS. IF YOU’RE UNDERGOING CHEMO FOR
CANCER, YOU WOULDN’T STOP THAT
AS SOON AS THERE IS A TUMOR
RESPONSE.
RESPONSE. I THINK THAT’S VERY APT HERE.
I THINK THERE’S A LOT OF ISSUES
AT PLAY -- OR A LOT OF
CONSIDERATIONS, I SHOULD SAY,
ABOUT REOPENING THE ECONOMY.
SOME ARE MEDICAL, SOME ARE
PUBLIC HEALTH, THE TESTING, DO
WE HAVE ENOUGH OUT THERE TO TEST
FOR ACUTE AND ANTIBODY TESTING.
I THINK THERE’S A LOT OF FACTORS
THAT NEED TO BE CONSIDERED
BEFORE WE START REOPENING.
AND THOSE ARE THE KIND OF THINGS
WE’LL BE THINKING ABOUT IN THE
WEEKS TO COME.
>> DR. AZAR, WE’VE KNOWN YOU AS
A FRIEND AND COLLEAGUE OVER ALL
THESE YEARS, AND SO MANY MEDICAL