Dr.Abdu Sharkawy
Infectious Diseases Specialist at University Health Network
Studied at University of Alberta
Infectious Diseases Specialist at University Health Network
Studied at University of Alberta
“I’m a doctor and an Infectious Diseases Specialist. I’ve been at this for more than 20 years seeing sick patients on a daily basis. I have worked in inner city hospitals and in the poorest slums of Africa. HIV-AIDS, Hepatitis,TB, SARS, Measles, Shingles, Whooping cough, Diphtheria…there is little I haven’t been exposed to in my profession. And with notable exception of SARS, very little has left me feeling vulnerable, overwhelmed or downright scared.
I am not scared of Covid-19. I am concerned about the implications of a novel infectious agent that has spread the world over and continues to find new footholds in different soil. I am rightly concerned for the welfare of those who are elderly, in frail health or disenfranchised who stand to suffer mostly, and disproportionately, at the hands of this new scourge. But I am not scared of Covid-19.
What I am scared about is the loss of reason and wave of fear that has induced the masses of society into a spellbinding spiral of panic, stockpiling obscene quantities of anything that could fill a bomb shelter adequately in a post-apocalyptic world. I am scared of the N95 masks that are stolen from hospitals and urgent care clinics where they are actually needed for front line healthcare providers and instead are being donned in airports, malls, and coffee lounges, perpetuating even more fear and suspicion of others. I am scared that our hospitals will be overwhelmed with anyone who thinks they ” probably don’t have it but may as well get checked out no matter what because you just never know…” and those with heart failure, emphysema, pneumonia and strokes will pay the price for overfilled ER waiting rooms with only so many doctors and nurses to assess.
I am scared that travel restrictions will become so far reaching that weddings will be canceled, graduations missed and family reunions will not materialize. And well, even that big party called the Olympic Games…that could be kyboshed too. Can you even
imagine?
I’m scared those same epidemic fears will limit trade, harm partnerships in multiple sectors, business and otherwise and ultimately culminate in a global recession.
But mostly, I’m scared about what message we are telling our kids when faced with a threat. Instead of reason, rationality, openmindedness and altruism, we are telling them to panic, be fearful, suspicious, reactionary and self-interested.
Covid-19 is nowhere near over. It will be coming to a city, a hospital, a friend, even a family member near you at some point. Expect it. Stop waiting to be surprised further. The fact is the virus itself will not likely do much harm when it arrives. But our own behaviors and “fight for yourself above all else” attitude could prove disastrous.
I implore you all. Temper fear with reason, panic with patience and uncertainty with education. We have an opportunity to learn a great deal about health hygiene and limiting the spread of innumerable transmissible diseases in our society. Let’s meet this challenge together in the best spirit of compassion for others, patience, and above all, an unfailing effort to seek truth, facts and knowledge as opposed to conjecture, speculation and catastrophizing.
Facts not fear. Clean hands. Open hearts.
Our children will thank us for it.”
Agreed..Years and years as an ICP…NEVER has the media fanned worse fear…even AIDS. EBOLA, SARS, Swine Flu…this is soo unbelievable. just read ” disinfect your clothes and perhaps money…step up..I will take care of Anyone’s scary money ????????
Excellent piece. Time to put the panic to rest. Thank you Dr Sharkawy.
Agreed Doctor. Common sense and stop listening to hysteria.
Our news outlets are to blame for spreading the panic. These pretty men and women talking heads are simply news readers with low IQ’S.
Couldn’t agree more, as a businessman I encounter a large number of people everyday from all “walks” of society. I don’t take flu shots, very seldom see a doctor and just am appalled at the news media and the no common sense morons in the world today who are spreading this false terror. I saw a figure the other day that stated the everyday old common flu kills more that the virus has, get real people, think for yourselves with what common sense you may have.
Reread your headline.
I am beginning to feel scared, not of the virus but of what is happening due to the panic coming from the media. I am cancelling a long awaited trip to London only because of what might restrict us from getting home. Travel bans, etc. are out of my control. Better to be safe than sorry. People need to calm down and just take necessary precautions. Don’t let this rule your life. Do what you can for yourself.
So true. People are losing the run of themselve & we should be helping each other and looking out for the most vulnerable.
True that unless you are frail or in charge of someone who is, you probably won’t die from it. So what is there that can promote the reasonable fear that even you offer advice to combat this virus? The answer is that it’s contagion factor is off the charts. Not only is it airborne contagion, but it is enormously contagious, such that even being in the same room with an infected person puts one at risk. Then there is the additional complication of infected persons who show no symptoms as being contagious. Let us modify our fears into prevention techniques. But downplaying fears as being irrational is in itself just irrational oversimplification.
Should read; What I am scared about. Even this headline is sensationalism!
Did you expect anything else coming from people that cry over elections & their kids that need crayons to deal with the outcome of an election! Please
Thank you very much.
The media is our worst enemy.
How interesting that this ginned-up, media-driven situation is pushing the news cycle in an American presidential election year, in which a president the media hate with raw and utterly irrational passion is likely to be re-elected. Summary, in one sentence …
“Trump’s premature over-reaction to Corona-virus was far too little and far too late.”
FWIW, I did my MSc at the University of Alberta — very good school — and was working some 40-odd years ago on a bovine strain of Corona with the Animal Disease Research Institute in Ottawa. It’s a pretty common virus, and there are … duh … many strains, including about a quarter of all “common colds”.
So far, this season, here in the States … a dozen Corona deaths (all with other medical issues), 125 deaths from Norovirus (aka the winter pukes), and about 20,000 deaths from normal season influenza.
The only panic I see is in the stock market mostly. understandably with quarantines worldwide and people happen to stay home business will come to a halt. True that the common people are already trying to stock up on some things that they may not have from the hurry and wait situation and lack of leader ship in government.
An excellent piece of information and it talks about reality. Media is making every one panic. Need more awareness with help tips I belive. People like you need to promote the reality globally.
Main Stream Media should stop spreading the fear and panic. Gouvernment officialls should not panic and declare State of Emergency, like State of Oregon did because of just 14 people got sick and it is even on BBC news. Panic and stress compromises human immune system and makes much more hurm to health. Just wadh you hands, calm down and down´t cancel any events or jobs. It is much higher chance to get any other virus
Liked the article, almost didn’t read past the grammatically incorrect title… (The word “is” needs to be deleted!) Unfortunately incorrect grammar can discredit credible sources.
Can you delete the “is” so more people will read?
Again, I liked the article, especially the end.
its a direct quote please stop
Excellent article, common sense should prevail. The media has fueled the panic.
Thank you for this reassurance I’m just a bit nervous as I take methotrexate for rumathide arthritis if I was to get virus how would it effect me thanks
As a retired medical provider, I totally agree. It has been pushed by the media into the political spotlight…it is the dx du jour…what a shame to humanity
If we had a very stable government and belief in it instead of a very stable genius at the helm of the government who has told everyone to distrust it then maybe just maybe people would not be panicking and going to the dark side so quickly. IMO our very stable genius may not have started this but he sure is perpetuating the distrust and panic.
Thank you for your article. Common sense and not fear.
I agree news media is spreading panic. The way people are panic buying water and toilet paper. People just wash your hands with soap and water and if sick stay home.
Each time I hear the news saying something like, 5 more people in Canada have been infected, I would also like to hear about how many people have survived it. We are not getting context. But then again, if we did, we may not sell enough newspapers. Grrr
Thank you! I wish you could go on all news networks and talk sense to these people who have inflicted crippling effects to our stock market, travel industry, etc..!
It’s politics Dear Doctor. Politics. Especially here in the USA. It’s sickening. Thanks for a well thought out and honest essay.
Explain, please, Betsy..you’ve left an enigmatic posting.
Thank you Dr.Abdu Sharkawy, so loving your article and comments.. I had the pleasure of taking my husband to the infectious disease at your hospital, I say pleasure as the method of treatment was more than amazing.. what could of and more likely to a fatal situation was detected and addressed with immediately..
with a very positive outcome..
we/I am forever learning and reading about all the “goodness” that’s at our fingertips .. most recently , amazing all in one little package vitamins that’s totally absorbed by the cells rather then flushing 90% in the toilet..
Self interest is what I see coming from the people who want to downplay this. You can definitely tell when someone who is not in a vulnerable group is talking or giving their lovely advice.
100% agree The virus is not that scary but people are.
I don’t blame the media for this problem. When I am lied to by officials that should know the correct information but try to sugar coat it, my trust goes down. This is a serious issue and unfortunately we do not have enough information. This is part due to a lack of testing and the ability of people to be tested. Other countries, when the information about this disease became known months ago, made sure they had the needed materials to identify the problem. I appreciate any valid information presented by any source, as long as it is based on the truth of what is know and backed by science. Other administrations handled SARS, swine flu, Ebola, and other outbreaks with straightforward urgency and had the people in place to deal with the problem.
I’m a 72 year old senior. I’ve decided not to let this scare me to the point of not continuing to live the life I have left. Yes, I’m moving forward with caution and doing what I can to minimize my risk… controlling the fear is going to able us to keep with a mind clear of the unrealistic nonsense that the media is speaking. I only listen to people in the medical field, as we all should.
Psalm 91- Read it and believe.
Jesus is the answer!!!
Read what Johns Hopkins Infectious Disease Specialists have to say. We are learning day by day. The Chinese were not transparent in the beginning. This is a new virus that most of us have not encountered, that’s why it is serious. Taking reasonable precautions is the best way for us to deal with this challenge. I am 80 and do not have any serious medical conditions, so I will follow what reasonable steps for me. Go about my daily routine, but may re-think going to a large venue. My local church just cancelled a Friday not Fish dinner, since many of the members are elderly with medical conditions that make them more vulnerable.
While I agree that people are over reacting, it’s unfair to blame the media. The problem lies in the chaos and conflicting information coming from this Administration. Information such as this article and others posted by friends are very helpful as is the information provided by the media. Sadly my husband and I cancelled a trip back East due to his compromised health after consulting with his Doctor. As disappointed as we are, we don’t want to take an unnecessary risk.
As stated in the article “Let’s meet this challenge together in the best spirit of compassion for others, patience and above all, an unfailing effort to seek truth, facts and knowledge as opposed to conjecture, speculation and catastrophizing.” This is not a political issue…it’s a serious health issue. And needs to be treated as such. Trump needs to stop calling it a hoax, blaming the Democrats and name calling. This is fueling uncertainty!
The death rate is at least ten times that of a regular flu, and that is enough to trigger panic emotions. You said “ The fact is the virus itself will not likely do much harm when it arrives.” I hope it comes out that way when we have accurate and complete data.
I agree that panic and stockpiling items does real harm to those who really need it and has no place here.
But there are real questions that we don’t know answers to as to who is really vulnerable.
We know that elderly with underlying health issues but what about kids with lung and heart disease, what about pregnant women, what about people on immunosuppressive Rx
Even if the young and healthy population does not get serious Illness, can they pass it on to the vulnerable
The experts are rightfully cautious before righting it off for this very reason
I am also a pediatric infectious disease doctor.
Thanks for this BS, but I will instead listen to sources that can actually get a simple title grammatically correct, tyvm.
I completely agree with all of this! my own personal experiences I went to a immediate care for a stuffed up head and a cough and within 5 minutes the board of Health in my area was called!!
I understand she was doing her due diligence but she didn’t even look past any of the other symptoms.
Amanda Bredlow and the others commenting on the grammar in the headline…..did you read the article? The headline is a quote from paragraph three that says “What I am scared about is the loss……” The word “what” is accidentally left out in the headline but so what?? Who cares? Again, if you had read the article, you would have figured that out. If you did read it and THAT is all you got out of it, the error in the headline, then I feel sorry for you.
Great article by the way!!!
thank you
I am both elderly (67) and immune-suppressed. I am concerned if it spreads across the country as it most likely will.
There are so many infectious diseases and yet they are going so overboard about this. WHY?
Thank you for the article. People get in a panic . We need to trust in God!! They tell you what to do to keep yourself in tack. Do the best you can and Trust in God!!
Wow no one could say it better
You are what I like to call a fucktard
The US has to be the laughing stock of the world when it comes to generating hysteria. And then to blame all of it on the President
I am not panicking but as an older person I am very concerned. Easy not to worry if you’re younger since the dying are all elderly or people with health risks. I am just staying home as much as I possibly can. I don’t think we need to panic yet or clean off the store shelves but caution should definitely be exercised along with good hygiene.
Glad I panicked and mostly got out of my stocks. Saved a boat load of my hard earned retirement money. The market is supposed to be forward thinking so look at the fact of what it’s telling you. We need to respect our fear as a society and if we error on the side of caution, and things turn out ok that would be wonderful. Look at what the reality TV chief tried to spin and how under prepared we are as a result. That itself causes panic. A crisis in confidence. Facts are facts, not wishes. Look at the numbers. Nobody knows when it stops. Killiing / blaming the messenger won’t solve the problem.
You’re so right