August 15, 2020 Issue, Page 4 of 8

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Page 4 The Elk City News, Elk City, Oklahoma Saturday, August 15, 2020 Opinion Page Visa restrictions limit foreign-born “ElkCituNews doctors’ role in coronavirus Serving Western Oklahoma since 1901 r emails from recruiters des- I would be immune from VID relief package expected What it’s like in perately seeking help in CO- VID hot zones. I have both HIB visa rules — meaning T could help out in COVID soon, This bill, if approved, Oklahoma and Kansas medi- hot zones. the NBA bubble would reallocate 15,000 cal licenses, and I can be of It just does not seem right unused employment-based help in my time off. But my that we are considered es- visas for doctors that were visa says I can’t. sential when it comes to By Stephanie Ready, The Baltimore Sun previously authorized by IMGs represent a quarter saving lives but are non- Congress. The bill also How did the NBA campus in the middle of the epicenter of the total physician work essential in terms of immi- of a pandemic become the safest place on Earth? Simply force in the US. There are gration purposes and that we would provide expedited put: The NBA is NOT playing games with COVID-19. approximately 15,000 IMGs and our families face a risk processing, which could po- Thave been part of the NBA family for almost 20 years, a in this situation who feel of deportation if we get af- tentially enable up to 15,000 as a coach and nowa television broadcaster. I know that Dr. Shravan Gangula like they are on the sidelines fected by COVID. physicians to receive the the NBA is not new to launching unique and larger than because their visa specifies It takes decades for physi- benefits and flexibility of a life events. However, the league, like so many other or- By Dr. Shravan Gangula ganizations, is new to coping with a highly contagious which hospital they have to cians from some countries to green card and enable them International medical work in, Applying for a new get the permanent resident to work in areas of dire need respiratory disease that has infected roughly 5 million graduates (IMGs) who are HIB is a tedious multistep card — or green card — immediately without visa Americans. ready to help out in areas process that takes several that gives them flexibility to hassles. Thanks to the advice of former U.S. Surgeon General hard-hit by COVID-19 are months to get approved. work without special autho- Dr. Vivek Murthy, Columbia University virus expert Da- Please help us help you. vid Ho and other top infectious disease experts from the unable to do so due to ex- The pride of working as tization. Dr. Shravan Gangula is likes of Johns Hopkins, Harvard, Stanford and Duke uni- plicit restrictions on their a frontline physician in a One potential solution a board certified Family versities, the concept of a contained campus was deemed work visas. crisis like COVID has been is the bipartisan Healthcare There’s a lot of uncer replaced by anxiety and fear. Workforce Resilience Act Medicine physician practic- necessary to have a safe place for competition. Some of the Centers for Disease Control recommenda- tainty for IMGs, and it can IfI were to get sick from — $3599. The bill currently ing at Coffeyville Regional tions to combat the spread of COVID-19 are to test, wear be hard to navigate the visa COVID-19 and not be able has 36 bipartisan senate co- Medical Center Medical a mask, physically distance and contact trace. The NBA quotas and limits placed on to work for about 2 months, sponsors and senate majority Group in Coffeyville, KS and implemented all of those protocols into the bubble. their practice. I fear deportation because leadership should take every the Medical Director of the As soon as I arrived on campus, I was sent to the testing States are calling for of current visa rules. How- step to include this legisla- Montgomery County Kansas room at my hotel, and then told to go immediately to my more doctors. I keep getting ever, ifI had a green card, tion into the Cares 2 CO- Health Department. room to start a seven-day quarantine. After my first test Good science takes time — came back negative, I was moved to the inner bubble with the strictest safety protocols (the same level as the players and coaches). Again I was escorted immediately to a testing room, even during a pandemic then to my room to finish quarantine. And the testing didn’t stop there. Every day I get tested and ifI don’tI will be denied access to the venues on campus. The NBA cam- pus is crawling with security to make sure no one slips up. One colleague once took “the long way” to get tested and By Dr. John L. Wallace, Frazier noted recently in an ings. legitimate ways than ever to was quickly reprimanded. Chicago Tribune interview, “We don’t want Even the medical journals streamline science through Masks are also serious business. After two weeks on Good science takes time. to rush the vaccine before - bastions of peer-reviewed campus, I have yet to see anyone without one. As one collaboration. Artificial in- This has always been clear we've done rigorous sci- science and notoriously head coach put it: “If you go outside without a mask on, to those of us doing health ence. We've seen in the re- picky in what they publish telligence. Tailored drug you will get a call immediately.” He was only half joking. research - less so to the gen- cent past with the swine flu, - have come under fire for discovery. Digital tools like NBA security staff are on constant “mask patrol,” walk- eral public. for example, that that vac- publishing studies that need- ing around campus to enforce the protocol, which is that cloud storage, teleconfer- In the pursuit of treatments cine did more harm than ed to be walked back. The no one is permitted to be anywhere on campus without encing and Slack. Endless wearing a mask. That means inside or outside, in a group for COVID-19, we need to good. We don’t have a great Lancet and the New Eng- or alone. The only exceptions are in your own hotel room, manage expectations about history of introducing vac- land Journal of Medicine, avenues for creating, ana- eating alone or properly distanced. Signs everywhere what's not just possible, but cines quickly in the middle august journals with nearly lyzing and sharing big data. serve as reminders. also desirable. of a pandemic. We want to 400 years of history between These are all in our favor The NBA provided us with masks as well as other tools Finding a vaccine is dif- keep that in mind.” them, both recently found to keep us COVID-free. When my quarantine was com- ficult work, but it’s not like Good science takes time. themselves issuing corona- when it comes to beating pleted, I received my green zone credential, hand sani- finding a needle in a hay- Meanwhile, people and virus retractions on the same COVID-19. tizer, disinfecting wipes, a digital thermometer, a digital stack. Scientists start from governments have already day. The New York Times But when it comes to the pulse oximeter and a physical distance monitor to attach a place of knowledge. Re- shown that they’re willing to reported that the peer-review actual research and trials, to my credential. The distance monitor alerts me with a searchers around the world take shortcuts. Individuals process favored by these and beep and blinking red lights ifI am within 6 feet of some- are already working on more have begged, borrowed and other journals has been con- speed cannot be the driving one else for more than five seconds. than 150 possible vaccines, stolen in pursuit of personal densed from months to days. priority. My own company is And that is not the only way we are monitored, While with 22 in human tials. protection equipment, medi- Social scientists have also conducting drug trials right in the inner bubble, my room key is a Disney magic band There are also thousands of cine and other household es- been mushing to publish amid worn on my wrist. When I use the band to “tap in” at prac- now. Not for COVID-19, previously developed phar- sentials, from hand sanitizer the pandemic, to their peril. tices, games and testing rooms, the light on the box at the maceuticals in testing. A to toilet paper. Governments Again, many of their CO- but for pain treatment. Of checkpoint should turn green. The green light indicates vaccine for COVID-19 is have bid up prices, invoked VID-19 papers are being course, we want to take our that I am in compliance with all of the health and safety quite likely to arrive faster emergency powers and prac- rushed into print - written treatment to market with protocols in place. Everyone in the green zone must “tap than any before it. Yet de- tically hijacked shipments and reviewed on timelines in and out” at all venues. If there is a positive test, the sys- all due speed. But our trials spite all that, we need to of gear to supply their citi- more appropriate for daily tem will automatically facilitate contact tracing. can’t be rushed without cre- remember that it will take zens. They’ve spent billions journalism than the intended The NBA also mandates that every person living in the many months, likely years. for access to medicines that permanence of scientific lit- ating unacceptable risks. bubble use a smartphone application to answer health and And, frankly, it should. don’t exist yet. erature. And neither can a COV- wellness questions to track symptoms. This happens ev- ery day, Why so long? Because With so much hanging “I was recently asked to Everyone is also required to take their temperature and we need time to do it right, in the balance, people are review three such papers for ID-19 vaccine, even though no matter what incentives, trafficking in information a scientific journal,” Uni- a global pandemic feels like use a pulse oximeter to measure heart rate and blood ox- ygen levels - once again, every day. Both devices feed resources and pressures are instead. It’s tempting to sim- versity of Chicago profes- it should be different. We all directly into the application via a Bluetooth connection. applied. Ensuring safety is plify, to overclaim, to speak sor Anthony Fowler wrote want a vaccine as quickly as There is zero chance of anyone misrepresenting their re- especially critical for older beyond one’s expertise. recently in an opinion piece people, who are more sus- There has been a surge in for Bloomberg. “Although possible, and we should be sults. The restart of the NBA is valuable because it provides a ceptible to COVID-19 and unreviewed research. Early an editor might normally everything prudent to make welcome distraction. However, the real value of the NBA other health issues. But it publication makes data and give me six weeks to com- it happen. restart transcends entertainment. The significance of the matters to us all. lines of inquiry available to plete one review,I was asked But it has to work, and it restart to all of us is the illustration of how to go back to ACOVID-19 vaccine will other researchers faster, but to complete three reviews in work and socialize safely during a pandemic. be administered rapidly to it also facilitates misinfor- just one week.” has to be safe, for as many Obviously the economic considerations are vast when billions of people with a vast mation, premature reporting And these are the pitfalls people as possible. No mat- you consider the technology involved and the frequency range of genetic, health and and social-media specula- for well-intentioned claims. ter what it’s for, good sci- of testing. I am not saying that our local governments environmental circumstanc- tion. I try not to think about ones ence takes time. should adopt and implement the same plan as The NBA es. Testing these populations In January, a “preprint” with less pure motives. But restart. I will say, however, that there are a lot of steps and subpopulations will re- describing a study on COV- they do exist. Dr. John L. Wallace is between, “I don’t want to wear a mask” and “the bubble.” quire immense planning and ID-19’s origins circulated on It’s also important to dis- founder of the Inflammation I am not asking anyone to leave their family for con- ‘Twitter and was covered by tinguish between the science Research Network at the coordination. It can’t all be secutive weeks or months as I have, because that is hard. done in parallel; some new news media before attract- itself and the organizational Tam not asking anyone to quarantine in a single room for University of Calgary and results will necessitate new ing scientific criticism and a obstacles that new research seven days. chief scientific officer at An- I am not even asking that everyone get tested for CO- investigations. separate research paper de- needs to navigate. The irony As Merck’s CEO Ken voted to debunking its find- there is that there are more tibe Therapeutics. VID-19 everyday. I happily chose to endure this way of life with the hopes of being a part of something great, an example of how to be proactive in the face of extreme adversity. What I do hope everyone does, is what their fa- vorite NBA player in the bubble is doing: wear a mask and Have something to share? Sent! your eter tothe editorto [email protected] maintain a responsible physical distance from others. The NBA has created a “whole new game.” What will you do? Stephanie Ready ([email protected]) is a broadcaster for The NBA on TNT and NBATV, andformer coach for the WNBA and G-League.