Many Are Currently Living Their Worst Disaster-the Pandemic

This article was previously published on Dr. James Goydos' website, May 2021.

Growing up in California, I experienced 3 major earthquakes, two wildfires that required my family to temporarily evacuate, a landside that almost covered our car on a family vacation, and a flood that lifted our house off its foundations. Later in life, I was in Mexico City during the September 1985 Earthquake, and recently I lived through Superstorm Sandy here in New Jersey, going without power for 2 weeks. All of these natural disasters were difficult in their own ways, but, fortunately, I didn’t lose a friend or loved one during any of them. That is why the worst natural disaster I ever experienced I’m still experiencing—the COVID19 pandemic.

As a physician and biomedical researcher I knew what to expect during an out of control air-borne pandemic and so I have been able to keep my family and close friends safe over the past nine months. With the worst of the pandemic yet to come I’ve redoubled my efforts to watch over my family, get regular testing, and remind my friends and colleagues of the continuing dangers.

Yet with all these precautions I, like so many others, know people who have died after contracting COVID19. The first person I personally knew was a prominent family physician from central New Jersey who I had worked with for over 20 years. He and his wife (also a physician) volunteered to work the COVID wards at their local hospital, even though they were both in their late 60s. Both husband and wife contracted COVID19 with the husband dying two months later. His wife recovered after a long hospital stay and has since retired from the medical field. The second person I knew who died of COVID19 was the father of a medical oncologist who I had worked with for the past 10 years.

However, the most painful moment for me was when I received the news, on July 7, 2020, that a young surgeon who I had recommended for a position at a prominent University Medical Center had contracted COVID19 the week before and had died that morning. I helped train that young man and I was reason he had become a cancer surgeon. I was also the one who got him the job where he contracted the disease.

So many good people have lost their lives to this terrible natural disaster of a pandemic. I hope we are able to get the pandemic under control, and continue to distribute vaccines before even more promising lives are lost.

Edit: According to data collected by the Mayo Clinic, as of December 31, 2021, approximately 62% of Americans have been fully vaccinated in the United States, and 73.3% of Americans have received at least one dose of one of the COVID-19 vaccines available. Continued effective manufacturing and distribution of the vaccines will be important to help not only slow the spread, but also help to slow the mutations of COVID-19. Some of the same issues present at the beginning of the pandemic, such as global supply chain bottlenecks, remain two years later. However, there have been marked improvements in this arena over time. It is my hope we will continue to see innovations here. As the United States and world at large continues to experience new surges amidst the Omicron variant, vaccination and other measures such as masking and social distancing remain our best defence against the pandemic.

About Dr. James Goydos

Dr. James Goydos is an expert in melanoma research and specialist in surgical oncology with an M.D. from Rutgers University. With over 20 years of experience as a Professor, Surgeon, and Clinical Trial Lead, he is a leading expert in his field.

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