Massachusetts is in the "middle of the surge," according to Governor Charlie Baker, and as COVID-19 cases continue to rise in the state, it's becoming a national concern.
Dr. Vanessa Kerry, a physician at Massachusetts General Hospital and director of the Global Public Policy and Social Change program at Harvard Medical School, joined Boston Public Radio to provide an update on the current conditions in the state hospital system, and take listener calls.
"You do feel the urgency of the fact that we're in the middle of a pandemic," she said. "What you're not seeing though, at least in the (intensive care units,) you're not seeing hallways crammed with patients. It's orderly in that sense ... but yes, it is a little different."
Kerry said Massachusetts General Hospital has taken critical precautions and planning measures to prepare for the surge, and has "done an extraordinary job to be able to amplify the ability to care for critically ill patients."
But she said the national response has been lacking, and politically charged, noting President Trump's attacks on the World Health Organization. The president threatened to cut funding to the organization, claiming it did little to warn about the spread of the virus from China.
During her segment with BPR, Kerry also took calls from listeners. Kerry is the director of the Program in Global Public Policy and Social Change in the Department of Global Health and Social Medicine at Harvard Medical School; founder and CEO of Seed Global Health, a non-profit that invests in health system strengthening; and works at Mass General Hospital.
