Going Viral: Lessons from Disaster Medicine for the Neurologist in the Covid-19 era

Abstract

Moré et al.¹ are to be applauded for their article in this issue on disaster neurology and its relevance to the on-going COVID-19 pandemic. At first glance, the relationship between this pandemic and a natural disaster is not obvious. However, as countries struggle with limitations in medical resources and having to make difficult decisions about who should have priority in receiving medical care or vaccines as they become available, the skills needed to provide care in an austere environment become clear. In addition, as medical professionals who are experts in hospitalist and intensive care unit medicine become overstretched, it is natural that neurologists and neurology providers, who at least understand medical care and have been exposed to internal medicine at some point during training, will naturally become called upon to help take care of Covid patients. For example, during the Spring surge of cases which overwhelmed hospitals in New York City, the United States military responded, recalling to duty many Reserve physicians, nurses, and other healthcare providers and assigning them to support civilian healthcare operations. Neurologists, pathologists, pediatricians, and other specialists suddenly found themselves receiving on-the-job training to manage critically ill Covid patients.