US Surgeon General Murthy says he lost 10 of family to Covid
Top Indo-American physician campaigns against misinformation
US Surgeon General Dr Vivek Murthy has revealed that he lost as many as 10 family members, both here and in India, to the Covid-19 pandemic, making a strong case for Americans to get vaccinated to protect themselves from the deadly virus.
Launching a campaign against misinformation, the top Indian-American physician urged people to raise the bar for sharing health information by checking sources before they share it with others to ensure that the information is backed by credible scientific sources.
So far, 160 million Americans have been vaccinated, Murthy said, adding that is all good news.
‘But we are not out of the woods yet. Millions of Americans are still not protected against Covid-19, and we are seeing more infections among those who are unvaccinated,’ he said at a White House briefing on Thursday.
Preventable deaths
‘On a personal note, it’s painful for me to know that nearly every death we are seeing now from Covid-19 could have been prevented,” 44-year-old Murthy, who is occupying the position for the second time.
“I say that as someone who has lost 10 family members to Covid-19 and who wishes each and every day that they had had the opportunity to get vaccinated,’ Murthy said.
‘I see that also as a concerned father of two young children who aren’t yet eligible for the vaccine, but I know that our kids are depending on all of us to get vaccinated to shield them from this virus,’ he added.
“Every week, I talk to doctors and nurses across the country who are burning out as they care for more and more patients with Covid-19 who never got vaccinated, all too often because they were misled by misinformation,” he said.
In May, a Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that 64 per cent of American adults have taken or want a Covid-19 vaccine as soon as possible, 15 per cent will wait and see, and 19 per cent will either definitely not get one or only get one if it is required.
We are not out of the woods yet. Millions of Americans are still not protected against Covid-19, and we are seeing more infections among those who are unvaccinated.”
Dr Vivek Murthy | US Surgeon General
Responsibility
‘We must confront misinformation as a nation. Every one of us has the power and the responsibility to make a difference in this fight. Lives are depending on it,’ said the top American doctor.
Raised in Miami, Dr Murthy received his bachelor of arts degree from Harvard, his masters in business administration from the Yale School of Management, and his MD from the Yale School of Medicine.