Dr. Eric Burnett, a physician who was on the frontlines of the pandemic in New York City, describes the impact Dr. Anthony Fauci has had on him throughout his medical career and the importance of combating COVID-19 misinformation.
Dr. Anthony Fauci. Photo courtesy of: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases
As an internist, diagnosing conditions can be a process with staggeringly differential possibilities, based on a combination of workups, examinations and patient interviews. For many of us, a worn-out copy of “Harrison’s Principles of Internal Medicine” is always on hand. Harrison’s is sort of the Bible for internists, a staple on any doctor’s bookshelf. For years, I scribbled my diagnostic notes while looking at a certain name on the book’s cover: FAUCI.
One evening as an attending physician, my admissions were all patients in respiratory distress, diagnosed with viral pneumonia from the novel respiratory virus SARS-CoV-2. My aged copy of Harrison’s had no treatment algorithm for this new disease, COVID-19. It was daunting and unsettling to be on the frontlines of a pandemic, battling a new disease with little information. As the sun rose over Washington Heights, I signed out my patients to the oncoming day team and returned home, sat down and turned on the TV before trying to fall asleep. After an emotionally and physically draining shift, I was comforted to see a familiar name flash on the TV as I watched the news. Dr. Fauci would be leading the president’s coronavirus task force.
Of course, it came as no surprise to me that Dr. Fauci would help lead this country through the worst pandemic we’ve seen in the last 100 years. He’s worked through several presidential administrations, both Republican and Democrat, aided with other disease outbreaks such as HIV/AIDS and Ebola, not to mention was one of the co-authors of a book that had been my companion throughout medical school and residency. He is a pillar in the medical community.
The spring of 2020 in New York City was a dark and frightening time; it was easy to feel adrift as a physician treating a new disease in the epicenter of a global pandemic. My entire life and clinical practice were turned upside down in an instant. The hospital wards were filling up with critically ill patients. I didn’t know when or if the dam was going to break, I didn’t know when the deluge would subside. There were so many unknown factors and the ground was shifting beneath my feet on a near-constant basis, but Dr. Fauci served as an anchor in that sea of uncertainty, grounding me at a time when there was so much I didn’t know. His level-headed response amidst a calamitous and politically polarized environment was inspiring and encouraged me to keep going.
The initial wave of the pandemic ultimately did subside in New York City. The volume of patients began to decrease and I was afforded some much-needed breathing room, time to reflect on just how impactful the previous months had been on me as a person and as a physician. The calm was short-lived, however, as I quickly began to notice an alarming rise in the amount of disinformation surrounding the pandemic on social media. Scrolling through Twitter and TikTok, I saw inaccurate posts stating:
“Masks do nothing to reduce the spread of COVID, there’s no purpose in wearing them.”
“COVID is a Chinese hoax to make the president look bad!”
“Doctors are lying about COVID deaths, it’s nothing more than the flu!”
“Hospitals are intentionally putting patients on ventilators to make more money and to make the pandemic look worse than it is.”
Hearing these outright falsehoods was obviously distressing having just lived through one of the most difficult experiences in my medical career. I felt galvanized to take to social media and use my experience as a physician on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic to dispel these inaccurate and potentially harmful talking points. I quickly realized that the polarized nature of the pandemic made dispelling misinformation a precarious effort. I was doxed and attacked online, called a liar, a shill and a murderer. I learned that speaking up for public health efforts could garner some very harsh responses from certain people.
While watching the evening news, I witnessed similar attacks directed towards members of the coronavirus task force, especially Dr. Fauci. Attacks came from all angles, so much so that he needed to have a security detail for both him and his family. I recall watching an interview with Dr. Fauci discussing the harassment and attacks, and what stuck with me was that he remained confident in his convictions and his dedication to public health. His stoic nature, even in the face of threats against his physical safety, inspired me to continue combating disinformation, for it was the right thing to do.
Dr. Fauci has been a constant presence in the medical community for the last several decades. Whether it was through his assistance with epidemics and novel disease outbreaks, providing the country with calm and level headed response in a time of incredible uncertainty, or helping a busy internal medicine resident on his night float rotation work through differential diagnoses, he was always there. We are still fighting our way out of this pandemic, but I know with the help of people like Dr. Fauci, we will come out stronger and more resolved on the other side.
