The first two people to contract Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) in the United States were nurses. Health professionals are our first line of defense in any public health crisis. And in a case like this, without proper training and guidance, these workers are at unnecessary risk.
Now is a time when we need clear, strong leadership for health professionals and all Americans — leadership that the office of the U.S. surgeon general is meant to provide. Unfortunately, in the middle of this global Ebola crisis, and amid widespread fear and misinformation here in the United States, Senate Republicans are playing politics and blocking the confirmation of a new surgeon general.
Click here for news reporting on the current politicization of Dr. Vivek’s nomination.
A coalition of medical practitioners including the American Academy of Family Physicians, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians, American College of Physicians, American Osteopathic Association, American Psychiatric Association, Society of General Internal Medicine overwhelmingly support Dr. Murthy’s nomination as our next surgeon general.
Click here for their recent Op-Ed telling congress, “Don’t play politics with ‘America’s doctor’.”
The safety of healthcare workers and the American public must not be a political football. We need the U.S. Senate to act to confirm a surgeon general.
Click here for more about Dr. Vivek and for additional ways to mobilize support for his nomination.
