Four years ago today, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced that the state was beginning to shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
It’s the beginning of a public health emergency. Businesses shut down, academics learned from home, and hospitals across the state were overrun.
So where have we been since then? The medical director of the Presbyterian has a positive attitude. Denise A. Gonzales says that in 2020 no one knew what the virus was, but now they have the equipment and wisdom to make it easier to fight COVID.
“Society has replaced itself. I think, overall, it’s been replaced for the better,” Gonzales said. “Things possibly would have been replaced, but it was a slow replacement for many years. But only because, A, we knew more about the effects. “For the B virus, we had effective treatments. And I think especially the vaccine.
Some practices have become more common.
“I was doing telemedicine before the pandemic and it was declining very slowly,” Gonzales said. “Not many people were adopting it, but now everyone is doing it!And patients gain advantages because it increases access and eliminates hassle.
While she says she likes to be optimistic, Gonzales also needs to be clear: If you were scared or worried in 2020, you weren’t alone. Doctors like her were also experiencing this for the first time in their lives.
“I was scared in 2020, thinking about 4 years ago. I didn’t know if I was going to die. I didn’t know who would take care of my family if I did. But I knew I had to work and take care of New Mexicans,” he said.
Unfortunately, viruses like COVID will persist.
“Respiratory viruses in general never go away,” Gonzales said. We will continue to have the ones we had before and we may have new ones like COVID. But it’s vital to do things like quarantine when you’re not in good health. “with a virus. At least one day after your last fever.
Gonzales also said washing your hands and wearing a mask when you’re in poor health or immunocompromised will also help you avoid contracting a virus, not just COVID. He also added that if there’s a vaccine for a disease, you get it. .
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