The president of the American Medical Association, Dr. Patrice Harris, Friday called the shortages of protective gear for medical professionals treating coronavirus cases “unacceptable.”
As head of the largest association of physicians in the United States, Harris told NBC News she had personally asked President Donald Trump for a federal tracking system to ensure hospitals and doctors in the most urgent need of supplies are prioritized, as well as more ventilators and testing supplies.
“As physicians, when we go into this profession we expect and accept some level of risk for infection. But to have our physicians on the frontline greeting patients who are suspected of — or do have — COVID-19 who don’t have masks, gowns and gloves is just unacceptable,” Harris said in her first national interview since the coronavirus crisis emerged.
“We need to see masks on their faces, gowns on their body,” Harris said.
For the full story, visit NBCNews.com/Politics/Congress.