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2020 MEDICAL YEAR
IN REVIEW

casting from behind her father’s shoulder. Labor Day festivities and cially just and kind world are offered this Thanksgiving. Once again,
back to college seem to have fanned the COVID-19 flames so cases crisis is disaster plus opportunity.
are rising again in many places. The yearly dentist, dermatologist, oph-
thalmologist, and audiologist visits will be delayed but I was able to
get the flu shot at HEB. The politicians are blaming each other for
COVID-19 blunders and deaths as the November election nears.
Many worry that profit and not science will dictate the delivery of a
vaccine, but drug manufacturers have banded together to assure the
public that trial results will dictate the vaccine delivery. Mail-in ballots,
popular because of COVID-19, are debated by partisans as being dis-
criminatory or making the vote more secure. Politicians are question-
ing the ability of the postal service to carry out its duties, but I remain
confident in the system.
Wildfires, gun violence, hurricanes, and rude political discourse
have all contributed to high anxiety. The natural disasters, violent
deaths, and social media “bots” and fear mongers have reached a level
I have never encountered. Faith is being tested daily. In the Northwest,
people are choking on the smoky air and in the Gulf Coast people are
losing their roofs and their lives due to hurricane related flooding. Our
medical learners continue to respect one another, pursue their studies
and give me hope for a better day.

October 2020 December 2020
I plan to venture out to get the driver’s license renewed, to visit Pom- This month, as all Decembers, could easily be sixty days long and
pei (as I think of the office) to collect artifacts and to drive to north still not have enough time for all to be done. Work project comple-
Texas to visit family and support them for a critical surgery. These ex- tions, school tests and deadlines, virtual family gatherings, Christmas
cursions are some of my first to the “badlands” since March. Have most celebrations, and end of the year elective procedures (which must be
of us envisioned scenes from “Mad Max” since the lockdown and pan- done in 2020 to avoid deductible expenses in the new year) are only a
demic threat? Continuing education and air travel may wait until an few goals to be accomplished. The influenza season has started but
immunization is available and this has been a catastrophe for that im- hopefully will be milder as people are wearing masks and social dis-
portant travel industry. Many are questioning whether they will take tancing. COVID-19 has infected millions in the US and the world.
a vaccine if one is offered. Meanwhile, the numbers of people infected Clinical trials are promising for an effective vaccine and by the spring
and dying are rising once again in a third wave since February and hos- we hope to be immunizing many Americans. Vaccine efficacy and
pitals are again nearing capacity. those who oppose immunizations are still concerns.
As we look back please reflect on those we have lost, those whose
November 2020 lives are irrevocably altered, how we might improve our methods of
It is expected that late fall will bring cooler temperatures to Texas care, and the blessing of having chosen a profession which allows us
and renewed college football brought crowds together. COVID-19 to care for those in need.
infections are expected to rise and deaths continue in areas where so-
cial distancing is not possible or abandoned for social proximity. A John J. Seidenfeld, MD, MSHA, FACP is a member of
President and Congress were elected to face a COVID-19 recession, the Bexar County Medical Society and its Publications Com-
environmental change, the COVID-19 and health care disparities, so- mittee; Alexandra G. Bailey is a Biomedical Engineering
cial unrest and inequality, immigration challenges, internal and inter- Student at The University of Texas at Austin.
national relations, security concerns both physical and virtual, aging
infrastructure, and more. There is much work to be done, and we will
all need to pull together to get it started. Prayers for better health,
greater understanding, solutions to deep-seated problems, and a so-

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