I’m Treating Too Many Young People for the Coronavirus
Americans in their 20s and 30s—no matter how healthy and invincible they feel—need to understand how dangerous this virus can be.
Editor’s Note: The Atlantic is making vital coverage of the coronavirus available to all readers. Find the collection here.
On Friday night, I worked a 12-hour shift in the designated COVID-19 area of my hospital’s emergency department in New York City. Over the course of the night, I examined six patients who were exhibiting common symptoms of the novel coronavirus; five of them were in their 20s or early 30s.
I am 28 years old. Up until Friday, when people asked me whether I was scared, I would tell them yes—for my country, my colleagues, my 92-year-old grandmother, and all the people most vulnerable to getting seriously ill from the virus, but not for myself. I,
