I have an unusual perspective on the COVID-19 virus situation as a physician and as one of the Senators who was infected with the virus. I had a number of important bills that passed the Senate and awaited passage in the House, when the legislative session was suspended and the General Assembly quarantined.
State Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick
I have fully recovered and anxiously await the results of my antibody testing from a study at Emory so that I can hopefully donate plasma. I am very lucky to be a healthy 65-year-old who recovered at home over a two-week period. Although I had fever, cough and loss of taste and smell, I did not have shortness of breath or anything else that required hospitalization. I followed strict isolation in my bedroom and am now sheltering in place like most others in my community.
Most people who become infected with this virus will likely have a course similar to mine. Some may have no symptoms at all. A smaller group will be hospitalized and some of those will die. The Department of Public Health website is a good place to go for information.
During my quarantine I have continued to work helping constituents and participating in various Zoom and conference calls. One of my big commitments during this time is serving as a coordinator for the Medical Association of Georgia’s Medical Reserve Corps. The 300 plus medical volunteers in our group are doctors, nurses, EMT’s, medical students, pharmacists and administrative folks. We are part of the Georgia State Defense Force that serves under the National Guard. We have been deploying people around the state for a number of missions. Some are related to screening soldiers as they participate in food bank operations, assisting with decontamination of nursing homes and other operations with the National Guard. Some are helping in hospitals that are overwhelmed. Most recently some volunteers are assisting in the testing sites being set up around the state by the National Guard. Another upcoming project will be assisting DPH with contact tracing. Most of our volunteers are working their regular jobs and also want to help with the COVID response. It is inspiring to see these brave and unselfish individuals raise their hand to assist others with no personal gain and with some personal risk.
As we move through this crisis, many courageous people on the front lines continue to protect and care for all of us. Our hospitals have done a good job of using the capacity they have and, in some cases, creating more.
The governor has been juggling multiple priorities with his team of experts and has done his best to be fair and to balance a lot of competing interests. We are going to have serious challenges with our state budget to deal with upon the return of the General Assembly to the session, as well as dealing with the bills still in play after crossover day.
At this point Georgia seems to be making progress against this virus and I hope that all will make good daily decisions that will protect our high-risk citizens.
Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick represents the 32nd District which includes portions of Cobb and Fulton counties.
