COVID-19’s effect on care and research

The COVID-19 outbreak in the late winter and spring of 2020 had a big effect on the medical industry. Hospitals became like armed forces hospitals during wartime: doctors, nurses, therapists, laboratory technicians (and everyone helping them, from secretaries to janitors) cared for extremely sick patients—while putting their own health at risk. Many doctors and scientists who were busy studying other illnesses had to redirect their efforts to study COVID-19. And many people with illnesses other than COVID-19 chose to stay away from hospitals to avoid getting the virus.