key: cord-0691504-hd4f0ii4
authors: Meltzer, Carolyn C.; Wiggins, Richard H.; Mossa-Basha, Mahmud; Palasis, Susan; Russell, Eric; Mikulis, David; Rhyner, Patricia; Anderson, James; Peterson, Ryan B.; Smirniotopoulos, James; Barkovich, A. James; Zimmerman, Robert D.; Filippi, Christopher G.; Rowley, Howard A.; Koontz, Nicholas A.; Jay, Ann K.; Nickerson, Joshua; Hamilton, Bronwyn; Chow, Daniel; Whitlow, Christopher T.
title: Misleading Public Statements about COVID-19
date: 2020-10-24
journal: J Am Coll Radiol
DOI: 10.1016/j.jacr.2020.10.012
sha: 073b454ac5a12e2594d71ab0414dd395b1901868
doc_id: 691504
cord_uid: hd4f0ii4

nan

Since the first case of COVID-19 arrived in the United States, it has created worldwide upheaval in health and the delivery of healthcare to its victims (Chakraborty & Maity 2020; Rosen et al. 2020) . As of this writing this novel virus has killed almost 220,000 Americans. As leaders in the field of neuroradiology, we are writing to express our concerns about the public statements of one of our neuroradiology colleagues, Dr. Scott Atlas. We do not take this action lightly. These statements have included misrepresentations of the available scientific evidence about "herd immunity" as a public health strategy for COVID-19 (Alwan et al. 2020) . Further unsubstantiated statements, devoid of scientific evidence or scholarship, misrepresent the safety of children returning to school and cast doubt on the advice of leading epidemiologists and other public health scientists and experts on this and related activities (Walensky & Del Rio 2020) . In the interest of public health, we urge citizens and institutions to look to our infectious disease and epidemiology colleagues to lead during this or any other global pandemic.

We call on our radiology colleagues and other specialties to join us in the active representation of medical ethical principles to minimize harm and to rely on sound science by speaking to the evidence and partnering with those who are trained and knowledgeable to guide the public during this challenging time.

Scientific consensus on the COVID-19 pandemic: we need to act now. The Lancet

COVID-19 outbreak: Migration, effects on society, global environment and prevention

Impact of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the Practice of Clinical Radiology

From Mitigation to Containment of the COVID-19 Pandemic Putting the SARS-CoV-2 Genie Back in the Bottle