Author: Phyllis Agran, M.D.

Here we are at mid-year 2020, nearly six months into the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.  The numbers tell a terrible story.  Worldwide, the pandemic has afflicted over 11.9 million people and killed more than 546,000. And, even though the U.S. population of 330 million is only 4.1 percent of the world’s 8 billion people, Americans account for more than 25 percent of all COVID-19 cases and deaths.

Here in Orange County, the scale of disease and death is unprecedented.

Irvine is home to UCI, one of the most prestigious medical and scientific research universities in the world. It’s also a hub for major, cutting-edge medical and scientific organizations.

After 3 long months, every Irvine resident should be asking the same questions I am:  Why didn’t the City partner with UCI? Why does Irvine still have no plan in place for COVID-19 testing, tracing, isolating, and treating? 

As a longtime Irvine resident, a mother, a grandmother, a physician, and a professor at the UCI School of Medicine, I have been struck by the lack of planning by Mayor Shea and the City Council in regards to the COVID-19 pandemic.

With the vast number of medical and scientific resources here in Irvine, why didn’t the City protect its citizens by setting up a testing program in February, March, April, or May?

What is essential right now is for each of us to do our very best to comply with the “Stay-at-Home” guidelines that have been put in place throughout California to protect our families and our communities. 

As a physician, there are a few things I want you to know.  Your doctors are receiving daily communications from federal and state health agencies on how best to manage the pandemic to protect our patients and their families.