Clay Pasqual is Operations Director at the Progressive Turnout Project, which is a grassroots-funded organization located in Davenport and aimed at increasing voter turnout amongst Democrats. -promoted by Laura Belin
I’ve been advocating for maintaining and adopting reforms to our health care system that promote quality care, affordability, innovation, technology and science for nearly a decade now since the passage of the Affordable Care Act.
Seeing my mother struggle with and ultimately pass away from pancreatic cancer a few years ago further reinforced to me the importance of encouraging innovative research and technology in the health care field that can detect, prevent and cure deadly diseases like pancreatic cancer before it’s too late.
Innovation in health care in the United States has a history of saving millions of lives. HIV is no longer a death sentence, and individuals can go on about their day-to-day lives. Thanks to the evolution of early detection through mammograms and more effective treatments, the death rate from breast cancer in the U.S. dropped by 40 percent from 1989 to 2017, according to the American Cancer Society.
Unfortunately, over the last couple of months, we have seen an alarming amount of misinformation spread online. And if that weren’t enough, we have elected officials taking actions and making statements that often directly contradict what science, research, and data strongly suggest would be wise policy decisions to combat COVID-19. For example, President Donald Trump continues to advocate the use of hydroxychloroquine to prevent or treat coronavirus, even though research has shown that drug is not effective as a COVID-19 treatment.
Governor Kim Reynolds continues to resist calls for a mandatory mask order, even though fifteen medical groups have urged her to take that step.
From influenza to smallpox to polio, the history of pandemics and deadly diseases tells us we should support the researchers now working around the clock to develop treatments and vaccines for COVID-19 in record time. It’s vital that we continue to trust medical experts over misguided elected officials.
Top image: #MaskUpIA graphic from the Iowa Medical Society.