Honoring Family Physicians Lost Due to COVID-19

Since the start of the pandemic, over 500,000 lives have been lost to COVID-19 in the United States alone. The global death toll has reached over 2 million. Health care workers have played a crucial role in caring for their patients and communities, putting their lives at risk as they serve on the front lines. A study published in the Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine found that primary care physicians accounted for 26.9% of the mortality among all physicians through mid-May of 2020.

In comparison, emergency physicians, critical care specialists and anesthesiologists together accounted for 7.4%. This highlights some of the structural issues felt on the primary care frontline: less access to PPE, care of patients early in their disease course who lack a definitive diagnosis, difficulty obtaining COVID test kits, and, now, challenges in getting access to vaccine for themselves and their staff.

While it is not possible to name each of our colleagues who have died from COVID-19, we would like to honor those we lost as they sacrificed to serve the needs of their patients and their communities. Words cannot express our gratitude for their dedication and commitment.