Expert: NC better positioned than other states to respond to pandemic

The slow growth in coronavirus cases in North Carolina relative to New York and some other states puts North Carolina in better position to respond to the pandemic, according to a Duke University professor.

Posted 6:38 p.m. Mar 27, 2020 — Updated 11:27 p.m. Mar 27, 2020

Sarah Krueger

, WRAL Durham reporter

DURHAM, N.C. — The slow growth in coronavirus cases in North Carolina relative to New York and some other states puts North Carolina in better position to respond to the pandemic, according to a Duke University professor.

Economist Mark McClellan, the director of the Duke-Margolis Center for Health Policy, was U.S. Food and Drug Administration commissioner during the SARS epidemic in 2003. He said North Carolina has a chance to get ahead of the new coronavirus if it acts quickly.

"I think North Carolina is a little bit lucky in that it’s not seeing as much of a rapid growth in cases as other, more urban, densely populated areas around the country are facing right now. That’s given the state the advantage of a little more time for preparation," McClellan said Friday. "That’s not to say that those preparations should slow down. It just means that we’ve got more of an opportunity to make sure that the supplies – ventilators, hospital beds – [are in place] and also support for patients with milder illnesses so they don’t go to the hospital."

Cooper: More virus-related restrictions coming for NC

Gov. Roy Cooper has closed schools through mid-May, has banned gatherings of more than 50 people and has forced many businesses to shut down or shift to online or pick-up service to limit the spread of the virus. Many local governments across the state, including Wake and Orange counties and the city of Durham, have issued even stricter stay-at-home orders to keep people sequestered as much as possible.

"Nobody is immune to the virus. Nobody is safe from the virus," said Dr. Peter Ubel, a physician and professor of business, public policy and medicine at Duke. "If all you cared about was your own health, you should be very cautious right now, and if you care about spreading it to people you love, all the more reason to be cautious."

"Isolation right now is really critical," McClellan agreed. "We shouldn’t waste a second of the time that we are lucky enough to have here in North Carolina to do these preparations."

Supply shortage prompts N.C. health officials to limit coronavirus testing

Hospitals statewide are preparing for an expected surge in patients with COVID-19, the illness associated with the virus, as the pandemic continues. Many are stockpiling supplies – even accepting donations of masks, gloves and gowns – and setting up special triage tents to keep COVID-19 patients separate from others in the emergency department.

But Ubel noted that ventilators and other equipment are in short supply nationwide, which could force health care providers to make difficult life-and-death decisions.

"When there aren’t enough ventilators to go around, probably the No. 1 thing people are going to try to do is figure out how to save the most lives with the number of ventilators we have," he said. "You end up starting to look at things like whether there are age guidelines, age cut-offs or people with short life expectancies because of chronic, advanced, serious illness."

Law professor Arti Rai, faculty director of the Center for Innovation Policy at Duke, said the federal government needs to take more of a leadership role in ensuring medical supplies get to where they are needed.

"Unfortunately, North Carolina can't do it by itself," Rai said. "One thing that can be done would be some sort of, you know, candid and transparent report from [the Federal Emergency Management Agency] regarding what the current state of shortages is across the nation."

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