Hawaiian doctor Scott Miscovich on the dizzying pace ahead of the Olympic Games
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Dr. Scott Miscovich kept Google Maps busy.
After spending time in Eugene, Oregon this week, his itinerary includes stops in Omaha, St. Louis and then Los Angeles.
“Sometimes I don’t know where I am when I wake up,” mused Miscovich, a Hawaii-based doctor who serves as the medical director for COVID-19 testing for the US national athletics, swimming, gymnastics and rugby teams.
For Miscovich, it is clear where he will be this summer. He does not see a repeat of the previous year, when the Summer Olympics in Tokyo were postponed due to the pandemic.
“It will go on,” Miscovich said in a telephone interview. âWe’re at the point where we’re going to pick the Olympic team for the next two weeks. In my opinion, there is no chance that the Olympic Games will be canceled. “
Miscovich and his medical team have worked with Olympic leaders and community officials to create a testing program and protocols for the four sports he oversees. Around 1,500 athletes and employees were tested at the most recent athletics meeting in Eugene.
“I focus on the health of the athletes,” said Miscovich. âSo far I can tell you that we are proud of the US athletes. We didn’t have anyone in any of the sports who was eliminated in the final due to COVID.
Miscovich said some teams are fully vaccinated and some “are much lower”.
Miscovich has become one of the nation’s leading companies in dealing with the coronavirus. His clinic in Kaneohe is considered the first pop-up test site. As COVID medical director for the Southeastern Conference, Miscovich wrote and designed the league’s return to sport program. Of the 15 major SEC sports, all athletes had less than 1% positivity. Miscovich has served as an advisor to the NHL and NFL. Miscovich’s team also works with Disney Studios. During the height of the pandemic, Miscovich’s team numbered around 2,000, with bases in 21 states.
Miscovich, who consults frequently with infectious disease experts across the country, agrees that there are parts of the country, particularly in the south, where low vaccination rates could make people more susceptible to infection.
“Most of us expect that with the new Delta variant and the way the disease is starting to show a little seasonality, there will be a second wave of COVID,” Miscovich said. âBetween the delta variant and the low vaccination rates, we expect September to be a small spike by the end of the year (in those pockets). We have to keep testing these athletes. “
NFL.com reported that 16 of the 32 NFL teams have 51 or more vaccinated players. The squads in the off-season are exhausted to 90, during the season 53 are on the active list.
“If you don’t get vaccinated, you are at increased risk of the disease because the new variances are much more contagious,” Miscovich said. âDo I think the NFL will have a full season? In any case, I think they will have a full season. Will there possibly be players who will be taken out due to COVID? Yes, it will likely depend on what happens to the team. Some teams can be more infected than others. But yes, I believe that the new (sports) seasons in autumn and winter, I believe, will all be successful. “
Miscovich, who grew up in Pittsburgh, was a paramedic and paramedic before going to medical school. He trained and studied at Cornell, Harvard and Yale. In 1988 he signed a one-year contract to work in the Tripler and Schofield emergency rooms. “I came here and loved it,” said Miscovich.
He received additional training in understanding chemical weapons and quarantines. He was involved in global crisis programs. He also earned a fellowship in wilderness medicine. At the beginning of the pandemic, military doctors who were former colleagues asked Miscovich to serve as COVID director. Miscovich met with experts at the national level, which led to his work at the SEC.
Miscovich said he researched countries with massive infections early on and then implemented programs to control the spread. He said he had spoken to several medical authorities in these countries. “You just had to study the disease and its development further and speak to the experts,” said Miscovich, who often spent up to six hours a day examining the virus. He has been working every day since March 2000.
There are reports in the next three months that the Delta variant is likely to be the predominant strain of the corona virus in this country.
“We have to be prepared for this,” said Miscovich. âThe evidence for this disease and the book has already been written. You just have to know which page to turn. “
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