Dr. John Tabacco '01 MD, MPH, CAQSM, a physician at PMA Health Sports Medicine and Internal Medicine, was featured in The Washington Post's article "With games on hold, sports doctors and trainers are joining the coronavirus treatment effort" on April 7.
Dr. Tabacco is a member of the NFL Physician Society and is board certified in both Sports Medicine and Internal Medicine and treats all manners of athletic health from joint pain to asthma. Dr. Tabacco is a team physician for Georgetown Prep and George Washington University athletics.
Georgetown Prep caught up Dr. Tabacco last Thursday to discuss his experiences with COVID-19 these past few weeks:
It is hectic and unsettling seeing the numbers of COVID-19 growing, however, the vast majority of people are going home and getting well. What we are trying to communicate is that the most at risk need to be very closely watched, the chronically ill being the highest risk among them that is the diabetics, those with heart disease, kidney disease, heart failure. We implemented a program where we are doing virtual health to check in with these people check their sugars with them on the line, tighten their glucose control for example which will reduce their risk of having a bad outcome should COVID-19 arise. As the medical director of George Washington University athletics, I played a role in the decision to stop competition of 15 Division 1 sports prior to the closing of the school. I think there are a lot of positive things on the horizon, from plasma therapy of those infected being used to "passively immunize" the non-sick, treatments I think are also holding a lot of promise.
At home, I am quarantined to sleep in the side bedroom, and try to wear a mask around my kids. I basically consider myself an asymptomatic carrier. I do remain optimistic that we are getting ahead of this thing. Numbers are growing however whenever you see a virus diffuse into a community over time that is beneficial on a personal level as well as an infrastructure level which is the opposite of what happened in New York City.
Thank you, Dr. Tabacco and all the healthcare workers on the frontlines!
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