By: Harold Wimmer, National President and CEO of American Lung Association; 

Defeating this pandemic, together

– The new face of lung disease is the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), resulting in a pandemic that has transformed life as we know it. The disease continues to spread and has already sickened more than a million Americans and taken more Americans’ lives in under three months than lost in nearly two decades of the Vietnam War.

The situation is serious, but if we come together as a nation, we can save more lives. This will mean fully embracing public health guidance from local public health officials and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and investing in research to combat both COVID-19 and future respiratory virus outbreaks. I know we can come together to defeat this pandemic because we’ve done it before.

Just as the American Lung Association has successfully guided the nation through many public health crises that targeted the lungs, such as tuberculosis, the 1918 Flu Pandemic, H1N1, MERS and SARS, we will use our proven model of education, advocacy and research to ensure our nation can successfully face today’s pandemic, protecting lung health from the ravages of COVID-19 and saving as many lives as possible.

Anyone who breathes is at risk of contracting COVID-19, but some Americans are at higher risk for experiencing more severe complications from this disease. Those that fall under this category include the more than 36 million people in the U.S. living with lung disease such as asthma and COPD, as well as older adults and those who are immunocompromised, living with diabetes or liver disease. Also of note, the CDC found black people were disproportionately hospitalized as a result of COVID-19, and both Hispanic and black people had a substantially higher death rate than white or Asian people.

Efforts to slow the spread of the disease is critical to both protect these individuals from contracting COVID-19 and to ensure that hospitals have the capacity to care for those with COVID-19 or other chronic conditions. Aside from this, the Lung Association encourages those with chronic lung diseases like asthma and COPD to work with their healthcare provider to control their symptoms in an effort to reduce the risk of a flare-up that results in an ER visit or hospitalization. Considering options such as telehealth is an important consideration for patients, and communication with your healthcare provider is key.

To support all Americans, including those with lung disease, the American Lung Association is sharing science-based information, resources and support through Lung.org/covid19, the Lung Helpline (1-800-LUNGUSA) – staffed with respiratory experts – as well as investments in early COVID-19 research.

The Lung Association is taking action with a $25 million initiative to end COVID-19 and defend against future respiratory virus pandemics. The COVID-19 Action Initiative will be used to expand the Lung Association’s ongoing respiratory research program, enhance key public health measures and establish an advanced network to stop future respiratory virus pandemics.

We are committed to making this investment. However, we can’t do this alone. Our organization was founded by citizens concerned about the public health threat of the day – tuberculosis. Those citizens came together to raise funding for critical research and they ultimately defeated the tuberculosis epidemic in the U.S. Today, we’re asking everyone to come together again to address COVID-19 and future respiratory viruses by supporting the COVID-19 Action Initiative.

With the support and donations of generous Americans, we can stand together and face the challenges to lung health of today and tomorrow. As long as anyone struggles to breathe freely, the American Lung Association will be there to advance our mission with expertise and by taking bold actions to realize our vision of a world free of lung disease.