Physicians and Duty During a Pandemic: A Response

After reading Dr. Alpert’s commentary, we suspect art inspires life but not consistently with historical fact.1 Duty to serve, a hallmark of professional medicine, is not always exhibited during pandemics. The perception is that physicians provided care to others without personal regard in pandemics. Yet, Camus’s physician did not view himself as heroic. Rieux stated “there is no question of heroism in all this. It’s a matter of common decency” and it was about “giving people a chance,” trying to alleviate suffering (p.