How could the American Lung Association's advice help to improve responses to the pandemic?
Our advice can help improve responses on an individual basis. The patient's recognition of symptoms, early identification, and communication with healthcare providers rather than simply relying on a low oxygen level as a first indication is what is important.
I think that putting out more information about the true nature and number of symptoms that occur is the best way to ensure rapid communication with healthcare providers and the identification of hypoxemia. This allows the decision as to whether a patient is mild or moderate, and whether they need to be hospitalized or could manage at home.
We are aiming to give more information to help the public make an informed decision that is better for them. This is more useful than basing everything on a headline that says, "Hypoxemia occurs in COVID-19." It might do, but it does not occur in everybody, and when it occurs, it could be a later sign of the disease rather than an early sign of the disease.