Hawaii-based doctor Scott Miscovich on dizzying pace during a run-up to Olympics
Jun. 17—Dr. Scott Miscovich's work schedule has kept Google Maps busy.
After spending time in Eugene, Ore., this week, his travel itinerary calls for 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 physician who is serving as medical director for COVID-19 testing for the U.S. national teams in track and field, swimming, gymnastics and rugby.
For Miscovich, the certainty is where he will be this summer. He does not envision a repeat of last year, when the Summer Olympics in Tokyo was postponed because of the pandemic.
"It will go on, " Miscovich said in a telephone interview. "We're at the point where we're selecting the Olympic team the next two weeks. In my mind, there's no chance the Olympics will be canceled."
Miscovich and his medical team have worked with Olympic leaders and community officials in creating a testing program and protocols for the four sports he oversees. At the recent track and field meet in Eugene, there were about 1, 500 athletes and staff tested.
"I'm focusing on the health of the athletes, " Miscovich said. "So far, I can tell you we're proud of the U.S. athletes. We haven't had anyone who's in the finals eliminated due to COVID in any of the sports."
Miscovich said some teams are fully vaccinated and some "are coming in a lot lower."
Miscovich has emerged as one of the nation's leaders in dealing with the coronavirus. His clinic in Kaneohe is widely credited as the first pop-up testing site. As COVID medical director for the Southeastern Conference, Miscovich wrote and designed the league's return-to-sports program. Of the 15 major SEC sports, there was sub-1 % positivity of all athletes. Miscovich has served as consultant for the NHL and NFL. Miscovich's team also is working with Disney Studios. During the height of the pandemic, Miscovich's team numbered about 2, 000, with bases in 21 states.
Miscovich, who consults frequently with infectious-disease experts across the country, agrees there are pockets of the country, particularly in the South, where low vaccination rates could lead to greater susceptibility to infection.
"Most of us expect there will be a second wave of COVID with the new Delta variant and the way the disease is starting to show a little bit of seasonality, " Miscovich said. "Between the Delta variant and the low vaccination rates, we're expecting the September through the end of the year could be a little bit of a surge (in those pockets ). We'll have to continue to test those athletes."
NFL.com reported that 16 of the 32 NFL teams have 51 or more players vaccinated. Offseason rosters are maxed at 90, with 53 on the active roster during the season.
"If you're not getting vaccinated, you're going to have increased risk of the disease because the new variances are much more contagious, " Miscovich said. "Do I believe the NFL will have a full season ? Absolutely, I think they're going to have a full season. Will there be players possibly taken out due to COVID ? Yes, there probably will be depending on what happens with the team. Some teams may be infected more than others. But, yeah, there's no doubt I believe the new (sports ) seasons coming for the fall and winter, I think, are all going to go off successfully."
Miscovich, who grew up in Pittsburgh, was an EMT and paramedic before attending 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 got here, and loved it, " Miscovich said.
He received additional training in understanding chemical weapons and quarantines. He became involved in world-crisis programs. He also earned a fellowship in wilderness medicine. At the start of the pandemic, military doctors who were former colleagues asked Miscovich to serve as COVID director. Miscovich met with experts nationally, leading to his work with the SEC.
Miscovich said he studied countries that had massive amounts of infections early and then implemented programs to control the spread. He said he spoke with several of those countries' medical authorities. "You just had to keep studying the disease and as it evolved, and talking to the experts, " said Miscovich, who often spent up to six hours a day studying the virus. He has worked every day since March 2000.
There are reports in the next three months, the Delta variant likely will be the predominant strain of the coronavirus in this country, "We have to be prepared for it, " Miscovich said. "The evidence of this disease and the book have already been written. You just have to know which page to turn."
