Congressman Gregory F. Murphy, MD, presented “COVID-19 Updates” for the Grand Rounds in Urology audience in September 2021.
How to cite: Murphy, Gregory F. “COVID-19 Updates with Congressman Greg Murphy, MD.” October 2021. Accessed Jul 2024. https://grandroundsinurology.com/covid-19-updates-with-congressman-greg-murphy-md/
COVID-19 Updates with Congressman Greg Murphy, MD
Congressman Gregory F. Murphy, MD, a practicing urologist and the Representative from North Carolina’s 3rd District, considers how the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting medical institutions, particularly focusing on vaccine mandates. After an introduction from E. David Crawford, MD, Editor-in-Chief of Grand Rounds in Urology and Professor of Urology at the University of California, San Diego, Rep. Murphy notes that COVID fatigue has now transformed into COVID exasperation. He recommends, as most physicians do, that everyone eligible gets vaccinated, observing that the vast majority of people in the ICU with COVID-19 are unvaccinated. Rep. Murphy suggests that vaccine mandates are a more complicated issue, explaining that now that deadlines have passed for staff to get vaccinated at hospitals, many institutions are having to let nurses and other integral staff go due to their beliefs. He also poses the questions of whether or not vaccination will be required on an annual basis and of whether acquired immunity from having had COVID-19 could be considered equivalent to vaccination. Rep. Murphy then briefly considers possible new treatments for COVID-19, noting that although there are several pre-existing drugs on the market that have shown promise for COVID, there is not a profit incentive for these to be tested in COVID trials. The conversation concludes with a brief discussion of current government funding issues related to the debt ceiling, the infrastructure bill, and the reconciliation package.
For more on legislation affecting the medical field from GRU, check out Congressman Greg Murphy, MD, on the Urologist Shortage.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Originally from Raleigh, Congressman Greg Murphy graduated magna cum laude from Davidson College in 1985. He attended UNC School of Medicine graduating with Honors. After completing his residency in Urology and Renal Transplantation at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, he and his wife, Wendy, settled in Greenville, NC to begin his practice. Dr. Murphy has been the President of Eastern Urological Associates in Greenville, an Affiliate Professor and Chief of the Division of Urology at the ECU School of Medicine, Davidson College’s Alumni President and served on Davidson’s Board of Trustees. Outside of work, he has traveled extensively for the last 35 years as a Medical Missionary, including to India, several parts of Africa, Nicaragua, and Haiti.
Dr. Murphy’s professional career has been primarily one of clinical practice and administrative leadership positions. His surgical practice site is Vidant Medical Center, which serves 29 eastern NC counties. He served for three years as Chief of Staff of the Medical Center.
As a newcomer to politics, Dr. Murphy served in the North Carolina House of Representatives from 2015 to 2019. During his second term in the General Assembly, he served as Senior Chair of Health Policy and Chair of Health and Human Services Appropriations. Dr. Murphy was the Primary Sponsor of both the STOP Act and the HOPE Act, North Carolina’s two main legislative actions to combat the Opioid Crisis. He led efforts to combat waste, fraud, and abuse in the state’s Medicaid system which saved the state hundreds of millions of dollars during his tenure.
Dr. Murphy was sworn in to the U.S. Representatives in September 2019, replacing the late Congressman Walter B Jones, Jr. He serves on the House Committee on Education and Labor as well as the House Veterans Affairs Committee.
