 |
| Dr. William Stewart Source: The New Yorker |
“It is time to close the book on infectious diseases, and declare the war against pestilence won, ” infamously attributed to the United States Surgeon General, Dr. William H. Stewart (1965-1969).
With the current COVID-19 pandemic, this seems more preposterous than ever.
But is this attribution true?
Check out this publication, one in which the researchers undertook a comprehensive search of multiple databases across the medical literature, news articles, and congressional records to attempt to identify sources for the quote.
No source for this quote was identified.
Perhaps it is time to exonerate Dr. Stewart.
