Surgeon General Vivek Murthy dreams of dunking a basketball on a regulation rim; and admits to be working on his vertical to make this dream a reality. But if that is not achieved, the dream to be able to teleport comes a close second. “You know, there are a lot of places in the world I would love to see. There are lot of friends I have spread out across the country that I would love to see as well. And to be able to reduce transit time and see them on the flip of a switch would be fantastic,” he said at a recent White House Q & A.
At 37, Murthy is now one of the youngest American, and the first Indian-American, to serve as the Surgeon General of the United States. In the Feb. 24 Q& A with Tanya Somanader, deputy director of Digital Content for the Office of Digital Strategy, Murthy discussed his work, community health, measles and his family.
Speaking about his priorities at the Surgeon General, Murthy said his office is working on making sure the all sectors of the population get the best possible information about health using modern technology and modern approaches.
He reminded Americans to stay active to ensure a healthier life. “We have in our workplaces, in our homes, we have many reasons to be inactive, and so sometimes it’s a challenge to make sure that we’re moving. But making sure that we’re moving – whether that’s taking time to work out in the gym, or whether that’s making the choice to take the stairs or to walk to work whenever you can – those are important choices because that activity adds up,” he said.
Talking about the difference between public health and personal health, Murthy said public health is about the health of a community, it’s about the health of the nation. And while it’s important for individuals to take care of their own health, Murthy said we also need to make sure that we are doing our part to lift up each other, making sure that, as a community and as a country, we are becoming healthier and stronger. “Public health is about making sure that we’re giving everyone the best possible chance at health,” he said.
According to Murthy one of the most important thing an individual can do to ensure that the country is getting healthier, is protecting themselves, not only from illness but also protecting other people from getting sick, he said, urging everyone to protect themselves against measles by getting vaccinated.
“The good news about measles is that while it is one of the most contagious illnesses that we know about, and while it can have serious consequences – like pneumonia, inflammation of the brain, and even death – it is an illness that can be prevented with the vaccine,” he noted, adding that the vaccine is safe and effective.
He credited his parents for inspiring him to pursue an interest in medicine and said they were the most interesting people he has even met. His father’s a primary care doctor and his mother helped set up and run his office, he said. “And as a kid, I spent a lot of time in my dad’s office and got to see how he and my mother worked really hard to take care of patients, but also build these wonderful relationships with them over time. I found those relationships to be really inspiring and I wanted to do something like that when I grew up – and that’s one of the reasons I went into medicine.”