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Virus ravages poor California county along Mexican border

CALEXICO, Calif. (AP) — Dr. Tien Vo’s last stop of the night is the home of a 35-year-old woman who has diabetes, asthma, rheumatoid arthritis and, now, the coronavirus. The virus killed her father six days earlier. The oldest of her four children, a 15-year-old boy, learned he had it that morning.

Tilted back in a reclining chair at her bedside using an oxygen device, Cynthia Reyes tells the doctor she can no longer stand up herself.

“I can’t catch my breath. It takes a long time to get to the restroom. I feel like I’m going to faint,” she says anxiously.

Vo, who exchanges text messages with Reyes every few hours and speaks with her almost daily, listens and nods.

“I’ve tried my best already, but sometimes, you know, we can’t do enough,” Vo says after leaving.

Reyes lives in California’s often-forgotten Imperial County, a farming region along the Mexican border. Until recently, it had the state’s highest coronavirus infection rate and its two hospitals were overwhelmed. The county is largely Latino and low income, groups that have suffered disproportionately from the virus.

Vo is “a rock star” for bringing medical services, says Alex Cardenas, a former mayor of El Centro, the county seat. The doctor’s two clinics have done more than 27,000 coronavirus tests since March 23, with a positive rate between 25% and 30%.

Vo and his wife, a nurse, emigrated from Vietnam as teenagers. They drifted west from New York to settle 10 years ago in Imperial County, which produces a major share of vegetables in U.S. supermarkets during the winter.

Vo, 43, says he stayed because people are friendly and appreciative. He sees happiness in their eyes when they greet him.

“They really need a doctor here,” he says from the front seat of a company van between house calls. “They’re not very hard to please. They chat with me. They text me every day.”

To date, Imperial County has had more than 5,200 cases for every 100,000 people, nearly triple that of hard-hit Los Angeles County, the nation’s largest county. Nearly 20% of Imperial patients have tested positive, compared with 6.3% statewide.

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My experience was Superb! Everything was Perfect, first office in the area that has been absolutely Amazing and truly care for patients. Dr. Vo is Excellent!

Patient:  M. Ortega

VERY SATISFIED IT TOOK 20min FROM REGISTRATION TO THE TIME I RECEIVED RESULTS, I WAS VERY HAPPY! WOULD GO BACK AGAIN

Patient: D.Mazas

On behalf of Me and my entire family I would like to thank VMC for all their help”. Also a huge thank you for stepping up to help the community. I was extremely impressed

Patient: J. Beltran

Everything was great and I really liked the open schedule and weekend availability. Thank you for your service during this time

Patient J.David

WAS HAPPY WITH EVERYTHING!

Patient : S.Garcia