U.S. Jewish Doctor Describes Treating A COVID-19 Patient Who Had Swastika Tattoos Covering His Body: ‘I Had Never Felt Quite So Challenged In That Way In My Compassion Before’

A U.S. Jewish doctor tweets about his experience treating a COVID-19 patient who had neo-Nazi tattoos. 

Chile, it’s sad we live in a country where racism, bigotry, and hate are embedded in the creation of the United States, our home, and that we’re still seeing the effects of that today. In California, a Jewish doctor says he was shocked when he saw neo-Nazi tattoos on a severely ill man while treating him. Alongside the Jewish doctor helping him prep, the man was his Black nurse and respiratory specialist who is of Asian descent, Yahoo! News reports.

“The swastika stood out boldly on his chest. SS tattoos and other insignia that had previously been covered by his shirt were now obvious to the room,” the doctor, Taylor Nichols tweeted on Monday. Nichols was later interviewed about his experience by several media outlets. “We all saw. The symbols of hate on his body outwardly and proudly announced his views. We all knew what he thought of us. How he valued our lives,” said Nichols. 

Nichols opened up about how trying to process the emotions he felt after the situation. He also discussed the challenge of fighting the disease in his patients, seeing some patients die and having to live in isolation, so that does not infect his own family. He says the concern of possibly catching the virus was also on his mind constantly. 

I run through the meds and plan with the nurse and RT. I pause. I see the SS tattoo and think about what he might think about having Jewish physician taking care of him now, or how much he would have cared about my life if the roles were reversed. 16/

— Taylor Nichols, MD (@tnicholsmd) November 30, 2020

“Unfortunately, society has proven unwilling to listen to the science or to our pleas. Begging for people to take this seriously, to stay home, wear a mask, to be the break in the chain of transmission,” he said.

The man who had the tat was described as being older, larger with teeth lost from years of methamphetamine use. Nichols said the man begged for his life. “Don’t let me die, doc,” he said, according to Nichols. “I reassured him that we were all going to work hard to take care of him and keep him alive as best as we could,” Nichols said he told the man, adding that he wonders what the man would have done to him if the tables were turned.

“For the first time, I recognize that I hesitated, ambivalent. The pandemic has worn on me,” he said. “And I realize that maybe I’m not ok,” he said, bringing the tweet thread to a close. He said that after seeing the tattoos, he “didn’t feel compassion” for the man “in that moment.” While he isn’t sure if the man has died or not, he confirmed that he did everything in his power to keep him alive.