Health & Beauty March 17, 2020
Dr. Drew’s Take on Coronavirus: ‘I’ve Been Concerned About the Panic’
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“Extra's” Billy Bush sat down with Dr. Drew Pinsky to talk all about COVID-19.
The doctor revealed what he is most commonly being asked about the coronavirus, which is gripping the nation.
He said, “What I constantly get is, 'I'm having a panic attack. I'm overcome by anxiety. How do I deal with this?'”
Pinsky went on to say, “From the beginning, I've been concerned about the panic. That's been my concern, that we've engaged in a rhetorical flare that I knew weeks ago was gonna put people on a ledge. And that concerns me.”
When Billy asked if the panic could lead to flattening the curve, Drew responded, “No, panic will help us change the behavior. But I say if we just had followed the CDC recommendations from the beginning and not filled our language with words like 'staggering' and 'dangerous' and 'pandemic' as sort of an ultimate demise of us all, we would've been much better off.”
As for what to do about the virus, Drew commented, “Stay home. Cold or flu. Stay home. If there's any question about what you have, stay home. Fluids. Nutrition. Tylenol. And that's about it.”
What about the people who have coronavirus with no symptoms? Pinsky answered, “That's good news, and a problem because those people could also infect other people.
“Let's all understand. What we're trying to do here is prevent the surge. That's really the problem,” Drew emphasized. “If we have a local surge somewhere that overwhelms a local hospital or local health care system, that's how we get into trouble… And believe me... hospitals are preparing themselves. Italy was largely caught off guard. We are not off guard. We are ready to roll if the surge comes.”
As of now, at least 85 people have died of COVID-19 with more than 4,500 confirmed cases in the U.S.
