Dr. Drew Pinsky has called for the media to be held accountable for what he sees as perpetrating panic over the outbreak of COVID-19.
In an interview with CBS Local’s DJ Sixsmith about the situation, Pinsky had this to say, “The panic must stop. And the press, they really somehow need to be held accountable because they are hurting people.”
In the interview, Pinksy compares the coronavirus to the flu: “A bad flu season is 80,000 dead, we’ve got about 18,000 dead from influenza this year, we have a hundred from corona.” He goes on to talk about how he is a fan of the behaviors and efforts being made to stop the spread, citing a higher focus on cleaning public places, but is a stark opponent of the panic that, in his eyes, is why “businesses are getting destroyed that people’s lives are being upended…”
He says that the issue was needing to get people’s attention and telling them about the virus, and the media’s efforts to do that were to induce panic. He does say that the fatality rate will most likely be higher than the flu, but still not that high of a rate. As of now, the rate is at 3.4%, but with the inevitable high amount of unconfirmed cases, that could go up.
We don’t think there is any arguing with his point that there is quite a bit of panic around the world right now, and the media does have a role to play in it. While many people could see Pinsky’s opinions and comments as downplaying the severity of the situation, we do believe that he is simply trying to bring rationale back into the equation.
Remember, the recovery rate for the virus is incredibly high, it will run its course, and we will be fine. But please, be smart, be safe, wash your hands, and practice good hygiene.
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