Dr. Drew Pinsky, 61, is now saying he “got it wrong”, after previously comparing the Coronavirus to the flu. “My early comments about equating coronavirus with influenza were wrong. They were incorrect. I was part of a chorus that was saying that. And we were wrong. And I want to apologize for that,” Dr. Drew said in a Periscope video shared to his Twitter on April 4. “I wish I had gotten it right, but I got it wrong.”
Dr. Drew Pinsky faced backlash on Saturday for a video — dating back to early February — that showed him downplaying the coronavirus. In the clip, which many fans criticized online, he called the coronavirus a “press induced panic”. He also said that COVID-19 was far less dangerous than the flu, and your chances of dying from it are lower than being “hit by an asteroid.” Pinsky explained that the reason why he got it wrong was because he was only looking at numbers and not the severity of the illness. He now recommends that anyone looking for information about the virus, should listen to the CDC’s Dr. Anthony Fauci.
#DoseOfDrDrew 4/4/2020 https://t.co/KtAozL0HQa
— Dr Drew (@drdrew) April 4, 2020
“I did not, thank goodness, get Dr. Fauci wrong, and when he made it clear that this was not a usual influenza, that it was significantly worse, I adjusted course. And if you notice, I’ve been doing about two hours of media today backing, changing my perspective in such a way to sign on for the aggressive measures we are taking,” Pinsky continued in his video.
“What I also said was follow the CDC’s recommendation; follow Dr. Fauci’s recommendation. They will keep us safe. And I thought that when the government started taking more aggressive measures, we should all sign on. We have a collective responsibility to do so. I’m doing what I’m supposed to do. I wear a mask outside now. And it’s paid dividends. It is improving. It is flattening the curve. And I’m delighted to be a part of that. I’m glad to be a part of that,” he added.
Dr. Drew Pinsky finished by saying he has signed up to work with the New York and Los Angeles Health Corps to work with first responders. He said, “My heart and soul is with New York City, which is where I spend a lot of my time, and I will find a way back there if they need me. If they need me on the front line, I will go”.