We Need a National Mental Health Response to Coronavirus
The mental health fallout of Covid-19 will be huge for health workers and all Americans
The greatest coronavirus-related risk America faces right now is from the virus itself, and the deadly disease it causes, Covid-19. There’s no drug or vaccine, the United States has a shortage of ventilators, and there’s not enough protective gear for health workers, putting those tasked with caring for the sick at the highest risk for infection.
But after a vaccine is developed, or cases are treated and isolated so that further spread can be contained, there will be lingering and persistent mental strain and trauma among those who survive.
Even people who aren’t sick will have been isolated in their homes for months at a time. Millions have lost their jobs. While the final death toll will be determined by the effectiveness of the response, the White House recently estimated it’s somewhere between 100,000 to 240,000 Americans (some projections are now lower). Most estimates are still projecting the pandemic could claim more American lives than the Vietnam War. Many of these deaths will happen in hospital rooms where loved ones are barred from entry and doctors’ faces are (rightfully) hidden behind masks and face shields.
