NIAID Director Anthony Fauci told CBS News On Thursday, he is “very” worried about a post-COVID mental health pandemic.
Why does it matter: Three out of four U.S. adults have reported high levels of pandemic stress, while one in four essential workers has been diagnosed with a mental health disorder since the onset of the public health crisis, according to a survey by the American Psychological Association ( APA) held at the end of February.
- Two out of three Americans said they slept “more or less than they wanted since the pandemic began,” while nearly one in four reported consuming more alcohol to cope with stress.
- Black Americans were most likely to report “worries about the future,” according to the APA.
What it says: “This is why I want to have the virological aspect of this pandemic behind me, because the long-term ravages of this phenomenon are so multifaceted,” Fauci said when asked if he was concerned about a post-COVID mental health pandemic. .
- Fauci said that these “ravages” include the economic and mental health effects, as well as the “prolonged symptoms” that some people who have had COVID-19 continue to experience.
- He added that he hoped the United States would not see an increase “in some preventable situations” because many people had “postponed the routine types of medical examinations they would normally have done.”
Methodologies: The March 2021 APA Survey on Stress in America was conducted online by Harris Poll on February 19-24 among 3,013 adults aged 18 and over living in the United States. The interviews were conducted in English and Spanish.