Dr. Drew Pinsky issued a mea culpa Saturday on Periscope for comparing the coronavirus to the flu. His apology came after a video that showed him downplaying the deadly virus went viral. The doctor appeared on Fox News to talk about the pandemic and blamed the media for causing hysteria. Now he’s backpedaling on his earlier comments after he said he’s facing backlash and death threats.

“My early comments about equating 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. I wish I got it right but I got it wrong,” he said.

“What I did not get wrong was every time I took a position I said to make sure you listen to Dr. Fauci because he is the person we must look to. He was my guiding star during the AIDS epidemic and he should be your North Star now,” Pinsky said, referring to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. “I said that every time I took a position.”

Previously Pinsky Told People Not to Panic

Pinsky said the media’s reporting of coronavirus was “reprehensible” during an interview with the Washington Examiner’s podcast “Examining Politics.” He advised people to look to Fauci for guidance and told them not to worry about the pandemic.

“Do what he tells you and go about your business. That’s the story. Do not be alarmed by the word ‘pandemic,’” he said.

Pinsky said smokers over 50 and people over 75 should be worried. “The rest of us? Go about your business,” he said. “Wash your hands, get your flu shot. That should be the story. Because you are way more likely, orders of magnitude, more likely to die of the flu than the coronavirus.”

Pinsky blamed the press. “What I have a problem with is the panic and the fact that businesses are getting destroyed, that people’s lives are being upended, not by the virus, but by the panic,” Pinsky said during a March 11 interview with CBS. “The panic must stop. And the press, they really somehow need to be held accountable because they are hurting people.”

He had a similar message when he appeared on Fox & Friends on March 6. “Look, the WHO has said there’s about a three percent fatality rate on this virus and every time they say that they always qualify it and say we expect it to drop a lot once we understand the full extent of the virus … It’s among us. This is a flu season, everybody. There are 18,000 deaths from the flu,” Pinsky said.

“Why aren’t we worried about that?” he continued. “Why isn’t the message: get your flu shot? You’re much more likely to die of the flu than the coronavirus.”

The CDC Recommends Wearing Masks

According to Johns Hopkins University, the number of infections in the U.S. has eclipsed 337,000, with more than 9,600 deaths. On Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that everyone wear masks in public to prevent community spread. Since medical supplies are short, the CDC recommended people save medical N95 masks for the professionals and instead advised people to cover their faces with scarves or bandanas.

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