Closing down public life may be responsible for as many as 80,000 cases of common cancers going undiagnosed and tens of thousands of deaths from substance abuse and suicide, according to the White House press secretary.
As debate rages over whether the White House is trying to lift coronavirus restrictions too quickly, Kayleigh McEnany said failing to reopen the country could come with severe costs.
She cited data collected by the Epic Health Research Network showing that screenings for cancers of the cervix, colon, and breast were down between 86% and 94% in March.
“The consequence of this is quite frightening,” said McEnany, who added that she had seen from a visit for her own screening — she carries the BRCA2 gene and had a preventative double mastectomy two years ago — that numbers were much reduced.
Analysis of medical claims by the IQVIA Institute for Total Data Science forecast that more than 80,000 diagnoses of common cancers would be missed from March through June.
McEnany said the president had been clear in urging people to get the treatment they needed but that the lockdown was deterring the public from using medical services.
“It’s a consequence of staying closed, though. People are scared,” she said. “They are scared to even go to their doctor, and there are consequences to that.”
She also said a hotline run by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services saw a 1,000% increase in calls during April and referenced a CNN article that quoted figures of an extra 75,000 deaths from drug or alcohol misuse and suicide.
Many people are wary of returning to work too quickly. Some administration officials said they need to do a better job of bringing along the public with plans to reopen.
McEnany’s warnings came a day after Trump made similar comments in the White House Rose Garden when he was asked whether he was moving too fast.
“Look: Safety is paramount,” he said. “But people are dying in the lockdown position, too. And everybody understands that. They’re just starting to find out. And look at what’s going on with drugs, and look at what’s happening with suicides.”
A similar issue was also raised earlier in the day when members of Trump’s coronavirus response team were quizzed by the Senate health committee.
Maine Sen. Susan Collins said dentists in her state were not being allowed to reopen despite putting in place heightened hygiene measures.
“Dentists tell me that teeth with cavities that could have been filled are now going to need root canals; teeth that could have been treated with root canals are now going to require extractions; people with oral cancers cannot get the treatment,” she said.
