Doctors: Focus on science, not fear when it comes to pandemic Doctors say to focus on the science of the pandemic, not the fear. and last updated 2021-02-23 08:07:57-05 KANSAS CITY, Mo. â The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting peopleâs mental health as well as physical health, according to doctors at the University of Kansas Health System in Kansas City, Kansas. Doctor Steven Stites, the health systemâs chief medical officer, said isolation, depressions, anxiety, and loss are all mental health stressors. The pandemic and numbers associated with it are forcing many people to experience all those feelings at once.