"I regularly wished aloud for a mental health version of Dr. Fauci to give daily briefings. I tried to normalize the wide range of intense emotions people felt; some thought they were truly going crazy."

Said clinical psychologist Lakeasha Sullivan, quoted in "We Asked 1,320 Therapists What They’re Hearing From Patients" (NYT). 

If there were "a mental health version of Dr. Fauci," how could he legitimately acquire the information? How bizarre would these daily briefings sound? Could we see color-coded maps of the country, with blobs of sadness and paranoia? 

But surely the pandemic is raging in the mental realm. One therapist said: "A 10-year-old boy I work with came up with ‘sad panic mode’ to describe his feeling of overwhelm. I now use this phrase with other kids, and it resonates."