Vernoff said she believes that the writers have risen to the occasion, and next season will be able to “honor the heroes on the front lines, and provide some escapism and some romance and some laughs.”
For those of us who are feeling the pandemic fatigue, the most devastating aspects of coronavirus will not be the focus of every story.
“There’s a lot of story to tell that is sort of COVID-related, but not about death and despair,” Vernoff said. “It’s pervasive, because it’s pervasive. I don’t know a person who works in the medical world who isn’t affected.”
However, Vernoff also explained that she had a friend who is a surgical nurse and currently is not working, because elective or non-emergency surgeries have largely been put on pause.
“Our show is a surgical show. There are a lot of surgeries that aren’t happening or are simply being delayed or postponed,” Vernoff said. “There are also a lot of medical stories to be told about the fact that death has increased in this country, particularly because people were afraid to go to the doctor and afraid to go to the hospital.”