Kate Garraway has revealed that doctors caring for her husband Derek Draper have claimed the contraceptive pill could prevent men from contracting coronavirus.
Speaking on Wednesday’s Good Morning Britain the presenter, 53, noted that medical staff flippantly stated the Pill could help to protect men from the virus by increasing the levels of oestrogen in their body.
Kate has been openly documenting her husband’s slow recovery after he was rushed to hospital with coronavirus in late March, admitting on Tuesday it’s been ‘an incredibly tough time’ for her family.
Surprising: Kate Garraway, 53, has revealed that doctors caring for her husband Derek Draper have claimed the contraceptive pill could prevent men from contracting coronavirus
It came following the publication of a study by King’s College London which revealed women who take the contraceptive pill are less likely to develop ‘serious coronavirus symptoms.’
She revealed that two doctors offering their own theories about how they could treat Derek’s illness as he remained comatose in hospital.
Kate told Ben Shephard: ‘Very early on when Derek first got sick, he was still conscious and wasn’t in the induced coma.
Tragic: The presenter claimed that when Derek (above in 2019) was still in the early stages of his battle with the virus, doctors claimed the Pill could help prevent men contracting COVID-19
‘I was talking to anyone I could about what could be done to help. This was pre the trials of some of the thing we’ve seen used like steroids.
‘After I asked ”what would you do right now if you could before the trials”, one doctor said to me at St Thomas’s and one elsewhere, they both said, almost flippantly, they’d put the nation – including men – on the contraceptive pill.
‘What we’re seeing statistically, is that actually women seem to be less affected.
‘They both said there must be some connection between oestrogen that’s good in tackling this virus and testosterone that’s not so good.’
Unusual: The revelation came following the publication of a study by King’s College London revealing women on the Pill were less likely to develop ‘serious coronavirus symptoms’
Kate also put the findings to GMB’s guest GP Dr Amir Khan, who insisted that doctors wouldn’t recommend placing male patients on the Pill until they’ve seen ‘more evidence.’
Since her husband was hospitalised with COVID-19 in March, Kate has been incredible open about her husband’s slow recovery.
On Tuesday she revealed she has been contacted by parents of teenagers across the country, worried about their children’s mental health amid the pandemic.
Kate said: ‘I think for lots of young people, this has been an incredibly tough time.’
Family: It comes after Kate admitted she has been contacted by parents, worried about their children’s mental health amid the pandemic (pictured with her children Billy, 11, and Darcey, 14
‘They are responsible. For some youngsters, you do feel like you want them to relax a little bit more,’ she added.
‘I’ve had lots of people contact me saying, ‘My teenager is now terrified to go out.’ It’s a balance, isn’t it, that’s very hard to strike.’
On Monday’s GMB, Kate revealed how her two children have gone on their first family visit during the pandemic.
Kate explained her children have gone to stay with Derek’s parents this week, but admitted she has taken precautions as her in-laws have been shielding since March.
Tough: The presenter admitted it has been ‘an incredibly tough time’ for her own children
‘My children have gone for the first time to stay away from home – they’ve gone to stay with Derek’s mum and dad,’ she said. ‘Derek’s mum and dad have been shielding since the beginning of March because they both feel vulnerable.’
‘So this was a very big deal for them to have the children to stay, and also very important because they haven’t seen their grandchildren in a while. Very important for Billie and Darcey because they haven’t seen their grandparents as well.’
She added that her children isolated over several days before they went to visit and she washed and sealed Darcey and Billy’s clothes before they travelled on Sunday.
Kate explained that she didn’t want to travel with the children to their grandparents as she wanted to limit the people her in-laws have had contact with, so her friend Jeremy Kyle stepped in.
Advice: ‘I’ve had lots of people contact me saying, ‘My teenager is now terrified to go out.’ It’s a balance, isn’t it, that’s very hard to strike,’ Kate told her co-host Ben Shephard
‘It was thanks to Jeremy Kyle that they travelled up – big thanks to him. Because he said, ‘Listen, my driver has been isolating and has been keeping the car very clean so I’ll take the children up.’ Very, very kind of him, thank you very much Jeremy.’
Last week Kate revealed she paid an ‘extra emotional’ first visit to Derek, as he continues to slowly recover from COVID-19.
The Good Morning Britain presenter, 53, also told Ben Shephard that it was ‘lovely’ to see her partner as (28 July) was his 53rd birthday, but she continues to be ‘frustrated’ by his slow progress.
Kate told Ben: ‘I did go and see Derek, he’s had a tough couple of weeks, and it’s just frustrating, it would have actually been his birthday today so I was extra emotional so I was thinking about the day he was born.
She added: ‘What the doctor said to me was, ‘Sometimes, Kate, a day when nothing has gone backwards is a positive’.’
As Ben agreed that Derek had ‘a stable day,’ Kate added: ‘It’s just I’m desperate for a step forward. It’s always lovely to see him and so it’s wonderful to have the chance to see him.’
The presenter has been unable to visit her husband Derek due to strict measures in place in hospitals around the country during the coronavirus crisis, and has instead been ‘seeing him’ over FaceTime.
Last Monday, Kate also spoke about the ‘utterly terrifying’ moment her tyre blew while she was driving with her family over the weekend.
The Good Morning Britain presenter was left shaken following the incident, which occurred as she hurried back to see ailing husband Derek.
Speaking to co-host Ben, Kate said: ‘We were rushing back because we were conscious of getting back to London to check on Derek, and my mum and dad were coming for their first visit.
‘You know people say God and the universe doesn’t send you what you can’t deal with. I would like to put a message out, I am at my limit, I am at my absolute limit now. If the universe could just give me a calm Monday!’
Terrifying: Last Monday, Kate also spoke about the ‘utterly terrifying’ moment her tyre blew while she was driving with her family
Referring to the accident, which happened while children Darcey, 14, and Billy, 11, were in the car, she added: ‘It was the first time that I had been out with the kids in the car…
‘Leaving London, going to meet some friends in Kent, in a socially distanced way at lovely Port Lympne Safari Park.
‘On the way back we suddenly exploded. It’s that moment where you think ”I can’t control the car.’
‘All weird steering, bits of rubber flying everywhere. I don’t know if it was smoke but looked like smoke – it could be burning rubber.
Touching: Derek has credited Kate for saving him from depression which started during his career as a political advisor and led to a nervous breakdown (pictured in 2006)
‘I managed to pull over but it just happened to be on the section of the motorway where there wasn’t a hard shoulder, there was a feeder road going off so I was nervous about people going on the inside.’
Kate later admitted she had chosen to stay close to London for the sake of Derek, who remains in a critical condition at a local hospital.
She said: ‘We’ve been talking about travel plans all morning and the problems people are facing going to Spain and having to quarantine, but I made baby steps.
‘This was the first time I was taking the kids out of London. Obviously wanting to stay local to Derek and taking it step by step.’