'Grey's Anatomy' writers are speaking with doctors about their coronavirus experiences to address the pandemic next season

• Season 17 of "Grey's Anatomy" will address the coronavirus pandemic.
• Executive producer Krista Vernoff said the writers have been speaking with doctors about their experiences during a panel with the Television Academy.
• "It's really painful to realize what they're going through on a daily basis," said Vernoff.

Next season of "Grey's Anatomy" is going to tackle the coronavirus.

"We're going to address this pandemic, for sure," said the show's executive producer Krista Vernoff during a virtual panel with the Television Academy for the series' 17th season.

"There's no way to be a long-running medical show and not do the medical story of our lifetimes," Vernoff added.

Vernoff was joined during the panel with cast members Chandra Wilson, who plays Dr. Miranda Bailey, and Kevin McKidd, who plays Dr. Owen Hunt. Vernoff told Entertainment Weekly's Kristen Baldwin they're always listening to doctors who are coming into their writing rooms.

"Usually they're telling their worst or their funniest or their craziest stories. This year, it has felt more like therapy," said Vernoff.

"The doctors come in. We're the first people they're talking to about these types of experiences they're having," she continued. "They are literally shaking and trying not to cry. They're pale and they're talking about it as war — a war that they were not trained for."

Vernoff noted that Owen's character, who joined the series on season five after being US Army trauma surgeon, could be among the doctors taking charge because he's "trained for this in a way that most of the other doctors aren't."

"It's really painful to listen to these doctors," said Vernoff. "It's really painful to realize what they're going through on a daily basis. While we're sitting at home trying not to get sick they're having to be family and friend to their patients because family and friends aren't allowed in. They're holding people while they die. They're having to decide who lives and who dies."

"It's a lot and I feel like our show has an opportunity and a responsibility to tell some of those stories," Vernoff added.

You can watch the "Grey's Anatomy" portion of the panel begin around 31:30 below.