Audiences got a whiff of Stahl's eye problem when promotional material of the groundbreaking interview began circulating before the weekend. Heavy says that the teasers which were shared on social media from the show already showed Stahl with her eye issue. Heavy had apparently reached out to CBS to ask about it, but no answers were provided before the show went to air on Sunday night. But the site says it is likely that the veteran anchor might have hurt a tiny blood vessel in her eye, causing it to bleed, and that the problem would likely clear up in a few days.
The condition, which Mayo Clinic identified as a "subconjunctival hemorrhage," can be triggered by anything, from straining, vomiting, a powerful sneeze or a powerful cough. A person can also pop a blood vessel by rubbing his or her eye, or through trauma — and by that the Mayo Clinic also means dealing with a foreign object (which could be a speck) landing in your eye.
We can see why Leslie Stahl's eye caused concern and chatter among viewers. During the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, doctors had called out pinkeye or conjunctivitis as a coronavirus symptom. That symptom is only expected to occur in between 1 to 3 percent of COVID-19 cases (via WebMD).
