Coronavirus Watch: Lessons from the COVID war
Americans are divided over many things, but we're pretty united in feeling that the pandemic was a disaster.
Schools closed twice as long as comparable countries, deaths were substantially higher, and our social networks and trust in others shattered. Our lives as we knew it changed forever.
This is our last edition of the Coronavirus Watch newsletter
We're so glad you joined us here for the past three years as we've brought you the latest news and updates on the pandemic. We hope you stay in touch with Paste BN through social media or other newsletters (see how below). And if you've valued the work we've done throughout the pandemic, consider supporting journalism like this by purchasing a subscription to Paste BN.
Now, back to COVID:
The COVID war
A group of more than 30 public health and public policy experts, horrified by the way the pandemic unfolded, gathered to learn lessons and avoid repeating mistakes. In a new book published this week, they lay out their "lessons from the COVID war."
Health reporter Karen Weintraub interviewed two of the authors and shares some main lessons that we should remember for the future:
- Health security is national security.
- Scientific knowledge ran far ahead of our ability to apply that knowledge.
- The U.S. met a 21st century pandemic with governmental structures built for 19th century problems.
- Our fragmented health care system was unable to adequately respond to a national emergency and we urgently need a new national health security enterprise.
- Regardless of whether the pandemic was caused by a lab leak or a natural spillover, lab security needs to be improved worldwide and wet markets and other places where people come into close contact with wild animals need better controls.
- Poor communication aggravated the breakdown of public trust and undermined efforts to combat misinformation, and finally, "we must do better next time, because there will be a next time."
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Today's newsletter was written by health reporter Karen Weintraub and editor Rachel Aretakis. Follow the latest health news at usatoday.com/news/health or on Twitter at @USATODAYhealth.