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... Why it matters: Key weaknesses in the country's COVID response have only become more glaring, including the politicization of public health, an understaffed health care workforce and a growing hostility to science.
The big picture: Experts say it's a matter of when, not if, the world will face another pandemic, and the next one could make the last look mild.
- - - The U.S. was caught flat-footed by the arrival of the coronavirus in early 2020 and was hit much harder than other developed nations.
- - - The intense backlash against the muddled U.S. response contributed to eroded trust in public health, setting back preparedness efforts in important areas.
- - - In a "big picture" way, the U.S. is "less prepared, because so much of this comes down to political will, public trust " public trust in government institutions, public trust in the media, public trust in one another," said Cline Gounder, a senior fellow at health policy nonprofit KFF.
Yes, but: The country's early struggles with tracking the virus, testing and supply chains, along with the rapid development of vaccines through Operation Warp Speed, yielded important lessons that ultimately have left the U.S. better off, said former Biden administration COVID response coordinator Ashish Jha ...
