We Must Fix US Health and Public Health Policy
Thomas R. Frieden, Rahul Rajkumar, Farzad Mostashari
Abstract
Despite a history of public health progress and the most expensive health care system in the world, the United States failed in its initial response to COVID-19. Much of this failure resulted from a presidential administration that sidelined, undermined, and maligned public health. But the roots of failure are deeper. Recovering from the pandemic and building health and public health back better will require recognizing the roots of failure and working persistently to achieve the progress that the country needs-especially among the most underserved communities. This must begin with recognizing the shortcomings in the US health system response to the pandemic, but the multiple overlapping failures laid bare by this crisis demonstrate the need for a systemic, multifaceted, sustained approach to reform that goes beyond pandemic preparedness. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print January 28, 2021: e1-e5. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2020.306125).