CASE EXERCISE 5.2: HOW DID PUBLIC HEALTH PERFORM DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC?
Give your assessment of how public health performed during the pandemic, at the levels of (1) various federal agencies (CDC, FDA, NIH, etc.) and (2) state and local health departments. You may want to review Chapter 7 Links to an external site. (COVID, Pandemic Preparedness, and What It Reflects About Our System of Health and Health Care) for this purpose.
Remember that when public health is successful, it is often invisible. Was that true for COVID-19? You will want to take the following into account:
1-Diffuse responsibility for public health
2-Rapid vaccine development
3-Speed of vaccine distribution
4-Debates over the public interest justification (e.g., social justice)
5-Balance between collective well-being and individual liberty
6-Government agency person-power and budgets
7-Public distrust of government and science
8-Changing guidance in light of new science
9-Communication with the public
10-Economic and social factors (e.g., poverty)