How Public Health Failed America

Even though Anthony Fauci, the White House’s chief medical adviser, backed off his statement that the United States is “out of the pandemic phase,” elected officials and much of the public seem to think that he had it right the first time. But if the end of the COVID-19 emergency is at hand, the United States is reaching it with lower vaccination and higher per-capita death rates than other wealthy nations. The conventional wisdom is that the American political system failed at public health—by prioritizing individual rights over collective safety; sowing doubt about the benefits of vaccines, masks, and other protective measures; and, most important, failing to implement universal health care, paid sick leave, and other safety-net programs.

I agree with the conventional wisdom. But there’s plenty of blame to go around. Public health also failed America. The two most important federal public-health agencies, the and the , have been uniformly criticized for muddled messaging and guidance to the public on masks, vaccines, rapid tests, and other matters; those arguments need no rehashing here. Less well understood is that other sectors