Institutional COVID denial has killed public health as we knew it. Prepare to lose several centuries of progress.

Public health cannot be individualized. Abandoning collective approaches to disease mitigation is a recipe for disaster.

If you live in a rich country, you’re probably not going to get cholera from your drinking water. The state accepts the responsibility of waterborne disease elimination as an obvious duty of governance, and the state and the collective then benefit from a healthier population, more able to participate in the economy and work.

Let’s say tomorrow the US government decided to stop cleaning our water supply. President Joe Biden or one of his minions gets on TV and says “cholera has been defeated, it’s over, and we need to get back to normal. We can’t live in fear of cholera forever- we need to live our lives!” Massive cholera outbreaks ensue, and people are quietly told they can (pay out of pocket) for private water filtration systems. Those who do pay this burdensome individual tax are told they are living in fear and mocked by those who do not. People with cholera are pushed by their employers to come to work anyway, and CDC guidance reduces cholera isolation to one day, whether or not you’re still symptomatic or infectious.