Commentary
What the US Got Wrong in the COVID-19 Response
Bad public messaging and a lack of fortitude
I have held an unpopular opinion since early in the coronavirus pandemic — the United States should have locked down completely. I have added more unpopular opinions on top of that in the past year and a half in criticism of the health agencies, both American and international. Though whether it’s unpopular really depends on the audience, as I know a lot of scientific and medical professionals would agree with me. Here’s why.
Mitigation of viral spread
Respiratory viruses that pass person to person generally do so through our breath. The parameters that vary are how far your breath needs to go to carry the pathogen — aerosol (i.e., airborne) or droplets— and the virus’s ability to survive outside the body and on surfaces (i.e., direct or indirect exposure). Once it was clear that COVID pneumonia was caused by a respiratory virus (specifically SARS-CoV-2), mask guidance should have been immediate to prevent anyone who may be infected from expelling the virus outside their body where other people could come into contact with it. Especially because we had no idea in January 2020 as to whether the virus needed direct or indirect exposure to spread.
