In a Scientific American opinion article, Thoai Ngo argues for critical long-term changes in how the United States disseminates public health information.
Ngo writes that the country has stumbled in taking full advantage of the extraordinary scientific innovations that have been developed for the mitigation, treatment, and prevention of COVID.
“Failures happened because our public health messages were not clear about how to use those tools, which include vaccines, masks, tests, antiviral drugs, and temporary activity restrictions. The result is confusion among the public that has left us vulnerable to the disease and unable to respond to new and more transmissible variants. Recovering from these mistakes will require a bold change in direction for our national health messages. Now, as cases rise, it is an opportune time for the Biden administration to launch a new communications campaign through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one with the resources and structure to prepare Americans to move forward.”
Read the article at Scientific American.