COVID-19 reveals fragility of American public health: media

WASHINGTON - COVID-19 has revealed the fragility of American public health, said a newly published article in Scientific American, an American popular science magazine.

Epidemics expose a society's vulnerabilities. The United States already had an unhealthy population before COVID-19 emerged, said the article in the magazine's March 2022 Issue.

"Compared with some other developed countries, the US has extraordinary rates of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes and other afflictions that leave people more susceptible to severe COVID. These vulnerabilities were influenced strongly by social factors -- not purely genetics," said the article.

American public health systems lacked adequate personnel, data systems for analysis, the latest technology and government support, said the article.

"Adding to an already perilous situation, the pandemic exposed and accelerated preexisting trends in our society, such as growing distrust of institutions, including of science. In the past 20 years or more American conservatism transformed to antiscience populism," said the article.