Going It Alone Is not a Covid Technique. Simply Ask Florida

As we mark the fourth anniversary of the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, it’s previous time the federal authorities require uniform public well being information and transparency requirements on the state stage — each to reestablish public belief and to keep away from the damaging unfold of misinformation throughout the subsequent lethal outbreak.

One of many enduring classes of the pandemic is that politics reigned over public well being. Reasonably than asserting management on the federal stage, former President Donald Trump left a lot of the selections to the states. The absence of a coherent federal response meant state public well being methods assorted extensively. Some state and native officers manipulated information to suit their very own narratives and the ensuing mish-mash of insurance policies and recommendation given to residents — together with misinformation — created distrust among the many public and allowed conspiracy theories to thrive.