By Richard E. Besser, USA Today, May 5, 2020
One might think it’s good news that more than half of all states are either partially reopening or have plans in place to reopen after a nearly two-month COVID-19 shutdown.
If those states were truly ready, this would be good news. But many of the plans being rushed out now are almost certain to fall hardest on those people who will not be able to protect themselves or their families. Whether because of lack of access to health care, low household income, immigration status, racial discrimination, disability, lack of safe or affordable housing or myriad other factors, millions of people are going to pay for our nation’s entrenched inequities that have existed for generations but have become even more apparent and appalling during this pandemic.
As I reflect back on my time as acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the 2009 H1N1 pandemic, I can see the disconnect that can occur between well-intended government pronouncements and the actions people are expected to take. CDC or state recommendations are only effective if people can follow them.
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