[Personal View] Making US public health a good idea again

The stress test the COVID-19 pandemic imposed on the US public health system illuminated predictable yet surprisingly unplanned for fault lines. A perceived lack of choice associated with nonpharmaceutical and pharmaceutical interventions led many Americans to question both measures and processes for mitigating disease consequences, such as masking and mass vaccination. A cultural-historical examination shows that a central impediment for US efforts to control the pandemic was the limited sense of common good.