But these are some of the truths of covid, which killed more than 1.2 million Americans, that medical professionals and health experts want to remember. The phrase “follow the science” for policymaking was an oversimplification because science cannot offer a clear road map for navigating trade-offs, science communications experts and public health experts have acknowledged. Covid raged around the world, including in China with its draconian “zero covid” strategy, and countries experienced different consequences and benefits from their decision-making. Covid was not just the fluThese days, the experience of getting covid is far more mundane for most Americans (though still worrisome for the elderly and immunocompromised). But the early messaging about vaccines did focus on covid vaccines as a way to keep you from getting covid.

Source: Washington Post March 22, 2026 11:31 UTC