Breaking past the crisis and moving forward
"We're advocating for moving past the crisis phase and learning to live with this virus," mentioned Newsom.
Julian Zelizer
Shifting the public policy focus from crisis management to prevention and containment, Newsom's strategy dubbed the "Smart Plan" emphasizes flexibility and adaptability. Los Angeles County's approach focuses on allowing residents to live their lives as normally as possible—attending school, heading to work, participating in social functions—while remaining prepared for any potential new outbreaks. This means implementing measures such as stockpiling 75 million masks, boosting vaccination rates, prioritizing public health communication campaigns, and enhancing testing, wastewater monitoring, and healthcare staffing.
California's approach appears to be a trend that other countries are adopting—Spain, France, and the United Kingdom have already started utilizing this approach.
Politically, this strategy enables leaders to bypass the divisive debates surrounding COVID-19. Instead of oscillating between full lockdowns, partial opening, and ad-hoc policies, leaders now have the freedom to react proactively to new variants. As we have learned through history, new variants will continue to surface.
Given the importance of science in informing our response to COVID-19, which has been around since late 2019, our approach to politics should begin here. Medical experts' and researchers' insights should continue to form the foundation of our response in this deadly pandemic. However, politicians must also consider other factors, such as maintaining a functioning economy, promoting societal growth, and empowering individuals to shape their own lives—from family reunions to attending cultural events.
As we step into a new year and viruses have become a significant part of our lives, a comprehensive framework for managing pandemics has become our best option moving forward. A group of medical experts, including Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel, has urged governments to implement a bold, national strategy. "Without a strategic plan for the 'new normal' of the COVID-19 pandemic, more unnecessary morbidity and mortality will occur in the United States, health disparities will worsen, and the American economy will lose billions of dollars," Emanuel wrote early in January, joined by other prominent public health officials[1].
The concept, much like the Marshall Plan, centers on significantly enhancing federal investments in public health, as demonstrated in California. Emanuel and his team in the Biden transition team were frustrated with the president's lack of action on this idea and took media spots to explain their strategy.
Biden now has the opportunity to heed the advice of these experts and expand Newsom's "SMARTER"-Plan at a national level. In his State of the Union address on March 1, Biden should touch upon the issue that defined the beginning of his presidency—an aggressive and successful approach to combating pandemics, ensuring that COVID-19 no longer dominates and destroys our lives. In the early stages of his term, Biden celebrated the American Rescue Plan as a significant success in bolstering the economy. Now, with decreasing approval ratings and facing numerous political challenges, from potential Russian invasions in Ukraine to rising inflation, Biden has an opportunity to lead the way out of this crucial pandemic crisis that affects our daily lives the most. Even some of the other challenges Biden is facing, such as inflation, can be addressed through better COVID-19 policies that maintain a healthy workforce and facilitate smooth supply chain operations.
While Biden has faced challenging months, he still has an opportunity to regain public favor. However, to achieve this goal, he must better communicate a strong, comprehensive plan to address COVID-19 and the resulting challenges—a plan that allows us to live nearly life as before 2019 with a realistic attitude, empowering the government to adjust accordingly whenever the virus resurfaces in another part of the country.
As President, Biden must help the public understand what lies ahead. "We need more coherent, national guidelines," argued Emanuel, "and I believe this should take the highest priority. One thing you hear consistently from everyone is that the communication around COVID from the start was not optimal." Embrace it... the public wants to know that you're not just responding opportunistically."
Biden has spoken boldly in the past about overcoming these dangerous times, proclaiming during his inauguration speech, "We must put politics aside and confront this pandemic as one nation." Biden promised, "As the Bible says, weeping may last for a night, but joy comes in the morning. We will get through this together."
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While it remains uncertain if we can overcome this crisis as a nation, improving our public health infrastructure and learning how to live with the virus is the best option to turn COVID-19 into a nuisance rather than a world-altering event akin to a World War.
[1] Emanuel, Ezekiel; Siday, Rebecca A.; Blumenthal, David R. (2022). "The U.S. lost two years containing the pandemic. Here's how to begin recovery." (). Retrieved March 23, 2023.
