The Public Health Officials Under Siege

<p><i>This episode contains strong language.</i></p><p>When the coronavirus hit the United States, the nation’s public health officials were in the front line, monitoring cases and calibrating rules to combat the spread.</p><p>From the start, however, there has been resistance. A Times investigation found that 100 new laws have since been passed that wrest power from public health officials.</p><p>What is the effect of those laws, and how might they affect the response to a future pandemic?</p><p>Guest: <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/by/mike-baker?smid=pc-thedaily">Mike Baker</a>, the Seattle bureau chief for The New York Times. </p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/signup/NTTD?smid=pc-thedaily">Sign up here</a> to get The Daily in your inbox each morning. And for an exclusive look at how the biggest stories on our show come together, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/the-daily?module=inline">subscribe to our newsletter</a>. </p><p>Background reading: </p><ul><li>State and local public health departments have endured not only the public’s fury, but also widespread staff defections, burnout, firings, unpredictable funding and<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/18/us/coronavirus-public-health.html"> a significant erosion in their authority</a> to impose the health orders that were critical to America’s early response to the pandemic.</li></ul><p>For more information on today’s episode, visit <a href="http://nytimes.com/thedaily?smid=pc-thedaily">nytimes.com/thedaily</a>. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. </p>