I think this is the nub of the issue, Brian. Governments are elected on issues that mean something to the electorate. They then attempt to deliver, for better or worse. We get the governments we deserve.
I cannot recall any election where matters of Public Health were at the core of the manifestos. Can you? Perhaps at the peak of the AIDS crisis.
Yet pandemics are deeply ingrained in our history and culture. We can all cite the Black Death, The Plague, Malaria, Cholera, Polio, the childhood diseases, and pandemic Influenza. We know about "vectors" like the rat flea and mosquito, and about hygiene, immunisation and hospital acquired infections. So we are not clueless. We can even explain the origins of the nursery rhymes "Ring a ring o Roses" and "Coughs and Sneezes...".
So why are we so willing to launch into criticism of government failures when we have been so nonchalant about making public health and preparedness a political issue. That was our failing because we knew all this, just as we know what could well happen if we relax our present controls on Covid-19. We are in the middle of an outbreak and we are bored and becoming careless? Who's to blame for that? Not just politicians or the media.
After we have enjoyed the bloodsport of criticising our politicians, perhaps we should put Public Health, surveillance and preparedness on the agenda for the next election.
Roger
Originally Posted by: Roger Parsons