Osterholm: Mandates Haven’t Done Much ‘for Most of the Country’ Except ‘Create Angst’

During an interview with NPR’s “Here & Now” released on Monday, Director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota and former adviser to President Joe Biden’s transition team Dr. Michael Osterholm argued that “for most of the country, the mandates have not meant that much,” because people just haven’t followed the mandates. And that if public health mandates aren’t followed by the public, public health officials haven’t actually done anything except upset people.

Osterholm stated, [relevant remarks begin around 5:15] “Well, you know, for most of the country, the mandates have not meant that much, in the sense that people just haven’t complied anyway. And I think one of the things that public health has learned, if nothing else, is that messaging is so critical. And if the public, in and of itself, doesn’t trust it, believe it, or will comply with it, what have you done except create angst in the population? So, one of the things we have to do is take a step back and say, how can we or what should we do to have the public trust that what we’re doing is in their best interest?”

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