Take As Directed

A renowned medical and public health voice of compassion, personal advice, pragmatism and vision, Dr. Leana Wen joined us for a tour d’horizon of the pandemic, at this moment of “explosive exponential growth.” Why is it so crucial today to have credible, trusted public health voices? Why have so many Americans disregarded the recent Thanksgiving warnings, and why do so many Americans continue to minimize the threat of Covid-19? The Phase 3 vaccine results are “great news” and we now have to attend to the “serious problem” of distrust, and the risk of asking already highly constrained local and state public health officials to run demanding vaccine programs, with an urgent need for new financing. Solutions take different forms. “Messengers often matter more than message.” On vaccines and restoring trust, there is a need to hear from business leaders, pastors and other religious figures, and Republicans. In many areas – schools, business closures, scientific trials –  “moderated” nuanced policies and “radical t