COVID-19 has found its way into the White House. Three members of the White House Task Force

are in some form of quarantine, but by Monday, all but three states will have at least partially

reopened. This is America Dissecting, and I'm your host, Dr. Abdull-El-Sayet.

I've spent most of my career somewhere between public health and politics. Up until about March

of this year, it was a pretty lonely place. After all, most folks don't really want to pay

attention to the place where politics and public health meet. Public health people don't like to

have to think about politics. For most of us, we'd rather the world be dated-driven and universally

oriented to improving people's health. And most politicians, for their part, don't tend to care

much for public health. It's usually just an afterthought, plugging away in the background. It's not

flashy, more annoying, like that aunt or uncle who seems to always pry into your habits,

trying to get you to drink less pop or stop vaping. And then this happened.

I announced today that the New York City public schools will remain closed.

We know that the effects of this pandemic will not subside anytime soon.

Microsoft, co-founder and billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates is urging the federal government to

shut down the entire country to save lives. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer is listening,

making her daily check-in call with doctors and nurses on the front lines of the fight against

coronavirus. Just outside her office window, the front lines of another fight.

Prochester surrounding the capital in a drive-by demonstration.

But whether or not people care to admit it, public health has always been political.

And politics has always at its core been about people's well-being.

That's why I always stop and scratch my head when I hear people respond to honest criticism

of the way politicians are handling this pandemic by saying things like,

...