The Public Health Revolt
Bubba
11 Oct
A growing movement is increasingly questioning whether the public health and medical establishments have lost their way. (NYT)
New York Times health policy correspondent Sheryl Gay Stolberg:
More than just rebranded anti-vaccination activism, the movement marries fierce resistance to public health measures like vaccine mandates; deep suspicion of pharmaceutical companies and federal regulatory agencies; and an embrace of alternative medicine and natural foods. … The idea of a political movement that rejects expertise and prioritizes personal choice in an epidemic is deeply troubling to public health experts, who worry that public health powers will be curtailed if Mr. Trump wins in November.
What The Times doesn’t mention: The public’s trust in physicians and hospitals fell from 71% to 40% over the last four years, following a series of controversies and failures from health authorities during the pandemic.
It’s not just pandemic disillusionment: Figures in the space, like recent “Joe Rogan Experience” guest Dr. Casey Means, argue the medical profession has failed the public by neglecting the importance of nutrition and exercise.
While some experts say nutrition is at least a partial factor in 50% to 80% of chronic diseases (heart disease, cancer, etc.), fewer than 20% of medical schools require a nutrition course, per one 2015 survey.
Health crisis? The U.S. has struggled with a spate of concerning indicators in recent years, including rising obesity, record-low fertility rates and stagnating life expectancy.
For the first time ever, the U.S. is projected to see over 2 million new cancer cases this year.
Bubba’s Two Cents
You can point to the existence of plenty of kooks (like RFK Jr.) among the growing skeptics of public health authorities. But there are a few facts I don’t think you can deny:
1) Americans’ trust in the medical establishment is trending downward.
2) Health is becoming a more central issue in the American discourse.
3) There’s a widespread (not necessarily political) movement of people who are actively seeking out health information that doesn’t come from the medical establishment (the explosion of fitness and alternative health influencers).
4) A concerning share of Americans are in poor health.
In many ways, this isn’t all that dissimilar to what happened with news media becoming more decentralized.