Thread by @LawrenceGostin

New in @ScienceMagazine: The next pandemic may be deadlier than COVID-19. We argue that future generations deserve well-calibrated laws that empower health officials to act decisively while mindfully safeguarding constitutional rights & social values science.org/doi/10.1126/sc… 1/7

During the pandemic, over 30 states passed laws curbing health measures. Many state law reforms now allow the legislature to rescind executive health orders, shifting decisions from infectious disease experts to lawmakers ill-equipped to make rapid, science-based judgments. 2/7

The pandemic also unleashed more than 1000 lawsuits challenging COVID-19 measures put into place by health officials.

#ScienceEditorial
3/7

While health officials did overreach in some cases during the pandemic, state legislatures and courts have cut public health powers too deeply, seriously jeopardizing future emergency responses. 4/7

Sarah Wetter (@oneillinstitute) & I argue these events signal a need for legal modernization. Instead of weakening of public health powers, states should modernize laws to balance powers and rights more productively. 5/7

Executive health officials should have strong and flexible authority to respond to emergencies, but legislatures should be empowered to modify or end a declaration of “emergency” that goes on too long or tramples personal freedom too far. 6/7

Although states should remain the primary holders of emergency powers, expanding federal powers would provide a stronger baseline of national protections. 7/7

#ScienceEditorial

science.org/doi/10.1126/sc…