Some thoughts on recent protests against state lockdown measures, and how they reflect an issue we in public health have long grappled with - the tension between “freedom to” and “freedom from.” “Freedom to” is the liberty that lets us pursue what we wish to do – to speak, to assemble, etc. “Freedom from” is being able to live a life free from the preventable harms that can stop us from doing what we wish to do.

It has now been several months since #COVID19 first entered our consciousness. We still have much to learn about it. But, to my thinking, three key points have become clear. I will try to summarize them here. First, #COVID19 is really two pandemics. One is how the virus threatens physical health. The other is the threat to mental health. We have not much discussed the latter, but we should. The mental health burden of this pandemic is real and will likely be with us for years to come.

Thank you @CaitlinFSanford for writing this. You address a core challenge of our field, and capture why we do what we do at @BUSPH. I largely agree with your observations, and would add a few thoughts, if I may.

https://twitter.com/CaitlinFSanford/status/1172916233555103748

Public health is politics. This is to say it is the hard process of making sure our laws reflect what we collectively agree is the best, healthiest way to organize society. It is not uncommon for decades, even generations, to pass, before our politics align with this consensus.