Making Equity the Priority

• Published in: American journal of public health (1971) Vol. 111; no. S3; pp. S174 - S175
• Main Author: LaVeist, Thomas A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington American Public Health Association 01.10.2021
• Subjects: 20th century; Antibiotics; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; COVID-19 diagnostic tests; COVID-19 vaccines; Government agencies; Infectious diseases; Medical personnel; Opinions, Ideas, & Practice; Pandemics; Public health; Public Health Practice; Racism; Socioeconomic Factors; Vaccines; United States > US; Illinois; New York City New York
• ISSN: 0090-0036; 1541-0048
• DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2021.306546

We did not know what it would be or when it would happen, but most public health professionals knew that, sooner or later, we would experience a pandemic of some kind. COVID-19 was, in many ways, the test we had all been waiting to take. More than a year and a half later, although we are not exactly failing the test, we are definitely falling short in areas in which we optimistically vowed to excel. In 2016, public health leaders from the US Department of Health and Human Services began highlighting a concept called Public Health 3.0.1 Their idea was that the modern age of public health (Public Health 1.0) began around the dawn of the 20th century when scientists significantly advanced understanding of infectious diseases and developed vaccines and antibiotics to address them. The second wave-Public Health 2.0-was kicked off by the Institute of Medicine's 1988 report The Future of Public Health.2 Following that report, we saw the expansion of governmental agencies to coordinate and manage the public's health, organizations that have played a critical part in the response to COVID-19.