“We’re at an inflection point,” remarked Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN’s chief medical correspondent.

Upon hearing this, Meghan McCain took to social media to voice the sentiment of an entire nation: “Uh no, we ain’t starting this s— again.”

Her argument revolves around the notion that the upcoming COVID-19 endemic will significantly differ from the initial pandemic. Americans now possess greater understanding of this pathogen and the approaches taken during its initial outbreak.

This perspective holds significant value for doctors, public health officials, and epidemiologists. Our current starting point is not the same as when COVID-19 first appeared in the US in January 2020.

Trust from the American people is no longer as strong as it once was. This extends beyond the healthcare sector and mirrors a broader decline in confidence in various institutions across the country. Healthcare is not alone in experiencing this erosion of trust within our society.

However, over the past two years, faith in healthcare officials has dropped by 10 percentage points, from 44% to 34%, according to a Gallup tracking poll.

In terms of trust, doctors and nurses used to enjoy elevated status within our society. Regrettably, this has shifted and might remain altered for a generation.

However, public health officials made numerous errors during the pandemic and presented these mistakes with unwavering certainty. Consequently, it will be a challenge for them to regain the trust they once held.

Let’s consider Anthony Fauci, chief medical advisor to Presidents Donald Trump and Joe Biden. At the start of the pandemic, he discouraged the general public from wearing face masks, aiming to preserve surgical masks for healthcare professionals. He later changed his stance, advocating for mask usage by the general population.

A similar pattern emerged concerning herd immunity, with Fauci adjusting his estimates over time. Initially, he suggested herd immunity could be achieved at around 60% to 70%, but later revised this to 90%.

Even as Western Europe reopened public schools based on studies indicating lower susceptibility of school children to COVID-19, the United States hesitated. American teachers’ unions delayed school reopenings, and mask mandates were implemented for students despite limited supporting data, as reported by New York Magazine.

However, the credibility of public health officials took a significant hit during the George Floyd protests in 2020.

This inconsistency left some epidemiologists grappling with contradictions. Catherine Troisi, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, struggled to articulate why this dual response was acceptable.

Mark Lurie, a professor of epidemiology at Brown University, acknowledged the internal struggle within public health professionals. While they felt compelled to address racial injustice, they also had to acknowledge the contrast between their responses to economic protests and political marches.

As we later discovered, the risk posed by both sets of gatherings was relatively low. The CDC overstated the outdoor transmission risk of the virus, which, until the Delta variant emerged, was likely closer to 0.1% rather than the initially suggested 10%.