Pandemic to Endemic: Where do US Public-Health Systems go From Here?

The United States has reached a point where it is starting to shift from a COVID-19 crisis footing to an endemic one. Although new variants of SARS-CoV-2 (novel coronavirus), the virus that causes COVID-19, could upend this trajectory, the country may be well positioned now to reimagine its public-health systems. Over the past two years, as new variants of the novel coronavirus have emerged, US public-health priorities have focused on the critical missions of getting people tested, vaccinated, and boosted while maintaining access to healthcare. Inequalities that predated the pandemic were also laid bare as historically marginalized communities bore the brunt of the pandemic’s ill effects. Many public-health-system authorities are now redressing vulnerabilities and planning a stronger path forward.