I cannot say my views changed as a result of the pandemic; while it allowed me to focus at lot more on their actions, it did not change my overall view. I was quite critical of the government and of public health in general (I am not a fan of their methodologies and do not accept the validity of their discipline), and had been predicting another pandemic for some time (I had a business teacher in high school call me crazy after I told him we are overdue for the next pandemic flu). However, I was pleasantly surprised by the Trump Administrations initial response; briefing were factual, and honest. The messaging was, for the most part, quite clear and explained fairly well. Furthermore, much of the response was left to the states, allowing for comparisons and greater freedom for individuals that we have not seen as much of in more centralized places, such as Western Europe. However, the federal governments efforts were often counterproductive. As I mentioned earlier, a very effective vaccine was produced within 4 months of the lockdown; however, the FDA's hesitancy to challenge trials later delayed the beginning of vaccination. A scientist who tested for COVID-19 early on using a WHO test kit was reprimanded severely by the FDA. While I was not surprised, I was not impressed either.
RE: Week 11 -- Question about how the pandemic changed views of politicians