I think you make excellent points, but I also think that party politics play a critical role in how CDC messaging has been publicly devalued.

I think most people are inclined to understand that dynamic problems can sometimes mean shifting messaging. I think most people are inclined to understand that policy decisions made in good faith might need to be updated when situations change.

The trouble is that public health policy in the United States is not a matter of good faith right now. For many different reasons, Republican Party leadership at both national and state levels have decided to treat the CDC as if they were a public enemy.

It’s one thing for an ordinary citizen to be confused about public health messaging. It’s another thing for a leader who knows better to intentionally disparage the message for raw political reasons.

Yet we see that happening literally every day of the week.

Our political system is dysfunctional, leading to outcomes that people in the future will probably characterize as absurd.

It’s difficult to imagine how the CDC could navigate that kind of situation even if covid-19 were not presenting them with emerging challenges that require occasional message shifting.