Few events have been more written about, talked about, and thought about than this week’s election. It has been a national preoccupation, arguably, since the day President Trump won his first term. We are approaching the moment where all that can be said about it likely has been said, where there is nothing left to do but vote. Many, of course, have voted early, not waiting longer than necessary to engage with the political process which has such a profound effect on our lives.
The stakes of the election have been underlined by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which has highlighted both the critical role of federal leadership in navigating a health crisis and the link between political policies and the conditions that shape health. Many members of our school community and the broader public health community have engaged with the politics of this moment, towards the goal of ending the pandemic and building a healthier world. This has unfolded in the context of the movement for racial justice which came to new prominence last summer after the killing of George Floyd. This movement, too, reinforced the stakes of the moment for health, by helping the country to see the disproportionate burden of COVID-19 infections borne by communities of color and the systemic roots of this inequity.