New York Times takes a deep look at our response to COVID and what that means for public health, good governance and how we make social decisions based on science.

The reporting, based on an examination of hundreds of health departments around the country, concludes our decisions in response to COVID are likely leaving us even less prepared for the next pandemic.

The takeaway: "While the coronavirus has killed more than 700,000 in the United States in nearly two years, a more invisible casualty has been the nation's public health system."