The COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing global economic collapse is a catastrophe of historic proportions. But it would be a mistake to treat it as an unavoidable tragedy akin to a natural disaster. The pandemic is partly man-made through errors of deceit, maladministration, and sheer incompetence.
That is why Americans should demand that Congress create a blue-ribbon bipartisan investigatory commission — the COVID Commission — to hold leaders and policymakers accountable. Such a measure is essential to prevent a similar catastrophe in the future — and, just as importantly, to prevent demagogues from exploiting the issue for their benefit.
The pandemic is not a natural disaster. The emergence of a novel infectious pathogen capable of human-to-human transmission is a natural phenomenon, but its uncontrolled spread is a failure of governance. Governments are supposed to protect public health. Governments do not and cannot prevent earthquakes or hurricanes, but they can and regularly do prevent pandemic diseases.
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