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Two years ago, I was in a hospital bed on the 15th floor of NYU Langone hospital in Manhattan, dying of COVID-19. A previously healthy, 44-year-old runner, I found myself impossibly weak, unable to walk five feet from my bed to the bathroom without a nurse’s help. I could barely breathe, even with the highest levels of supplemental oxygen. Eventually I wound up in the ICU, where I was placed on a ventilator. (David Lat, 3/16)

When I was less than 3 months old, pneumonia struck and the infant me landed in the hospital. It was a frightening time for my family, but I survived and have been fortunate not to relive that experience. Instead, I’ve been chased by bouts of bronchitis and the inherent knowledge that if I get even a simple cold, I’ll likely end up with a hacking cough that may not go away for weeks. (Michelle Deal-Zimmerman, 3/15)

We are public health scientists who conduct research to inform evidence-based policy. We were disappointed when the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) took a radical turn in its COVID-19 prevention policy recommendations. The CDC recently released new guidance on the assessment of community COVID-19 risk, lifting masking recommendations for most of the country. In their new metrics, the CDC has made a judgment call about what level of severe illness, disability and death is acceptable. Overnight, much of Minnesota was reclassified as low or medium risk, even as we were seeing COVID deaths every day. (Eva Enns and Katy Kozhimannil, 3/15