Abstract
This chapter offers a systemic exploration of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. The authors focus on key catalytic institutions responsible for community well-being. These institutions and their stakeholders were vulnerable to major shocks. Their responses to the crisis were greatly affected by a politically polarized population, a significant portion of which had lost trust in the government and its institutions. We explore how a weakened public health system, the federalist structure of the nation, a politicized citizenry, and a president who failed to lead in a national crisis with a coordinated response left communities throughout the United States, one of the most advanced countries in the world, to suffer one of the highest infection rates. We examine Operation Warp Speed (OWS), the successful development of three successful COVID-19 vaccines, and challenges associated with vaccine distribution and vaccination acceptance and administration, including the impact of the political environment and misinformation that created a distrustful and vaccine-hesitant segment of the population, which in turn fueled a national surge of the deadly virus. The authors conclude with lessons learned and implications for policy and future research.
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Rahtz, D.R., Shultz, II, C.J., Sirgy, M.J. (2022). A Matter of Trust: The COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States amidst Political and Media Polarization, and a Narcissistic Presidency. In: Shultz, II, C.J., Rahtz, D.R., Sirgy, M.J. (eds) Community, Economy and COVID-19. Community Quality-of-Life and Well-Being. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-98152-5_27
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