US push to 'normalize' pandemic leaves lasting scars

CAIRO - The COVID-19 pandemic has claimed more lives in the United States than anywhere else in the world, leaving lasting scars on many Americans, Al Jazeera English-language news channel has reported.

Sabila Khan, one of many COVID-19 victims who lost loved ones, voiced deep discontent with government inaction on the pandemic, according to the Thursday report.

Khan said the United States was suffering from an overwhelming push to "normalize" the pandemic by its administration, despite rising cases and deaths due to the Omicron variant, it said.

Meanwhile, as anti-vaccine and anti-mask sentiment shows no signs of waning in the country, experts said the chance is that its death toll would continue to rise, said the report.

What the administration has done less effectively, said Michael Wilkes, a professor of medicine and global health at the University of California, Davis, is communicating to the public and building trust when it made major changes to health guidance in no time.

"There are many areas where the data has been changing," Wilkes was quoted as saying.

Wilkes said the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was "a bit arrogant" by telling citizens that "it is the way it should be" instead of adopting prompt communication.