Last week, the Associated Press published this piece (1) on GOP political operatives recruiting “extremely pro-Trump” doctors to defy CDC safety benchmarks (2) and publicly prescribe reopening of the U.S. economy as quickly as possible. Three days ago, Forbes profiled the manufactured effort (3).

The statements about the rising health challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic in a letter signed by 600 physicians are not to be dismissed. But, they irresponsibly conclude that returning to very broken systems, including poor publicly funded mental health infrastructure, is the solution. Many structural and social determinants of health that were unaddressed prior to this crisis have been painfully magnified by it, including indisputable and profound health disparities and poverty without robust safety net solutions.

This letter is to illustrate to you and to the American public, that what has been politically orchestrated here is dangerous. There is NO groundswell of support among physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses, scientists, or public health officials for reopening the economy as it was. This would require low disease prevalence from effective lockdowns and a scientifically grounded testing strategy, widespread contact tracing, and compliance on guidelines to quarantine and isolate with exposures and symptoms. We need accurate data (4) and local coordination to determine levels of COVID-19 community transmission and the capacity of local public health and healthcare systems in order to guide safe policy on movement and social gatherings. None of these preconditions have been met to 'reopen' anything, and they are not impossible criteria.

Furthermore, there are certainly alternative people-centered reforms to consider to address the real social, economic, and health challenges we face in this unprecedented moment.

(1) https://apnews.com/4ee1a3a8d631b454f645b2a8d9597de7?fbclid=IwAR29pZZBNgTDY_yBjmacwcLRepObGoZ2S83r2Xajsy5OqBBxxt0tWzYs2xI

(2) https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/6883734-CDC-Business-Plans.html?fbclid=IwAR0LVpqThtfvVuFY8Ql-UWHgwY84P6JM_FQWGToLcUY5MrCu4xlCoZX3l98

(3) https://www.forbes.com/sites/gracemarieturner/2020/05/22/600-physicians-say-lockdowns-are-a-mass-casualty-incident/#7ee3082c50fa

(4) https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2020/05/cdc-and-states-are-misreporting-covid-19-test-data-pennsylvania-georgia-texas/611935/?fbclid=IwAR1O0Wpdus5GMHytTQcWjMakQKfXZVRd4SQCC4B6aW2CCKD_S3Z8Ce7v3ew