President Trump sent people away seething by saying, “Don’t be afraid of COVID; don’t let it dominate your life,” and not without justification. He demonstrated a total lack of self-awareness, a lack of any recognition that he was uniquely cared for and that the virus has killed so many who didn’t share in that presidential privilege.

Yet, his indelicacy is no reason to sour on the premise that the current restrictive public health responses to COVID-19 have led to significant harms that must be reversed.