Well, I don’t know about you, but this morning I am exhausted. I am also breathing easier than I have in, I don’t know, 653 days. That’s one year, 9 months, and 15 days…and it felt like 20 years.
This resounding victory for public health and science and compassion for others doesn’t represent the end – it represents the beginning of a long road toward something new and better than we had before. I don’t want to go back to 2024 – I want to move forward, stronger together.
As Katelyn Jetelina (Your Local Epidemiologist) wrote this morning:
More U.S. scientists and physicians ran for state and federal office this cycle than ever before. And many won:
A pediatrician in South Carolina
A public health physician [an epidemiologist!] in Michigan
A microbiologist in Georgia
A nuclear engineer in Virginia
A physician in Ohio
An ER nurse in Wisconsin
An environmental engineer in Iowa
A mathematician in Illinois
A physician in New Jersey
The United States said clearly: Health matters. Science matters. Integrity matters. Empathy matters. People matter.
We’re still in the marathon. It’s been a rough bunch of miles so far. But for now, I feel like Mayor Mamdani is handing me some water and giving me a pep talk. I’m taking a deep breath and re-finding my energy to keep going, and soon I’ll be rolling up my sleeves and working to help shape what comes next. I hope you’re going to join me.
We’ve got this. 💙