Dr. Monica Gandhi toured the landscape with us. The recent recall of California Governor Gavin Newsom has bipartisan roots, in dissatisfaction with the “lockdown mentality” that closed playgrounds and parks, and kept San Francisco’s schools shuttered for 18 months. It was to a significant degree a “referendum on the illiberal liberals.” Once “the power of vaccines” came into force, however, California pioneered mandates, passports, and expanded testing; achieved over 80% vaccine coverage; and drove cases and deaths to exceptional lows. The future? “Immunity is the path out” to achieve control over Covid-19. Big concerns? Confused messaging around boosters terrifies the vaccinated and makes the unvaccinated believe less in vaccines. We are also witnessing rising intolerance: in our politically polarized debates over schools, vaccines, masks, and boosters, scientific discourse has lost balance and nuance.  

Dr.Monica Gandhi is Professor of Medicine and Associate Chief of the Division of HIV, Infectious Diseases and Global Medicine at UCSF/San Francisco General Hospital. She also serves as the medical director of the HIV Clinic at SFGH, the famous “Ward 86.”