US pandemic politics result in massive exodus of public health officials: NBC

WASHINGTON - The United States has witnessed an exodus of hundreds of public health officials, who fell victim to pandemic politics, according to a report by NBC News.

More than 500 US public health officials have either been pushed out or have left their jobs since the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the media outlet quoted Lori Tremmel Freeman, the CEO of the National Association of County and City Health Officials, as saying in a report on Saturday.

More than 13,000 workers told the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that they had experienced "at least one severe mental health condition, such as depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts and post-traumatic stress disorder," the report said.

The officials were said to have left amid "partisan attacks" and "safety concerns" resulting from persistent "verbal assaults, threats of violence or even death threats" against them or their families, it said.

The fact that hundreds of public health officials have left is "raising concerns with experts about the country's ability to respond to the highly transmissible Omicron variant, which is straining the national health system," it added.