How harm reduction models can save US lives in the pandemic

While harm reduction has largely been used to combat drug abuse and HIV/Aids, it could inform the coming months and how the US tackles future health crises, experts say

Over the course of the pandemic, the stark political divide in the US around implementing public health measures has at times been as perplexing for public health officials as the virus itself.

On the one hand, the former Republican president Donald Trump avoided making any clear directives about Covid-19 while he was still in office last year, and the conservative talkshow host Tucker Carlson likened mask-wearing for children to child abuse". On the other, something as simple as easing restrictions on outdoor masking has revved up a new heated debate among cautious residents of Democratic cities.