Department of Health Behavior and Health Systems, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Blvd, Fort Worth, Texas, 76107, USA.
Med Anthropol Q. 2023 Dec;37(4):367-381. doi: 10.1111/maq.12806. Epub 2023 Sep 1.
The United States approached the COVID-19 pandemic with inconsistent responses that varied by state. In Florida, legislators passed laws contrary to mitigating the pandemic. These laws included banning county and municipal efforts to control the spread of COVID-19 through mask mandates, social distancing, and prohibiting vaccination mandates during infectious disease epidemics. Moreover, the Legislature simultaneously prioritized policies of social exclusion, passing bills that constrained the rights of transgender individuals, Black Lives Matter protestors, and educators. In this article, I use the perspectives of critical medical anthropology and "governing through contagion" to examine Florida's COVID-19 response. I argue the COVID-19 pandemic provided an opportunity for legislators to obfuscate their political power and advance a politics of social division while simultaneously passing policies that undermined human health. I refer to this process as governing with contagion: Using a pandemic as a politically expedient backdrop to conceal power and simultaneously harm human health.
美国在应对 COVID-19 大流行时的反应不一致，各州的情况有所不同。在佛罗里达州，立法者通过了违背缓解大流行的法律。这些法律包括禁止县和市通过口罩强制令、社交距离和在传染病流行期间禁止疫苗接种强制令来控制 COVID-19 的传播。此外，立法机构同时优先考虑社会排斥政策，通过法案限制跨性别者、“黑人的命也是命”抗议者和教育工作者的权利。在本文中，我使用批判医学人类学的观点和“通过传染病进行治理”来考察佛罗里达州的 COVID-19 应对措施。我认为，COVID-19 大流行为立法者提供了一个机会，他们可以混淆自己的政治权力，并推进社会分裂的政治，同时通过破坏人类健康的政策。我将这个过程称为“通过传染病进行治理”：利用大流行作为政治上有利的背景来掩盖权力，同时损害人类健康。
