At this point, the minimizing disinformation out of public health institutions is more likely to lead to people to defy those rules. At least in the population that doesn't see themselves as vulnerable. As in we may be seeing stuff like flash crowds basically breathing into each others' faces simply to send the message that they don't trust authorities anymore, probably some mask snatchers removing them straight from people's faces. And then of course you add the mass cognitive impairment from so many infections, it's such a recipe for disaster and social murder.
And frankly I can't fault anyone doing that. It's literally in the textbook of epidemics that you have to tell the truth, even if it's uncomfortable, precisely because otherwise this is what happens. We have been completely failed by the cowards we have instead of leaders, all thinking of their career first. When you lie to achieve your ends, the means become the ends, and so you end up with a whole lot of lies and not much else. Just where we are today.
The fix was obviously in when hospitals continued forcing people to ditch superior masks and the gloating and celebration among healthcare workers when mandates got dropped. The pandemic wasn't just politicized, it was fully politicized, and nowhere more than in the medical profession itself.
