Outbreaks, Epidemics, and Health Security COVID-19 and Ensuring Future Pandemic Preparedness in Ireland and the World: Chapter 1 - The irreversible global politicization of health

Public health has, in the pandemic era, become a highly politicized issue. This has, in turn, impacted political careers, voting patterns, regime change, and the relationship between citizens and government in the realms of mandatory public health measures, freedom of movement, and a range of other personal ‘freedoms’. As a result, public health looks set to remain a key political issue in the years to come—in much the same way as climate change and other related issues have ascended the political pantheon.