We should have universal health care to increase public health.
Many readers have health insurance, have a certain number of sick days, and generally stay home if we are sick. About the only thing we will infect other people with are colds or flu. We will stay home if we have the flu but not in the early stages when we think it is a cold.
But there are lots of people who have no health insurance and no sick days. These are people who drag themselves to work to make sure their incomes stay steady. They are the ones who can infect the rest of us on the bus or as restaurant servers or store clerks.
At a gym, many people clean off every surface they touch before and after using a machine. But do they, or we, clean off every door handle, including on the lockers. If we take a bus, do we clean off the seat before we sit down. Do we wear masks in elevators, especially in a medical facility?
How many Typhoid Mary’s are out there serving us even when they know they are sick?
Universal health care will not eliminate all cases of passing an illness on, but it can certainly reduce our risk of catching a disease.
