'Embrace change for the better': Medical journal Lancet slams Trump's policies

As voters turn out in huge numbers in the US elections, medical journal Lancet said: "with so much loss and still more at stake, the 2020 presidential election is the opportune moment for the American electorate to embrace change for the better, to reject the stagnancy of complacency, to exchange a view bereft of intention with a vision of progress."

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Lancet stated that "under the banner of making America great again, the Trump administration has pursued regressive nationalist policies" while rolling back protection for individuals and the environment.

The journal also slammed the Trump administration for "withdrawing from international agreements and multilateral organisations, such as WHO".

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"Led by a relentless agenda of deregulation and dysregulation, America has retreated from its once prominent position of leadership and abandoned its beneficence," it said, adding, "With the election, Americans have the power to address these issues, both at home and around the world, by eschewing the falsehood of nostalgia."

Lancet said the US leads the world in COVID-19 infections with over 9 million cases and 225 000 deaths, stating that "23 million Americans have filed for unemployment, while an estimated 14 million Americans and their dependents have lost employer-sponsored health coverage during the greatest public health crisis in a century."

The health journal stated that there was "perceived diminished responsibility of the federal government, and political interference with crucial public health apparatus (most markedly the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) have culminated in the disastrous US response to the coronavirus pandemic."

It said there was an absence of "comprehensive health infrastructure" in the United States.

"Conservatives continue to attempt, out of ideology and opposition, to dismantle the Affordable Care Act. Americans need equitable individual access to quality health care that is supported by efficient and autonomous public health governance, both as a matter of health security and as a matter of human rights."

Lancet said: "The USA in 2020 continues to experience unrest borne out of these still-open wounds: violence against people of colour, vast income inequality, immigration restrictions, and gender barriers, as well as a continuing devaluation of science."