Widespread suffering and death are not inevitable. According to a recent expert commission, we could have averted roughly 40 percent of COVID-19 deaths if the United States had responded to the threat as similarly wealthy countries did. 

In order to limit the spread of COVID-19 as people await vaccination, it’s essential that state governors keep common sense restrictions, like mask wearing and closures of high risk businesses, in place. 

If we don’t take all of these actions, or stop at half measures, then the consequences will be measured in even more suffering and death. Few people living today remember what it was like to live through a world war, but that’s what we’re in, and we’re going to have to sacrifice if we want to save ourselves and each other. Just as the greatest generation did, we need to step up to what history has delivered.

That’s why we're organizing an army of medical experts, caregivers, emergency workers and everyday people, calling on our leaders to do what it takes to beat COVID. We’re calling on state and federal lawmakers to tell us the truth about the virus, even when it’s hard; to take bold action to save lives, even when it means shutting down again; to harness our collective resources to provide the testing and contact tracing it will take to contain the virus, and vaccinate enough people to eventually end the pandemic.