Public Health and Nihilism

Here's a very long article from 2016 showing how public health was politicized before Trump and covid:  

U.S. Public Health Professionals Routinely Mislead the Public about Infectious Diseases: True or False? Dishonest or Self-Deceptive? Harmful or Benign?

For me, this article shows why the covid crisis has been such a political nightmare.  As with the viral lab leak, the chickens are coming home to roost for the medical/scientific establishment. 

It should be noted that I have basically the same attitude towards all of our establishment institutions: military, intelligence, Wall Street, Pharma, media, ...  I'm currently reading The Revolt of The Public and the Crisis of Authority in the New Millennium, by former CIA analyst Martin Gurri, which describes this phenomenon.  The Internet, if left uncensored, exposes a lot of previously hidden information about our authoritative institutions, and can engender nihilism in the public.  I'm against nihilism and recognize the need for authoritative institutions, so I try not to be overly alarmist.  There's a lot of good as well as a lot of bad and I want to support the good.