It's been nearly three years since the COVID-19 pandemic began in the U.S., and the public health emergencies that were declared by the Trump Administration and renewed several times by the Biden Administration are scheduled to end on May 11, 2023 . At least 1.1 million Americans have perished from coronavirus infections, with excess deaths data indicating that absent the pandemic, the vast majority would still be living. Early on, stories of doctors and nurses having to wear garbage bags as personal protective equipment and reusing the same N-95 mask for days on end drove a narrative that health care professionals were heroes, wading into battle against the virus like soldiers under enemy fire or firefighters rescuing people from a blazing home. We were working longer hours under unusually stressful circumstances, and despite precautions, many front-line health care workers became infected on the job, particularly before the first vaccines became available in December 2020. Bu