A few weeks ago, I spoke to my colleague Declan Walsh, who was reporting at the epicenter of the Ebola epidemic. One thing that stuck with me was the rage he described toward many of the health workers trying to contain the outbreak.

It reminded me of something I witnessed in Germany during Covid. There, too, anger was often directed at those whose goal was to help. There were weekly protests against restrictions, some of them violent. A gas station attendant was killed when he asked a man to wear a mask.

So what is it about health crises and rage? Today my colleague Sheri Fink explains why anger at health workers is something many societies have struggled with for centuries.

Efforts to contain Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo did not begin well. Patients fled a treatment unit after community members set it on fire. Residents assaulted a burial team and forced the crew to turn over a coffin.

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