In a mid-March 2021 appearance on MSNBC News, National Institutes of Health director Dr. Francis Collins expressed dismay at the public's display of independence, saying:

"Oh my God, Florida, stay out of the bars with your masks off! What are you doing? This is exactly the wrong thing to be doing unless you want to end up where Europe is."

He's referring to a new variant of SARS-CoV-2 that is, allegedly, now "causing so many problems" in Europe. But is it really? To be clear, there will be many new variants of this virus, just as the seasonal flu changes and evolves from year to year. The thing is, as viruses mutate within a population over time, they tend to become more benign.

Mutations: 'Much Ado About Nothing'