>Not putting on my "conspiracy" hat, but I'm sure the rise of pseudo medical ~~professionals~~ (read: "influencers") on social media has contributed to this in

>Not putting on my "conspiracy" hat, but I'm sure the rise of pseudo medical ~~professionals~~ (read: "influencers") on social media has contributed to this in an indirect way. This was already a problem long before COVID, and influencers have nothing to do with it. Patients regularly assault medical professionals, and rarely face any type of consequences (beyond being temporarily restrained, if it happens repeatedly). It's also worth noting that the incident with the HIV-positive patient I mentioned in a sibling comment happened in an inner-city hospital in Columbus, OH. That was the hospital where one of my wife's coworkers was harassed by the other nurses for supporting (then-President) Trump. Not exactly a "right-wing dominated" area, but plenty of horror stories nonetheless.