How do I handle being blamed for hard public health decisions?

You make the calls that other people are glad they never had to make, and then those same people blame you for making them. That stings in a specific way, because you took responsibility instead of hiding, and responsibility is what drew the fire. You are being punished for your courage, not your error. Blame often lands on whoever was brave enough to decide. People who face no consequences get to demand a certainty that does not exist. You already know real decisions are made in fog. Do not let their comfort rewrite what you know about the job. When the blame comes, ask one clean question: given what I actually knew at the time, was the call reasonable? If yes, let the rest go. You are not required to carry judgments made by people who never stood where you stood.