Maybe you need to do some reading. Appeal to authority is a fallacy only when the appeal is to an unrelated authority.
If I rely on public health authorities in determining how to deal with the pandemic, I'm in the clear, logically speaking.
If I rely on public health authorities in determining how to deal with the pandemic, I'm in the clear, logically speaking.
If you rely on unreliable public health authorities, you might feel OK about your choice, but you're not in the clear, logically.
Are they trustworthy enough to modify behavior in ways that appear proportionate to the risk when they make an recommendation and show their reasoning and whatever data they have? Yes, of course, but that’s no longer based on their name/reputation alone and, because it’s only a temporary behavior change, it has a much lower standard of proof.
And no, it isn't true what you say about the fallacy. It remains a fallacy if the only argument for a statement is authority of course.