The Turning Point

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Reflections on a Pandemic

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In the early years of COVID-19, Americans witnessed the intersection of a global pandemic, an economic collapse, and civil unrest that galvanized the country and the world and ushered in an era of unprecedented disruption. Three years later, we can begin to reflect on the experience of the pandemic and ask ourselves how the lessons of that experience can inform a healthier present and future.

The Turning Point: Reflections on a Pandemic examines the first years of COVID-19 through the lens of population health, revealing a critical turning point in our engagement with key public health issues. Through a series of short, provocative essays, the authors leverage their experience as prominent public health leaders to untangle the social, economic, environmental, and political forces at work in our response to the pandemic. Combining cutting-edge data with philosophical insights, these bold and revelatory essays encourage us to broaden and sharpen our vision of health and renegotiate policies that can allow health to flourish in extraordinary-and ordinary-times.

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Praise for THE TURNING POINT

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"Uniquely insightful and admirably-researched, THE TURNING POINT offers a bold new approach to pandemic preparedness – one focused on overall health and well-being." -- Martin A. Makary, MD, MPH, New York Times bestselling author of The Price We Pay

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"THE TURNING POINT: Reflections on a Pandemic is a profound, comprehensive and thought-provoking analysis of the COVID-19 pandemic and its far-reaching effects on our society. This fascinating book explores the intersection of public health, policy, and human behavior and offers a roadmap for building a healthier future." -- Laura Magaña, PhD, President & CEO, Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health (ASPPH)

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"THE TURNING POINT: Reflections on a Pandemic is a timely expose of the COVID-19 pandemic and its broader impact through the lens of lessons learned that can inform future public health emergencies and responses. It is an important and valuable read for policy makers and preparedness planners who desire not to repeat our most recent mistakes." -- Georges C. Benjamin, MD, Executive director, American Public Health Association

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"THE TURNING POINT offers frank and thought-provoking reflections on lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic from two of the nation’s most prominent public health thought leaders. Stein and Galea’s roadmap on how to prevent and respond to future epidemics should foster community resilience, putting the ‘public’ back in ‘public health’. Written in an approachable style that should appeal to everyone, its essays should be required reading for public health students, policymakers and health journalists." -- Steffanie Strathdee, PhD, Harold Simon Distinguished Professor, University of California San Diego Department of Medicine, author of The Perfect Predator: A Scientist’s Race to Save Her Husband from a Deadly Superbug

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