Public Health Review

One of the many lessons learned from the COVID-19 pandemic is the needed investment in a robust public health workforce that can respond to crises when they arise. Yet, a well-funded public health workforce isn’t enough--there also needs to be a fundamental commitment to health equity. Unfortunately, years of disinvestment in governmental public health led to a system that wasn’t as prepared as it could have been for a pandemic, and COVID-19 demonstrated disproportionate impacts across racial and ethnic groups. It is critical now more than ever to have a strong public health workforce that can address evolving challenges and needs, and build confidence in public health in communities disproportionately disenfranchised and negatively impacted by COVID-19. The experts on this episode make the case for how a robust public health workforce could have changed the trajectory of our pandemic response, but also explain why we should reimagine what a strong public health workforce requires as we enter into pandemic re