Johns Hopkins University Press Hardback English
After Covid
The Health Impacts That Will Last Generations
By Jason Gale
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A gripping investigation into the Covid-19 pandemic's lasting effects on our bodies, systems, and trust in science. The Covid-19 pandemic may have faded from headlines, but its shadow remains. In After Covid, award-winning journalist Jason Gale delivers a gripping, deeply researched account of a crisis that has fundamentally changed the world, and continues to reshape it in ways we're only beginning to understand. In this riveting account of the pandemic and its devastating ripple effects, Gale captures the pandemic's messy realities—the panic it spurred, the misinformation and political infighting that stood in the way of controlling it, and the heroic efforts by scientists and health care workers to contain it. Gale exposes what went wrong, what worked, and what continues to threaten us. From the pandemic's chaotic beginnings to the hidden toll of Long Covid, he examines how governments shaped—and sometimes warped—the public narrative around the pandemic. He documents the consequences still unfolding: the rise of chronic illness, the erosion of health care systems, the deepening mental health crisis, and the dangerous spread of anti-science extremism. This book is a powerful, evidence-based reminder that pandemics don't end when case numbers fall. They linger in damaged bodies, strained institutions, and collective memory. Gale connects the dots between lingering symptoms and systemic failure, offering a sweeping view of what's at stake if we choose to forget. After Covid urges readers to confront the true scope of the pandemic's legacy—and the vulnerabilities it has revealed in our systems, societies, and selves.
A gripping investigation into the Covid-19 pandemic's lasting effects on our bodies, systems, and trust in science. The Covid-19 pandemic may have faded from headlines, but its shadow remains. In After Covid, award-winning journalist Jason Gale delivers a gripping, deeply researched account of a crisis that has fundamentally changed the world, and continues to reshape it in ways we're only beginning to understand. In this riveting account of the pandemic and its devastating ripple effects, Gale captures the pandemic's messy realities—the panic it spurred, the misinformation and political infighting that stood in the way of controlling it, and the heroic efforts by scientists and health care workers to contain it. Gale exposes what went wrong, what worked, and what continues to threaten us. From the pandemic's chaotic beginnings to the hidden toll of Long Covid, he examines how governments shaped—and sometimes warped—the public narrative around the pandemic. He documents the consequences still unfolding: the rise of chronic illness, the erosion of health care systems, the deepening mental health crisis, and the dangerous spread of anti-science extremism. This book is a powerful, evidence-based reminder that pandemics don't end when case numbers fall. They linger in damaged bodies, strained institutions, and collective memory. Gale connects the dots between lingering symptoms and systemic failure, offering a sweeping view of what's at stake if we choose to forget. After Covid urges readers to confront the true scope of the pandemic's legacy—and the vulnerabilities it has revealed in our systems, societies, and selves.