A day-long event Nov. 13 hosted by the College of Arts & Sciences focused on lessons that policymakers and elected officials could glean from academic research about the COVID pandemic to help deal with the next public health emergency.

The day ended with a public talk by Frances Lee, professor of politics and public affairs at Princeton, who shared research from her 2025 book, “In COVID’s Wake: How Our Politics Failed Us,” co-written with Stephen Macedo, which is critical of the U.S. government’s response to the pandemic.

“Frances Lee provides a fresh voice and a helpful corrective as we look back on COVID,” said Peter John Loewen, the Harold Tanner Dean of Arts & Sciences. 

Lee’s book contends that rather than focusing on past research and reports about pandemics, officials embraced mass closures and non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPI) during COVID without proof they would slow down the spread.

“Governors were the key decision-makers, deciding whether, when and how to enforce pandemic restrictions, and also eventually also supervising vaccine campaigns,” Lee said. “They were looking to the federal government for guidance, but there were not standard operating procedures for what to do.”

Read the full story on The College of Arts & Sciences website.