Galea, an epidemiologist and public health leader, has long shared insights into the ways that the U.S. health care system should change to become more equitable and considerate of overall well-being. For decades, Galea has studied the impact of crises on mental health, including disasters like Hurricane Katrina, 9/11, and prior outbreaks — including a study on the psychological effects of the quarantine used to control the 2003 SARS outbreak. During the Covid-19 crisis, he’s continuing to share both insights and research on the mental health toll of the pandemic. “Covid-19 is really two pandemics,” he shared in an April thread on the mental health risks of the virus. “One is how the virus threatens physical health. The other is the threat to mental health. We have not much discussed the latter, but we should. The mental health burden of this pandemic is real and will likely be with us for years to come.”