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The Invisible Shield, a four-part documentary series, reveals a little-known truth: that public health saved your life today and you probably don’t even know it. But while public health makes modern life possible, the work itself is often underfunded, undervalued, and misunderstood.
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Learn Moreabout PBS online sponsorshipHow to Watch The Invisible Shield
The Invisible Shield is available to stream on pbs.org and the free PBS App, available on iPhone, Apple TV, Android TV, Android smartphones, Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire Tablet, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, and Vizio.
About the Show
Explore how public health has increased life spans and saved countless lives from disease, but underfunding, disinformation, and skepticism of science and government place human health at risk.
More About the Episodes
Episode 1 | The Old Playbook
Discover how public health has doubled life expectancy, but the system is now in jeopardy. When the world has to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, the public health sector revisits the past to create solutions.
Episode 2 | Follow the Data
Learn how data collection has been an essential public health tool for centuries. Increasing understanding and mitigating the spread of disease, data has helped make sense of the threats to collective health.
Episode 3 | Inoculation & Inequity
Explore how disinformation, science skepticism, and government distrust impacted COVID vaccination efforts. Historical injustices and inequities lead to apprehension, forcing public health to refine its approach.
Episode 4 | The New Playbook
Discover how experts are rethinking the public health system in the face of declining life expectancy, inequality, and deaths of despair. How will the next generation of committed public health workers overcome the obstacles they will confront?
The Invisible Shield
Explore the discussion guide for The Invisible Shield, a useful tool for extended learning related to the docuseries. The guide pulls out key themes from the show and presents questions that encourage critical thinking, powerful discussion, and expanded understanding regarding public health.Photos from The Invisible Shield
An emergency hospital at Camp Funston.
1/5
National Museum of Health and Medicine
A "Wear A Mask" poster.
2/5
Sunday Oregonain
NYC Mayor Fiorello La Guardia and Department of Health Commissioner John Rice in front of a chart showing plunging city death rate.
3/5
NYC Municipal Archives
Policemen in Seattle wearing masks made by the Red Cross.
4/5
National Archives & Records Administration
Wadsworth Center Laboratory Staff
5/5
NYS Department of Health, Wadsworth Center
