March 13, 2021, marks exactly one year after America declared a national emergency in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, COVID-19 has taken over 500,000 American lives, borne multiple variants, and demonstrated just how fragile and fragmented America’s health care system is. It sparked conversation around workforce, preparedness, equity and disparities, and older adult care. We have also seen heroism from clinicians and everyday citizens alike, a surge in uptake of telemedicine, as well as the fastest and most wide-reaching response to a global health emergency in our history. This briefing is a year in review. Expert panelists will delve into where America stands in public health a year into the COVID-19 pandemic. They will discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic has shaped clinical care, state preparedness, and the individual consumer experience and shed light on promising frameworks and infrastructures being built today to protect Americans from a major public health emergency tomorrow.