Turner holds a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBChB), a Diploma of Obstetrics Gynaecology and Family Planning (Dip Obs) and a Masters of Public Health (MPH Hons) from the University of Auckland.
[2][6] Turner has been part of the General Practice team at Newtown Union Health Services (NUHS), Broadway, Wellington since 2011,[7] and is an Associate and spokesperson for the Child Poverty Action Group.
[12] In a later discussion about this research, Turner reiterated the importance of protecting pregnant women from any infection, and if vaccines were in short supply, prioritising them for "access to antivirals and ventilators in hospital intensive care units if they get sick".
[17] This report supported the findings in a previous paper, endorsed by the New Zealand Medical Association and co-authored by Turner, which contended that overcrowding, poor nutrition, exposure to tobacco and stress contributed to creating a social environment in which the population was vulnerable and likely to have less access to health care services.
[23] A follow-up paper on this research highlighted that to get a better understanding of migrant health, data must be disaggregated to locate hidden trends, provide information about subsets and make vulnerable groups more visible.
[25] She noted that the decision-making process for consent can be influenced by anti-vaccination views,[32] but while making vaccinations mandatory would be helpful, there was a risk that some families might be less inclined to discuss their concerns openly, impacting engagement their with, and trust in, healthcare professionals.
[33] In May 2020, Turner, speaking as director for the Immunisation Advisory Centre, supported the use of a vaccine in managing the COVID-19 pandemic in New Zealand and highlighted that it was important to avoid issues of equity of access across the world by privileging the wealthier nations.
[34] She concurred with other experts that the vaccine was a key component in responding to the virus and cautioned against unrealistic hopes that it would happen quickly in New Zealand because of supply issues and prioritisation of the administration to the most vulnerable, and those at "heightened risk of infections like border workers and health staff".
[35] When New Zealand confirmed the purchase of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, Turner said that while the country had access to both clinical and "real world" data, and was well situated to approve it,[36][37] there was no need to rush the process.
She suggested people with very severe allergies did need to be careful and it was important good information about the strengths and limitations of this vaccine, based on clinical data that was appropriately scrutinized, was shared by the media, scientists and the general community .
She refuted that the booster needed to be in the non-dominant arm, noting while it was good to keep fluid levels up during heat, drinking water, [won't] "make any difference to the vaccine response" and while stress on the immune system was understandable, there was little cause for concern.