Recording Available: State Health Leaders Outline Respiratory Virus Season Strategies During ASTHO Briefing

August 14, 2025

ARLINGTON, VA — Ahead of the fall respiratory virus season, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) hosted a deskside media briefing with public health leaders to discuss the importance, efficacy and safety of vaccines and the role they play in reducing the burden of respiratory illness.

"Reliable studies show that vaccines are critical tools which offer protection against serious respiratory illnesses such as seasonal influenza, COVID-19, and RSV. Vaccines and boosters strengthen protection and improve the chances that any infections will be less severe in children and adults this fall and winter,” says Scott Harris, MD, MPH, ASTHO president and state health officer, Alabama Department of Public Health. “Routine childhood vaccination has been proven safe and effective, flu shots are recommended for everyone age 6 months and older with a few exceptions, and RSV vaccine helps protect pregnant women and older adults against hospitalization and death.”

“Connecticut ranked highest in the country for two-dose measles vaccination rate among kindergarteners and our other increasing immunization rates stand in contrast to the national decline," says Manisha Juthani, MD, ASTHO president-elect and Connecticut Department of Public Health commissioner. "Our high vaccination rates have helped Connecticut remain one of nine states that has not had a case of measles yet as cases continue to accumulate around the country. Staying up to date on routine vaccines, particularly as we head into back-to-school and cold and flu season, is crucial for protecting families from preventable diseases and maintaining community-level immunity. We cannot predict which respiratory viral infection will be most prevalent this season, but we can protect our families against them and potential severe complications by getting vaccinated this fall."

“There are signs that disinformation and confusion have impacted how parents have vaccinated their kids both for regular school-based vaccines and for respiratory viruses. This is a trend we need to really be concerned about,” says Ayanna Bennett, MD, MSPH, director of the District of Columbia Department of Health. “Children have special vulnerabilities, and we want to be sure that if we have protection, we are delivering it to them.”

View a recording of ASTHO’s deskside media briefing.

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ASTHO is the national nonprofit organization representing the public health agencies of the United States, the U.S. territories and freely associated states, and Washington, D.C., as well as the more than 100,000 public health professionals these agencies employ. ASTHO members, the chief health officials of these jurisdictions, are dedicated to formulating and influencing sound public health policy and to ensuring excellence in public health practice.