Update on State Legislative Sessions 2025
Recap the state legislative sessions in 2025 thus far, spanning maternal health, infectious disease, and other important public health issues.
Recap the state legislative sessions in 2025 thus far, spanning maternal health, infectious disease, and other important public health issues.
Learn how health agencies can improve access to critical medications by preparing for drug shortages and working with a diverse set of partners.
The COVID-19 pandemic has exasperated challenges around access to nutritious and affordable foods. In response, the federal government has taken action to increase funding and access to programs to strengthen food security.
While communities transition from emergency response to long-term monitoring and recovery, the federal government and states are taking legislative action to improve emergency preparedness capabilities.
Under the Tenth Amendment, states have the power to protect the health and welfare of their populations, including the authority to implement isolation and quarantine orders to limit the spread of disease. This post is an examination of ...
Scientists are working quickly to develop a safe and effective vaccine to provide immunity to COVID-19. Once a vaccine is approved, it will likely be imperative for states to authorize as many health care professionals to administer it, ...
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, states are using their emergency powers to authorize a variety of social distancing measures. This post is a summary of executive orders that have led to the closure of many businesses and nonprofit ...
During the the 2021-2022 legislative sessions, several states have enacted laws addressing flu prevention efforts.
PrEP is a powerful tool to reduce new HIV infections; expanding access to PrEP is a priority within the federal Ending the HIV Epidemic in the U.S. initiative. One way to increase access to PrEP is by allowing pharmacists to prescribe and ...
Vaccines are one of the greatest public health achievements of the last century, as well as some of the most powerful and cost-effective tools to prevent disease, disparities, disability, and death among children and adults. The COVID-19 ...
While governments have faced challenges in adopting a Health in All Policies (HiAP) approach to respond to COVID-19, the impact of the public health emergency across sectors such as housing, transportation, and employment has created a ...
Accurate and timely communication from health officials during a public health emergency is critical to ensure people can reduce their risk of illness or death. Karen Smith (alumni-CA) talks about her experiences communicating policy ...
Each September marks National Preparedness Month. This year, public health emergency preparedness professionals look back on 20 years since the 9/11 attacks—the event that effectively launched the preparedness field—while actively ...
In-depth analysis on state health policy surrounding immunization. This is part of ASTHO's annual legislative prospectus series.
Reconciling the tension between public health and civil liberties is one of the most significant challenges of public health law and ethics. The Supreme Court of the United States historically upheld state authority to enact and enforce ...
Data reveals that nearly one third of COVID-19 patients experience one or more post-COVID conditions that linger for weeks or months after infection. The cause, duration, and potential treatments for these conditions are still being ...
As the COVID-19 Delta variant surges across the country, public and private employers have started instituting COVID-19 vaccination, testing, and masking protocols for their employees. On July 29, 2021 the White House announced that all ...
As the number of COVID-19 vaccinations grows, some states are looking at their vaccination rates to determine when to loosen measures that mitigate the spread of COVID-19, such as venue capacity limits, business closure times, and masking ...
Dental care and the oral health workforce have also been tremendously impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the midst of stay at home orders, nationwide closures, and related employment loss, people have largely put their oral health on ...
The COVID-19 pandemic has further amplified the need for strong tobacco prevention and cessation policies. Research indicates that tobacco use is associated with increased rate of COVID-19 disease progression and increased likelihood of ...