State Legislatures Reshape Public Health Legal Authority
Learn how state and territorial legislatures can bolster or restrict public health legal authority, with examples from early COVID-19 as well as 2024.
Learn how state and territorial legislatures can bolster or restrict public health legal authority, with examples from early COVID-19 as well as 2024.
Public health leaders are positioned to prevent illness from the "tripledemic” of COVID-19, Influenza, and RSV with approved vaccines and preventative antibody treatments.
Several states and territories, as well as many local governments, are going beyond recommendations and requiring individuals to wear face coverings when they are in public settings and spaces (i.e. grocery stores, retail stores, ...
The 2020 holiday season is coinciding with a nationwide surge of COVID-19 cases. With great concern that holiday travel to see loved ones may exacerbate community spread of the virus, many states are increasing public health measures ...
Policymakers seek to prevent the spread of COVID-19 by focusing on non-congregate sheltering and alternative housing for unhoused populations.
For many Americans, access to dental care remains out of reach, but there are a number of states pursuing strategies to improve access and oral health outcomes, such as primary care and dental care integration, workforce innovations, and ...
Supporting policies that reduce HIV stigma and promote health equity is an important public health issue.
In an effort to help meet demand, some states and territories have joined interjurisdictional licensing compacts that allow a mental healthcare provider licensed in one state to provide care in another state—without needing to gain ...
While largely preventable, healthcare-associated infections are the most common complication of hospital care, are a leading cause of death in the United States, and increased significantly during the pandemic. States have proposed ...
Policies that broadly define "vaccine" expand access to life saving immunization products.
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, ...
States and territories have broad powers to protect public health and safety, including powers to prevent and control the spread of communicable disease typically exercised by state and territorial health departments. This authority is an ...
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 ...
During the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government enacted the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, temporarily expanding the use of telehealth technologies by removing various requirements and ...
Anticipating a rapid deployment of COVID-19 vaccines as they are authorized, the CDC developed COVID-19 Vaccination Program Operational Guidance in collaboration with state and local jurisdictions to outline how each jurisdiction will make ...
In the current legislative cycle, there are several policy strategies that support the development and integration of community health workers into the public health workforce, including dedicated federal funding and state laws supporting ...
Each year, ASTHO notes the top public health policy issues to watch in the upcoming year. Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl substances are synthetic chemicals that can migrate into soil, water, and air during production and use, and can accumulate ...
Poor oral health is considered a health disparity for low-income children and adults; it has significant impacts on the overall health and well-being especially for those who are vulnerable. However, states can utilize a variety of ...
Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) has become more prevalent in the United States, with the hospitalization rate increasing from 2.9 to 7.3 hospitalizations per 1,000 newborn births between 2009 and 2017. NAS occurs in newborns who ...
As the weather warms, state and territorial health agencies prepare to address a rise in public health risks associated with recreational water activities, such as water-related injury, drowning, waterborne disease outbreaks, and exposure ...