Recent state laws and governor emergency orders prohibiting universal school mask protocols are complicating the implementation of CDC’s evidence-based guidance for COVID-19 mitigation measures for in-person school. Ten states have enacted ...
While COVID-19 remains a top public health priority, the pandemic has also intensified the need for strong tobacco control policies and marketing campaigns. CDC recognizes current or former tobacco users as one of several groups at higher ...
This week might have marked the beginning of summer, but many policymakers and health officials have their eye on the upcoming school year and what that might mean in terms of getting students vaccinated against COVID-19. According to a ...
Though we’ve made progress on the number of HIV cases in the U.S, tens of thousands of Americans are diagnosed with HIV each year—a disproportionate number being people of color. In 2019, the federal government launched the Ending the HIV ...
This week has been both exhilarating and poignant. Almost surreal. We started the week by pausing to celebrate and reflect on the life and legacy of one of America’s greatest sons, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. On Tuesday, ASTHO participated ...
With the COVID-19 pandemic in full force, health agencies are ensuring that their focus does not drift from the fight to end the HIV epidemic. Resiliency is key to continue to make progress in this decades-long fight.
During the early spread of COVID-19, the National Rural Health Association senior vice president Brock Slabach stated: “Before the pandemic, rural hospitals were struggling for survival. COVID-19 has put a spotlight on the fractures that ...
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 impacted pregnant people and infants more severely than some other populations. As such, it is important to pay special attention to this vulnerable group.
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 ...
Murray Penner, executive director of NASTAD, reflects on what it will take to end the global hepatitis epidemic and the critical role public health plays in accomplishing this important work.
The introduction of highly effective antiviral treatments for hepatitis C in 2014 marks the first time we have been able to cure a major and highly-infectious virus. Despite the significant challenges of addressing a highly stigmatized ...
You may be wondering why we should vote in the middle of a pandemic, when there are so many stresses on our lives and the process feels so polarized. But voting has a direct impact on health. It is one way that we care for our family, our ...
ASTHO interviewed two state health agencies (SHAs), two nonprofit partners, and one university partner that were heavily invested in state early childhood development policy about how their programs fared during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Amid so much uncertainty, it might feel naïve to make any claims about what the future holds. But it is in these moments that it becomes more important than ever to have beacons to guide us and give us hope. As we look ahead to 2022, ...
A mid-session legislative update on five of ASTHO's top 10 public health state policy issues to watch in 2023: data privacy and modernization, reproductive health, health equity, strengthening public health agencies, and immunization.
In recognition of National Infant Immunization Week, ASTHO and AMCHP interviewed Michael Warren, MD, MPH, FAAP, and Associate Administrator of the Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB) at the Health Resources and Services Administration ...
As we celebrate National Rural Health Day this year, we are reminded of how important telehealth can be for public health and healthcare. Telehealth can minimize challenges faced by rural patients and communities—such as transportation, ...
As a truly historic year comes to an end, many public health policy issues received a considerable amount of attention in 2020. Subjects such as the pandemic that will live on in infamy, racial health disparities, and the future of the ...
Though COVID-19 has dominated public health over the past year, other communicable diseases are still occurring at troubling rates. The CDC recently released data in their Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance, 2019 report, showing ...