On May 11, 2023, ASTHO announced it had filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court of North Carolina asserting that a public health official must be empowered to take quick action to protect the ...
During the COVID-19 pandemic, public health authority has been used to require the use of face masks and encourage social distancing, and other measures. In several states these legal authorities ...
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 ...
In anticipation of the upcoming presidential election in November, the Republican and Democratic National Committees released their platforms. These platforms provide an overview of values, policies, ...
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 ...
As COVID-19 emerged and spread in the U.S., people working and residing in long-term care facilities have experienced a significant burden of COVID-19 cases and deaths. As of Oct. 8, deaths ...
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 ...
With many of the state and territorial legislatures reconvening over the next few weeks, we can look forward to new (and not-so-new) legislation start to crop up that will impact public health. To ...
As the Delta variant spreads across the country and increases the number of COVID-19 cases, the strain it is placing on the nation’s health system continues to grow. The surge of COVID-19 patients is ...
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 ...
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. ...
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 ...
Public health officials from all levels of government are working to respond to the existing outbreak of monkeypox, while preparing for the potential of more widespread transmission.
There are a number of court cases playing out across the country that could affect the options state and territorial health officials have to limit the spread of disease and promote health and ...
During the 2022 state legislative sessions, at least 20 states considered bills that would require a religious exemption to a vaccine requirement. As state legislatures continue considering vaccine ...
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 ...
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 ...
ASTHO engaged Oklahoma public health officials, members of the Oklahoma Harm Reduction Alliance, Health Minds Policy Initiative, and representatives of the Southern Plains Tribal Health Board, and ...
One of tools presidents have to implement and drive their strategy are executive actions. Executive orders and presidential memoranda carry the force of law and allow presidents to move quickly, ...
ASTHO's mission is to support, equip, and advocate for state and territorial health officials in their work of advancing the public's health and well-being. To that end, here are the 12 most ...