1009: ACIP Updates, Suicide Prevention Studies

JANSON SILVERS: 

This is the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition for Friday, October 10, 2025. I'm Janson Silvers. Now, today's news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.

SUSAN KANSAGRA: 

Those recommendations were just formally adopted on Monday, October 6, and then that triggers a cascade of additional actions that influence access on the ground, as well as insurance coverage.

SILVERS: 

That's ASTHO's chief medical officer, Dr. Susan Kansagra, on CDC adoption of recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices earlier this week. In her new blog article, Kansagra breaks down what the adoption of ACIP recommendations will mean for states and providers.

KANSAGRA: 

It means that COVID-19 vaccine will be available through the Vaccines for Children program, that Vaccines for Children's program is in law linked back to ACIP recommendations.

SILVERS: 

The adoption of the ACIP recommendations also triggers insurance coverage.

KANSAGRA: 

While many insurers had already said they would continue to cover COVID-19 vaccine this season, this now formally requires insurers to cover the COVID-19 vaccine under this shared clinical decision-making recommendation

SILVERS: 

When it comes to MMRV vaccines, Kansagra says CDC adopted ACIP's recommendation not to provide the combined vaccine to children under the age of four, but instead to provide a standalone varicella vaccine and the standalone MMR vaccine.

KANSAGRA: 

Most providers are already doing that, but that essentially codifies that recommendation into the pediatric schedule that is available online through the CDC.

SILVERS: 

Kansagra says the blog article also covers what state and territorial health departments have been doing to independently support vaccine access while waiting on federal recommendations. You can read it now by visiting ASTHO's website or by heading to the show notes. We have a link right to it.

When it comes to suicide prevention, many know early intervention is crucial. Now, a new study from Johns Hopkins University is showing just how crucial it is. Dr. Holly Wilcox, founder and director of the Center for Suicide Prevention at Johns Hopkins University, is working on one of the largest and most conclusive studies of the impacts of early intervention on suicide.

HOLLY WILCOX: 

We have some very exciting preliminary evidence that programs like the Good Behavior Game that are delivered very early on in school can reduce deaths at the population level.

SILVERS: 

Wilcox and her team recently completed another study focused on child access prevention laws at the state level that analyzed suicide mortality data across all 50 states.

WILCOX: 

We looked at when Child Access Prevention laws were introduced and in relation to suicide deaths, and we found that that type of legislation can reduce the rate of suicide among young people by 14%

SILVERS: 

Whether by limiting access to lethal means or reducing social determinants of suicide risk. Wilcox says policies play a critical role in advancing suicide prevention efforts.

WILCOX: 

It's really important to be thinking about at the state level how we can use data for action. So there have been some policy efforts to involve data linkage, enhanced surveillance, and also coordination and partnerships.

SILVERS: 

Wilcox adds that improved access to data and communication can help agencies create a specialized approach for each community.

WILCOX: 

We really have to look at the people we serve and what's going to be best for them, and so taking the step of doing some kind of needs assessment and figuring out what types of efforts can be sustained and impactful will- will make a real difference.

SILVERS: 

To learn more about the important work Dr. Wilcox and her team are doing at the Center for Suicide Prevention, click the link in the show notes.

Has your jurisdiction strengthened its capacity to prevent adverse childhood experiences, suicide, overdose, and other mental health-related harms? ASTHO is looking for health agency leaders and program staff from up to six jurisdictions to join discussions and share what they learned to help shape strategies and drive impact at other agencies. Discussions will start in December, but the deadline to apply is October 24. You can find a link to the application by heading to the show notes.

Finally, effective grant management can be challenging, but it's an essential part of supporting comprehensive health services in any jurisdiction. One territory that knows this well is the U.S. Virgin Islands. A new ASTHOblog article describes how the territory worked with ASTHO and the Department of the Interior to establish official grant and financial management systems and ensure that federal funding could be accessed faster once approved. To read more, click the link in the show notes.

That'll do it for today, we're back on Monday morning with more ASTHO news and information. I'm Janson Silvers. You're listening to the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition. Have a great weekend.