Dr. Novneet Sahu, deputy commissioner for public health at the New Jersey Department of Health, discusses his state’s multi-pronged strategy to improve vaccine access and address vaccine confidence in response to a national rise in pediatric flu deaths; Thaddeus Pham, viral hepatitis prevention coordinator at the Hawaii Department of Health, explains...
Dr. Novneet Sahu, deputy commissioner for public health at the New Jersey Department of Health, discusses his state’s multi-pronged strategy to improve vaccine access and address vaccine confidence in response to a national rise in pediatric flu deaths; Thaddeus Pham, viral hepatitis prevention coordinator at the Hawaii Department of Health, explains what the state has accomplished through HEP FREE 2030, Hawaii’s initiative to eliminate Hepatitis B and C by the year 2030; on Wednesday, October 29 at 3 p.m. ET, ASTHO will host part one of a two-part webinar series on the accomplishments of various jurisdictions in their preparedness and response tactics during extreme weather events; and a new ASTHO report can help jurisdictions reduce overdose-related harms and support the communities affected by it.
NJ.com: Pediatric flu deaths reach 15-year high. Get your shot now, officials urge.
HEP FREE 2030: The Hawai‘i Hepatitis Elimination Strategy 2020-2030
JANSON SILVERS:
This is the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition for Tuesday, October 28, 2025. I'm Janson Silvers. Now, today's news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.
NOVNEET SAHU:
So, the most recent flu season was, in fact, severe, with over 200 reported fatal pediatric cases in the U.S., and we had five in New Jersey, and this shows that we still have a lot of work to do.
SILVERS:
Pediatric flu deaths in the U.S. have reached a 15-year high, and vaccination coverage across the country continues to decline. Despite the trend, New Jersey has managed to slow the decrease, reporting higher than average coverage for this flu season. Dr. Novneet Sahu, deputy commissioner for public health at the New Jersey Department of Health, discusses his state's multi-pronged strategy.
SAHU:
When we think about improving access, it means offering more convenient options like special pop-up vaccine clinics, which we are coordinating with some of our local health systems on, that can make it easier for busy families to get their children vaccinated at locations that are convenient to them, at times of the day that are convenient.
SILVERS:
Public health departments also need to address vaccine confidence and misinformation, which they can do by empowering trusted messengers.
SAHU:
We need to engage our health clinicians, our community leaders, our faith-based organizations, our school nurses, and other kind-of vaccine champions out in the community to help deliver some of the accurate and effective vaccine messaging.
SILVERS:
Sahu says reporting cases and keeping providers across the state up to date is essential, which is why New Jersey uses web-based dashboards to organize its data.
SAHU:
It's important to collect the accurate data, but also then report back that data. So folks have some- some ability to modify what's going on, but give clear and concise recommendations.
SILVERS:
To read more about how your state can increase vaccination rates and prevent pediatric flu deaths, check out the link in the show notes.
HEP FREE 2030 is Hawaii's initiative to eliminate Hepatitis B and C by the year 2030. Now, more than halfway through their timeline, the coalition has made significant progress. Thaddeus Pham with the Hawaii Department of Health explains what they've accomplished.
THADDEUS PHAM:
We now have a coalition of diverse stakeholders who are moving all of our initiatives forward. For example, we just are going through our Hepatitis C economic model, and it shows that by 2030 we should actually eliminate Hepatitis C in Hawaii without any changes in our current work.
SILVERS:
Pham says the initiative formed strong relationships with other organizations in the community, which allowed them to identify creative opportunities for funding the work.
PHAM:
One of the things that we definitely leverage is our relationships with our substance treatment partners in Hawaii. So, for example, we use state opioid response funds in order to provide care coordination for Hepatitis C and for medication for opioid use disorder in high-impact settings.
SILVERS:
The coalition's advocacy work has also been integral to bringing about policy changes that support their efforts.
PHAM:
A couple great things that we've been able to do locally is one, remove prior authorizations, for the most part, with our Medicaid plan, so that's been fantastic. And then the second one is, it was a multi-year effort, but we're able to pass a local law that would sustainably fund hepatitis programming in Hawaii.
SILVERS:
Moving forward, the initiative is increasing its focus on Hepatitis B through community-based and culturally grounded care. You can learn more about Hawaii's work to eliminate Hepatitis B and C on the HEP FREE 2030 webpage. We'll have a link in the show notes.
Tomorrow, Wednesday, October 29 at 3 p.m. Eastern Time, join ASTHO for part one of a two-part webinar series to explore the accomplishments of various jurisdictions in their preparedness and response tactics during extreme weather events. Learn how North and South Carolina worked with ASTHO to build out their capacity for hurricane preparation, response, and recovery. You can still sign up: just use the link in the show notes.
Finally, while fatal and non-fatal overdose rates in the U.S. have begun to trend downward, evidence-based overdose prevention and surveillance programs are still needed to bolster early successes. If your jurisdiction is looking to reduce overdose-related harms and support the communities affected by it, head to ASTHO's website for a new report on the subject, or just click the link in the show notes.
That'll do it for today. We're back tomorrow 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 day.
