1082: Inside ASTHO’s Spring Leadership Forum Part II and ACIP Updates

JOHN SHEEHAN:
This is Public Health Review Morning Edition for Monday, March 9th, 2026. I'm John
Sheehan with news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials. Today, we
go behind the scenes at ASTHO's Spring Leadership Forum and Hill Day in Washington, D.C.,
held last week. Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, ASTHO member and chief medical executive for
the state of Michigan, shares how bipartisan conversations with members of Congress
revealed something often overlooked in today's political climate, a shared commitment to
healthier, safer communities. Plus, Carolyn Mullen, senior vice president of government
affairs and public relations at ASTHO, provides a behind-the-scenes look at meetings with
lawmakers where state and territorial health officials discussed public health infrastructure,
vaccination rates, and the impact of federal funding decisions on communities. But first,
here's Dr. Bagdasarian on her impressions from the leadership forum.

NATASHA BAGDASARIAN:
It was really fun. We met with folks from across the aisle. And, you know, when we talk to
people in elected office, one of the things that I always really come away with is that we
really are all trying to achieve the same things.
We all want our communities to be healthier, to be more successful, to have more fulfilling
lives. And so what I really loved about today were those conversations on both sides of the
aisle where we had so much common ground.

SHEEHAN:
And are there any initiatives in Michigan that you'd like to highlight?

BAGDASARIAN:
There are some very cool things happening in Michigan that I'd love to talk about. First of
all, we have our opioid task force where we are strategically spending our opioid settlement
funds and making sure that Michigan is reducing the number of overdose deaths and really
meeting people where they are, meeting different communities where they are. We're
working on prevention, harm reduction, treatment, recovery.
And just between 2023 and 2024, we reduced overdose deaths by over 35%, making
Michigan one of the top five states in the country. And really, I think leading to some very
successful outcomes for a lot of our community. So I'm excited to continue doing that work.
That's been very satisfying. We've got some non-legislative things we're working on, things
that require a little bit of funding. We're just working on moving those initiatives forward.
But I think a lot of folks nationally are paying attention. And I'd love for Michigan to be a
leader in this space as well.

SHEEHAN:
And speaking of national issues, are there any updates with the CDC's Advisory Council on
Immunization Practices?

BAGDASARIAN:

It's an interesting time. You know, what we really saw over the last year is a crumbling of
the structure by which vaccine decisions are made. Usually there's a very clear timeline and
a very clear direction.
Things go to FDA, vaccines get FDA approval. Then they go to ACIP. Then once the ACIP has
recommendations, then they go to CDC and CDC signs off on them.
And what we're seeing in the last year is that process has been turned on its head. We're
seeing decisions out of order, decisions without new data or without data being shared
transparently. And then of course, between the last ACIP meeting and the one that's coming
up in March, we saw HHS completely decimate the childhood vaccination schedule without
even going through ACIP.
So it's an interesting position to be the ACIP liaison member when it's unclear what role
ACIP has at the moment if HHS can just unilaterally change vaccine recommendations
without new data, without new review of evidence. So I think that will be interesting to see,
but it's an important time for us to be holding people accountable who are in these
positions because as people around the country are watching, there are measles outbreaks,
massive measles outbreaks happening in a number of states right now. They are putting
communities at risk.
They're putting babies at risk who are too young to be vaccinated. They're putting those
who are immunocompromised at risk. And we're starting to see the real world
consequences.
There were three measles deaths last year. Last year, we had the highest number of measles
cases since 1992. And so I really would like to hold some of these individuals and groups
accountable for creating vaccine mistrust and this level of rhetoric in a time when these
tools are so needed.
And what I'll say is whenever I'm talking to individuals, whenever I'm talking to real parents
who are making decisions about their kids and their kids' health, I always go to those
conversations with the expectation that they are making the best possible decisions they
can and they really want to understand the science and evidence. And all parents, all people
who are making those types of decisions for their families are coming to this with good
intention for the people that they love. At the end of the day, people want their kids to be
safe.
People don't want their loved ones to die of measles or to have severe neurologic impacts
from measles. We all really want the same thing at the end of the day.

SHEEHAN:
Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian is an ASTHO member and chief medical executive for the state of
Michigan. In the first session of a five-part series, Leadership Power Hour, Your Launchpad
for Impact, attendees will explore frameworks for decision-making and strategies for
engaging with teams, communicating with clarity, and prioritizing competing demands.
Learn key techniques for articulating decisions that build trust and drive action.

You can register for the series at the link in the show notes.

Now, here's Carolyn Mullen,
senior vice president of government affairs and public relations at ASTHO, with a behind-
the-scenes look at meetings with lawmakers during ASTHO's annual Hill Day.

MULLEN:

This is just such an incredible opportunity for our members to build relationships with
members of Congress. A couple of key things happened this week. Number one, we heard a
senator tell my member, I want to be your best friend.
The second thing, as I walked into a member of Congress's office, they had a big welcome
sign for one of our state health officials. And finally, there's a lot of interest in measles and
vaccination rates, public health infrastructure funding, the impact that these terminations
and clauses of grants have had on our members and the work they do in their communities,
and a lot of questions about the Rural Health Transformation Grant and how that is going so
far. So it's just such an incredible opportunity for our members to show the value that they
bring to the work, to talk about how they're keeping their communities safe and healthy,
and to also make sure that they can be that trusted resource.
When members of Congress have questions about public health, they can call on our
members to ask questions, to find out more information, and to really build that
relationship of trust.

SHEEHAN:
Carolyn Mullen is senior vice president of government affairs and public relations at ASTHO.
Earlier, we heard from Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, chief medical executive for the state of
Michigan.

That the flu has been worse this winter than recent years, and in some ways
worse than COVID, is no surprise to the public health community.
It's also the topic of a new Washington Post article featuring ASTHO's president, Dr.
Manisha Juthani. Find the link to the article in the show notes where you can also find
ASTHO newsletter subscription options, feature updates, analysis, resources, and events on
pressing issues in state and territorial public health. Subscribe to receive legislative alerts,
news releases, public health weekly, events, and fig connections.

This has been Public Health Review Morning Edition. I'm John Sheehan for the Association of

State and Territorial Health Officials.