504: Creative Vaccine Events, Congress Faces Two September Deadlines

ROBERT JOHNSON: 

This is the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition for Friday, September 15, 2023. I'm Robert Johnson. Now, today's news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.

ARMANDO DE ALBA: 

Nationally, there are marked racial and ethnic disparities in the prevalence and mortality of COVID-19. And this was accentuated in the Hispanic community in the U.S. since the beginning of the pandemic.

JOHNSON: 

Dr. Armando De Alba with the University of Nebraska Medical Center, talking about the need to vaccinate Hispanic populations and the creative approaches that build connections with communities.

DE ALBA: 

We actually created something like a 'mariachi vaccine clinic' where we invited mariachis to come to the community we created a vaccine clinic in the community. We invited mariachis to play to grab the attention, but create a safe space, build trust with the community so the community could gather and ask questions to doctors, like the you know, some colleagues or myself, and then eventually empower them to take the decisions to obtain a vaccine.

JOHNSON: 

De Alba says professional athletes also can help attract a crowd.

DE ALBA: 

And another great example, is a 'soccer vaccine clinic,' where we invited a legend[ary] soccer [player] from Mexico. He came to Omaha and eventually we created a 'Family Fest' around theme of soccer. So, people from all over the state came to meet the legend, but also to, you know, to help us to create that safe space where the doctors could be also with the community and be there to answer questions, debunk misinformation.

JOHNSON: 

Thinking beyond creative vaccination events, De Alba says we need to do more to recruit new practitioners and messengers.

DE ALBA: 

We need to diversify the workforce. For example, we need more Latino doctors, nurses, public health officials, who can also help with the responses. You know, for example, we need to diversify doctors in the media, for example, the people who are providing the information in a timely manner.

JOHNSON: 

An ASTHO pilot project is focused on reducing disparities and increasing vaccine uptake among adults. You can read more about the joint effort with the National Community Action Partnership and the program's pilot sites in an ASTHO blog article. The link is in the show notes.

The CDC is also working to increase vaccination rates with an emphasis on rural communities. Janson Silvers has more.

JANSON SILVERS: 

Rural communities face significant health care access challenges. In turn, vaccination rates, particularly among young children in poverty and rural areas, declined during the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, the CDC launched campaigns aimed at boosting vaccination rates and raising awareness. Explore how partnering with community organizations can effectively address these vaccination disparities by clicking the link in the show notes.

JOHNSON: 

Congress has two deadlines coming at the end of September. Jeffrey Ekoma tells us what they are in this week's View from Washington, D.C. report.

Jeffrey Ekoma, always good to have you here on the newscast.

JEFFREY EKOMA: 

Pleasure to be back.

JOHNSON: 

We are talking about Congress, as always. They're back from recess. And September is going by faster than we would like it to go. That means two things. First, reauthorization is on everyone's mind. Tell us about PAHPA and where that stands right now.

EKOMA: 

Absolutely, it is September. The Senate returned to work this week, the House returned back to the Hill last week. And there are many things on their agenda that we're tracking. One, as you mentioned, is the reauthorization of the Pandemic and All Hazards Preparedness Act or PAHPA. We talked about this on the newscast, sort of, where the developments have been throughout the year. However, things are not moving right now. There has been really minimal activity in Congress due to other priorities that are on top of the list for legislators that we've been tracking. However, it is important to note that there are many current programs that are without an authorization, but do receive discretionary annual appropriation so, we'll continue to monitor and track developments related to PAHPA and hopefully have good news to share soon.

JOHNSON: 

The other big concern as September 30 gets closer is money to run the government. That would affect every ASTHO member. Tell us the latest on that issue.

EKOMA: 

It is September already and, like always, September 30 comes and funding for the current fiscal year expires. There has been a lot of talk across the Hill about a government shutdown, and most importantly, how we avert a government shutdown. There have been different sets of discussions in both the House and the Senate on how to pass '24 appropriation bills without getting to a government shutdown. Now, there has been some positive discussions on charting a path forward considering the limited legislative days. However, there also have been discussions, particularly in the House, that indicate the comfort level or increasing comfort level of some members, and the possibility of a government shutdown, which does raise a high level of concern. It's an issue that we remain concerned about, and are tracking very closely every single day to understand the impact on public health departments and we hope to hopefully report positive news. So, however, the threat is pretty high, and hopefully we'll have some good news to share soon.

JOHNSON: 

We will count on you to come back to the newscast and give us that good news. Jeffrey Ekoma, thanks as always for being here and we'll talk to you soon.

EKOMA: 

Absolutely, talk soon.

JOHNSON: 

Finally, this morning, ASTHO's Public Health Weekly email newsletter covers in more detail many of the stories that we report here on the newscast. You can have it delivered to your email inbox, but only if you join the list. Sign up using the link in the show notes.

We'd also like to encourage you to follow ASTHO on social media. Connect with us on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.

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