569: Former Surgeon General Explains the Pandemic Response, Barriers to Family + Reproductive Health

ROBERT JOHNSON: 

This is the award-winning Public Health Review Morning Edition for Thursday, December 21, 2023. I'm Robert Johnson. Now, today's news from the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials.

JEROME ADAMS: 

I think the pandemic would have played out very differently if it hadn't occurred during an election year.

JOHNSON: 

Dr. Jerome Adams was Surgeon General during the pandemic. His new book is titled Crisis and Chaos: Lessons from the Front Lines of the War Against COVID-19.

ADAMS: 

It's not heavy on policy minutia, but it also is more of a narrative of storytelling. It's me literally walking you through my tenure as Surgeon General, with an emphasis on the pandemic, and helping you understand -- Okay, in this moment, this was the information we had or we didn't have.

JOHNSON: 

Adams says he wants readers to know how and why pandemic decisions were made.

ADAMS: 

Here were the tradeoffs that we were balancing in the competing interests out there, and here's what we decided, and here's why that decision was either right in the moment or defendable, or here's what we learned about what we did wrong and making that decision.

JOHNSON: 

As Adams tells it, the book challenges many popular views of the way government managed COVID-19 and includes some unexpected celebrity moments.

ADAMS: 

Fun, sometimes. Sometimes not so fun, but it talks about conversations I've had with Oprah Winfrey, with Axl Rose. I got in a fight with Axl Rose on Twitter, where he called me a not so nice name, and it went viral. I was called the nicest guy in Washington, D.C., and with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, was nominated to a list of the nicest people in America, and so, lots of interesting conversations and interactions I had throughout the pandemic that were either caused by or flavored by this once-in-a century crisis that we had to contend with.

JOHNSON: 

You can get your copy of the book from Amazon, there's a link in the show notes.

Family and reproductive health policy was front and center in Washington and state capitals across the country in 2023. With the FDA's approval of an over-the-counter contraceptive, ASTHO's Maggie Davis says the focus now is on finding ways to make it available and affordable.

MAGGIE DAVIS: 

So, we saw a number of states enact laws this year to reduce some of those barriers, such as allowing pharmacists to prescribe contraceptives. They've also had a number of states pass laws that allow pharmacists to dispense a 12-month supply of contraception at once. That way, it reduces the barrier, so a person doesn't need to both remember to take the medication and then also have to remember to go fill a prescription.

JOHNSON: 

Maternal mortality continues to be a concern as well. Davis says ASTHO members are trying to address the underlying causes.

DAVIS: 

Some of the actions we've been seeing have been investing in proven exercises or interventions such as home visiting programs and so, home visiting programs for people at higher risk, can both help the child to make sure that, you know, they're meeting milestones but also check in on the parent to just kind of be aware of their any potential postpartum challenges that are happening and make sure that they have access to care and support as they need.

JOHNSON: 

Keeping mothers and their babies together, even in the toughest of circumstances is another area where Davis says policymakers can have an impact. She cites a law passed a few years ago in Minnesota.

DAVIS: 

Minnesota passed a law that allowed certain people that were accused of crimes to be put in an alternative supervision. So, instead of being incarcerated, say being in a supervised community release so that they are able to stay with their baby and have that really important early bonding for the parent and baby. And that is a way to really help overall health outcomes because having that bond can solidify and grow can really help health outcomes from the parent and the infant.

JOHNSON: 

Family and reproductive health are examined as part of ASTHO's 2024 Legislative Prospectus series. Our coverage of the series began last week. It concludes tomorrow. You can read more using the links in the show notes.

Also today, public health workers have endured a lot of stress and trauma the last few years. ASTHO has a new blog article about one approach to address the concern known as trauma responsive leadership. Learn more about it and how to adopt the practice in your agency by clicking the link in the show notes.

Finally, this morning, stay connected to everything happening on Capitol Hill when you sign up for ASTHO's Legislative Alert emails. Join the list using the link in the show notes.

Before we go, we'd like to remind you to follow this newscast on your podcast player and ASTHO on social media. We're on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook. That'll do it for today.

We're back tomorrow 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 day.