COVID-19 Episodes

Nov. 20, 2023

548: Thankful for Public Health, New Guide to Manage Respiratory Illness

Dr. Steven Stack, ASTHO president and commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Public Health; extends his gratitude for Public Health Thank You Day; Dr. Marcus Plescia, ASTHO chief medical officer, discusses how ASTHO worked on a discussion guide...
Nov. 13, 2023

543: Rural Health Equity, Covey’s Advice for Building Trust

Dr. Somava Saha, President and CEO of Well-being and Equity in the World, discusses the importance of National Rural Health Day; Stephen Covey, a well-known author, had a message for ASTHO when he joined members at a meeting in Washington D.C. in late...
Nov. 7, 2023

540: How to Hire a Public Health Nurse, Roundtables Get Lawmakers Talking

Dr. Robert Goldstein, commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, says local agency partnerships are key to the success of new public health performance standards; Allison Nickrent, director of governmental affairs at the Illinois...
Nov. 1, 2023

536: Workforce Care Initiative, JUUL Settlements

Tom St. Louis, Director of the Office of Public Health Workforce Development for the Connecticut Department of Public Health, tells us about the new Culture of Care initiative that aims to help staff recover from the pandemic; Amy Ciarlo, ASTHO Senior...
Oct. 25, 2023

531: RSV Vaccine Pitch, Virus Disparities

Dr. Marcus Plescia, ASTHO Chief Medical Officer, wants public health to focus on medical providers as the primary way to promote the RSV vaccine; an ASTHO blog article explains why public health readiness during the respiratory virus season is key; an...
Oct. 20, 2023

528: Flexible Climate Funding, New Federal Budget Deadline

State Public Health Officials Dr. Umair Shah, Dr. Joseph Kanter, and Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, discuss the public health impacts of climate change; Carolyn Mullen, ASTHO Senior Vice President of Government Affairs and Public Relations, discusses hot...
Oct. 13, 2023

523: Making Decisions During a Crisis, PH Help Wanted

ASTHO CEO Dr. Mike Fraser and Dr. Ray Barishansky, Former Deputy Secretary for Health Preparedness and Community Protection at the Pennsylvania Department of Health, explain new research on barriers to decision making in public health response; Dr....
Sept. 22, 2023

509: Bundling Vaccinations, Hoping to Avoid a Government Shutdown

Dr. Gillian SteelFisher, Director of Global Polling at the Harvard Opinion Research Program, says promoting the flu, RSV, and COVID-19 vaccines together help broaden the appeal; Dr. Jennifer Shuford, Commissioner for the Texas Department of State...
Sept. 20, 2023

507: New Vaccine Poll Data, Blogs Help PH Workers Connect

Dr. Gillian SteelFisher, Director of Global Polling at the Harvard Opinion Research Program, shares the results from a study on public perception of COVID-19, RSV and Flu; Dr. Jennifer Thomas, Employee Wellbeing and Resilience Program Manager at the...
Sept. 19, 2023

506: Maintaining Pandemic Partnerships, Septic System Data

Andrew Pickett, Director of the Bureau of Emergency Preparedness and Response at the Pennsylvania Department of Health, says collaboration among preparedness professionals is essential for public health; ASTHO has issued a statement supporting the...
Sept. 15, 2023

504: Creative Vaccine Events, Congress Faces Two September Deadlines

Dr. Armando De Alba Rosales, Assistant Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Student Programs at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, shares creative strategies to boost vaccine uptake among Hispanic communities; a CDC campaign aims to boost...
Aug. 25, 2023

490: Immunization Policy Statement, Fiscal Year Predictions

Kris Ehresmann, former Director of Infectious Disease at the Minnesota Department of Health, describes ASTHO’s revised policy statement; Jeffrey Ekoma, ASTHO’s Senior Director of Government Affairs, discusses predictions for Congressional action...
Aug. 24, 2023

489: School Vaccinations, Chemical Weapon Disposal

Dr. Sameer Vohra, Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, details the state’s back-to-school vaccination campaign; Terry Tincher, Section Chief for the CDC’s Chemical Demilitarization Program, marks a big milestone for the program;...
Aug. 18, 2023

485: Planning Post-Pandemic, Arizona’s Heat Map

Warren Villagomez, Director of Public Health Hospital for the Emergency Preparedness Program at the Commonwealth Healthcare Corporation, shares the public health planning lessons learned form COVID-19; Hsini Lin, Office Chief for Environmental...
Aug. 11, 2023

480: RSV Messaging, Emergency Contraception

Hear from the experts who participated in an ASTHO online briefing on the coming RSV season; Sophia Durant, ASTHO’s Analyst of Family and Child Health, says access to emergency contraception is a health equity issue; and an ASTHO virtual session...