COVID-19 Episodes

Aug. 2, 2023

473:  Rethinking Rural Immunization Strategies, Expanding Mental Health Coverage

Melissa Magstadt, Cabinet Secretary for the South Dakota Department of Health, says healthcare must meet patients where they live; Ali Maffey, ASTHO’s Vice President of Social and Behavioral Health, explains approaches to making mental healthcare...
July 31, 2023

471: Disability Equity Tools, ASTHO Wins Vaccine and Preparedness Awards

Adrianna Evans, ASTHO’s Director of Preparedness and Disability Integration, outlines how public health ethics committees help guide preparedness; Kurell Julien, Associate Director of Equity, Inclusion and Justice at Business for Social...
July 26, 2023

468: Pandemic Preps, New Ways to Think About Public Health

Dr. Thomas Dobbs, ASTHO Alum and Dean of the John D. Bower School of Population Health at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, says growth is needed in public health to be prepared for the next pandemic; Raymond Neal, Project Director at...
July 25, 2023

467: ASTHO Releases Authority Policy Statement, CDC Kicks Off School Vaccination Campaign

Andy Baker-White, ASTHO’s Senior Director of State Health Policy, outlines three new policy recommendations on Public Health Legal Authority; Dr. Georgina Peacock, the Director of the Immunization Services Division in the National Center for...
July 20, 2023

464: Paxlovid Uptake Lags, New Healthy Aging Policy Statement

Marcus Plescia, ASTHO’s Chief Medical Officer, says public health aims to strengthen the use of antiviral COVID-19 protections in nursing homes; Priya Shah, ASTHO’s Senior Analyst of Health Improvement and Healthy Aging, shares an updated policy...
June 20, 2023

444: STI Interventions, Communication Priorities

Dr. Jonathan Mermin, Director of the CDC National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention, shares how public health can better address the STI epidemic; ASTHO Alum Dr. Ngozi Ezike, Immediate Past Director of the Illinois Department of...
June 16, 2023

443: 2023 DELPH Cohort, House Hearing on Preparedness

Avia Mason, ASTHO Vice President of Leadership and Organizational Performance, explains the significance of the 2023 DELPH cohort; Jeffrey Ekoma, ASTHO Senior Director of Government Affairs, says public health emergency preparedness, data...
June 15, 2023

442: Telling Public Health Stories, RSV Vaccine Reaction

Dr. Edward Ehlinger, former chair of the HHS Advisory Committee on Infant and Maternal Mortality, says public health needs to look beyond numbers to best serve American Indian and Alaska Native mothers and their babies; Dr. Kimberlee Wyche-Etheridge,...
May 30, 2023

430: Pandemic Recovery Tips, Data Modernization Partnerships

Dr. Tammy McCoy Arballo, a clinical forensic psychologist, explains how public health leaders can improve the mental health of employees following the stress of COVID-19; Elizabeth Ruebush, ASTHO Senior Director, Public Health Data Modernization and...
May 18, 2023

423: Teaching AI Inclusion, Adjusting COVID Stats

Dr. Brian Anderson, Chief Digital Health Physician at the MITRE Corporation, says public health needs to make data and technology more inclusive; online tickets to attend ASTHO’s TechXpo are still available; Dr. Steven Stack, Commissioner of the...
May 12, 2023

419: ASTHO’s NC Amicus Brief, PAHPA Hill Hearing

Maggie Davis, ASTHO’s Director of State Health Policy, explains an amicus brief ASTHO filed in a North Carolina court case; Jeffrey Ekoma, ASTHO’s Senior Director of Government Affairs, reports on progress with the reauthorization of the Pandemic...
May 11, 2023

418: Post-Emergency Plans, Americorps Investment

The public health emergency ends today; ASTHO CEO Dr. Mike Fraser says ASTHO members are prepared; Maggie Davis, ASTHO’s Director of State Health Policy, explains that public health is adopting emergency measures into local statute and policies;...
May 10, 2023

417: Public Health Emergency Ending, Food Safety Training

Chrissie Juliano, Executive Director of the Big Cities Health Coalition, hosts a news conference to discuss what happens when the pandemic-related public health emergency ends on Thursday; John Tagabuel, Director of Environmental Health and Disease...
May 4, 2023

413: Biden Gets PH Workforce Report; Maternal Care Policies

Lindsey Myers, ASTHO’s Vice President for Public Health Workforce and Infrastructure, explains the importance of President Biden’s report on the public health workforce; Maria Gabriela Ruiz, an analyst on ASTHO’s Maternal and Infant Health team,...
May 3, 2023

412: May 11 Preps, Linking Data to Protect Kids

ASTHO CEO Dr. Mike Fraser discusses the end of the public health emergency on May 11th; Dr. Cathy Baldwin-Johnson, Medical Director of the Children’s Place Child Advocacy Center in Alaska, explains how a project by the Alaska Division of Public...
April 24, 2023

405: Childhood Immunization Schedules, Island Area Health Equity Plans

On the first day of National Infant Immunization Week, Dr. José Romero, Director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases at the CDC, discusses the importance of vaccines and the COVID-19 schedule for children; Karl Ensign,...
April 19, 2023

402: Equity Change Agents, Equity Success In Michigan

Dr. Somava Saha, Founder and CEO of WE in the World, shares a framework to help public health officials create health equity; Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, Chief Medical Executive for the State of Michigan, explains how Michigan has reduced health...
April 4, 2023

391: Heartbreaking Gun Violence, ACIP Explained

On Day Two of Public Health Week, Rich Hamburg, Executive Director of the Safe States Alliance, discusses policies that would help reduce gun violence in America; the Public Health Foundation has a new video explaining the CDC’s Advisory Committee...
March 30, 2023

388: Tribal Vaccine Messaging, Celebrating a Family of 163 Doctors

Gary Lankford, Advances in Indian Health Care Program Director at the Association of American Indian Physicians, explains vaccine messaging that appeals to American Indian and Alaskan Native populations; Dr. Laura Chanchien Parajon, Deputy Cabinet...
March 24, 2023

384: New School Lunch Guidelines, ASTHO Testifies Before Congress

Cindy Long, Administrator of the USDA Food and Nutrition Service, says a new set of proposed school lunch guidelines are an important step to putting kids on a path to healthy lifestyles; Jeffrey Ekoma, ASTHO’s Senior Director of Government Affairs,...
March 23, 2023

383: Breastfeeding Partners, USVI Priorities

Carl Route Jr., Program Director for Reaching our Brothers Everywhere, says his group is on a mission to educate, equip, and empower men to increase breastfeeding rates and decrease infant mortality rates in the African-American community; Justa...
March 22, 2023

382: Suicide Rates Climbing, Mental Health Funding Opportunities

Deborah Stone, Behavioral Scientist with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, explains that after two consecutive years of declines, U.S. suicide rates increased in 2021, nearly returning to their 2018 peak; Hannah Wesolowski, Chief...
March 21, 2023

381: Pandemic Polling, Ending the PH Emergency

Alyssa Boyea, ASTHO Director for Infectious Disease Preparedness, highlights resources to help public health agencies improve their COVID-19 communication and messaging approaches; Dr. Anne Zink, ASTHO President and Chief Medical Officer for the State...
March 20, 2023

380: Immunization Exemption Strategies, Island Area Funding Pitch

Heather Tomlinson, ASTHO Senior Analyst for Immunizations, reminds us in an ASTHO blog article that there are strategies to reduce the impact of non-medical immunization exemptions; the CDC has added COVID-19 vaccinations to its immunization schedule...