COVID-19 Episodes

391: Heartbreaking Gun Violence, ACIP Explained
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...
388: Tribal Vaccine Messaging, Celebrating a Family of 163 Doctors
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...
384: New School Lunch Guidelines, ASTHO Testifies Before Congress
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,...
383: Breastfeeding Partners, USVI Priorities
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...
382: Suicide Rates Climbing, Mental Health Funding Opportunities
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...
381: Pandemic Polling, Ending the PH Emergency
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...
380: Immunization Exemption Strategies, Island Area Funding Pitch
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...
379: Changes to Emergency Powers, Hill Gives ASTHO Recess Homework
March 17, 2023

379: Changes to Emergency Powers, Hill Gives ASTHO Recess Homework

Gregory Sunshine, Public Health Analyst with the Centers for Disease Control, explains how state and territorial emergency powers have shifted during the COVID-19 pandemic; and Carolyn Mullen, ASTHO Senior Vice President of Government Affairs and...
377: Lingering Pandemic Impacts, Screening for Syphilis
March 15, 2023

377: Lingering Pandemic Impacts, Screening for Syphilis

Dr. Scott Harris, State Health Officer for Alabama Public Health, addresses the startling statistic that there have been more deaths in Alabama than births for two straight years; Nada Hassanein, Health Inequities Reporter for USA Today, writes about...
375: PH Communications Poll, Cultivating Gen Z Advocates
March 13, 2023

375: PH Communications Poll, Cultivating Gen Z Advocates

Alec Tyson, Associate Director of Research at Pew Research Center, explains the results of a recent poll that confirms the challenges public health agencies had communicating pandemic decisions; Emily Dore, Director of Policy and Advocacy at Klick...
374: New COVID-19 Dashboard, Biden’s Proposed Budget
March 10, 2023

374: New COVID-19 Dashboard, Biden’s Proposed Budget

Carolyn Mullen, ASTHO Senior Vice President for Government Affairs and Public Relations, works through the numbers of President Biden’s proposed budget to evaluate the impact on public health funding and programs in this week’s 'View from...
372: Pew Polls PH Officials, ASTHO Meets the Administration
March 8, 2023

372: Pew Polls PH Officials, ASTHO Meets the Administration

Alec Tyson, Associate Director of Research at the PEW Research Center, previews a survey of Americans’ views of public health officials and their handling of the COVID-19 pandemic; Dr. Anne Zink, ASTHO President and Chief Medical Officer for the...
371: Tracking COVID Deaths, Building a Justice Movement
March 7, 2023

371: Tracking COVID Deaths, Building a Justice Movement

Dr. Jonathan Levy, Chair of the Department of Environmental Health with the Boston University School of Public Health, has new research that says white people in Massachusetts now are more likely to die from COVID than black or Hispanic people in the...
364: Illinois’ COVID-19 Experience, Khaldun’s Equity Plan for CVS
Feb. 24, 2023

364: Illinois’ COVID-19 Experience, Khaldun’s Equity Plan for CVS

Dr. Sameer Vorha, Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, is taking note of the disparities laid bare by COVID-19 in a new guest column written for the Chicago Sun-Times; Dr. Joneigh Khaldun, Vice President and Chief Health Equity...
363: Live to the Beat Campaign, Pandemic Take-Away
Feb. 23, 2023

363: Live to the Beat Campaign, Pandemic Take-Away

Kinetra Joseph, Campaign Director for the CDC Foundation, says the Foundation’s Live to the Beat initiative has had a successful first year; Dr. Christopher King, Dean of the Georgetown University School of Health, spent much of his career studying...
356: New York’s Opioid Partnerships, Arizona’s Mobile Vaccination Clinics
Feb. 13, 2023

356: New York’s Opioid Partnerships, Arizona’s Mobile Vaccination Clinics

Dr. Jim McDonald, New York State Acting Health Commissioner, says partnerships with people in local communities are key to the state's response to the opioid crisis; Siman Qaasim, Health Equity Administrator for the Arizona Department of Health...
355: Healthy Aging Strategies, Helping Make Sense of Public Health
Feb. 10, 2023

355: Healthy Aging Strategies, Helping Make Sense of Public Health

Claire Pendergrast, ASTHO Senior Analyst for Health Improvement and Healthy Aging, has new research outlining five key strategies ASTHO members can use to promote healthy aging in their jurisdictions; Dr. Katelyn Jetelina, an epidemiologist, created...
353: Community Vaccination Push, Campaign for Safer Communities
Feb. 8, 2023

353: Community Vaccination Push, Campaign for Safer Communities

Ernia Hughes, Director of the Office of Health Center Investment Oversight with the Health Resources and Services Administration, says her organization hopes to boost COVID-19 vaccination rates with grants to more than 1,400 community health centers...
348: WSJ on Fentanyl Dangers, COVID Emergency Ending
Feb. 1, 2023

348: WSJ on Fentanyl Dangers, COVID Emergency Ending

Julie Wernau, Health and Science Reporter at The Wall Street Journal, has been reporting on the opioid crisis for more than a year but says it’s still a difficult story to write; Andy Baker-White, ASTHO Senior Director of State Health Policy, says...
346: Federal Budget Partners, Rural Telehealth Strategies
Jan. 30, 2023

346: Federal Budget Partners, Rural Telehealth Strategies

Carolyn Mullen, ASTHO Senior Vice President of Government Affairs and Public Relations, is keeping an eye on the budget wrangling taking place on Capitol Hill; Ashley Cram, with ASTHO, explains how ASTHO members are working to help people in rural...
345: Promoting PH Lab Positions, Annual COVID Shots
Jan. 27, 2023

345: Promoting PH Lab Positions, Annual COVID Shots

Dr. Christine Bean, Chief Learning Officer at the Association of Public Health Laboratories, talks about recruiting candidates into laboratory positions on ASTHO’s new jobs website, ; Dr. Nirav Shah, ASTHO Immediate Past President and Director of...
344: Maine Loves Dr. Shah, Territories Moving Forward
Jan. 26, 2023

344: Maine Loves Dr. Shah, Territories Moving Forward

Dr. Nirav Shah, ASTHO Immediate Past President and Director of the Maine Center for Disease Control, reflects on his work in the state of Maine as he readies for his next job as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's number two in charge;...
339: Messonnier’s COVID Reflections, Equity Tops Pandemic Lessons
Jan. 19, 2023

339: Messonnier’s COVID Reflections, Equity Tops Pandemic Lessons

Dr. Nancy Messonnier, Dean of the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health, reflects on the COVID-19 pandemic with her unique perspective as a top CDC official at the time; Dr. John Wiesman, former Washington State...
338: Medicaid Cliff, Global View for Public Health
Jan. 18, 2023

338: Medicaid Cliff, Global View for Public Health

Carolyn McCoy, ASTHO Senior Director of Federal Government Affairs, shares the good news that Congress has addressed Medicaid funding concerns that have plagued the U.S. territories for years; Dr. Jay Butler, former ASTHO President, is thinking about...