COVID-19 Episodes

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...
Guests: Gaafar Uherbelau , Heather Tomlinson MPH
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...
Guests: Carolyn Mullen , Gregory Sunshine JD
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...
Guests: Scott Harris MD MPH FACP FIDSA , Nada Hassanein
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...
Guests: Devon Page , Alec Tyson , Emily Dore
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...
Guests: Carolyn Mullen , Sami Jo Freeman , Laura Kliethermes , Sarah Finley
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...
Guests: Anne Zink MD FACEP , Alec Tyson
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...
Guests: Jonathan Levy ScD , Morgan Zialcita MSPH
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...
Guests: Sameer Vohra MD JD MA FAAP , Joneigh Khaldun MD MPH
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...
Guests: Christopher King PhD FACHE , Kinetra Joseph
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...
Guests: James McDonald MD MPH , Siman Qaasim MBA
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...
Guests: Claire Pendergrast MPH , Katelyn Jetelina PhD MPH
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...
Guests: Ernia Hughes MBA , Sana Chehimi MPH
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...
Guests: Andy Baker-White JD MPH , Julie Wernau
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...
Guests: Carolyn Mullen , Ashley Cram MPH
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...
Guests: Nirav Shah MD JD , Christine Bean PhD
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;...
Guests: Esther Muña PhD MHA FACHE , Nirav Shah MD JD
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...
Guests: John Wiesman DrPH MPH , Nancy Messonnier MD
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...
Guests: Carolyn McCoy MPH , Jay Butler MD
333: COVID-19 Booster Strategy, Medicaid Policies
Jan. 10, 2023

333: COVID-19 Booster Strategy, Medicaid Policies

Dr. Marcus Plescia, ASTHO Chief Medical Officer, says public health agencies are increasing the focus on COVID-19 boosters for those living in nursing homes and other care settings; Alex Kearly, ASTHO's Director of Medicaid and Value Based Payment,...
Guests: Marcus Plescia MD MPH , Alex Kearly MPH
332: Public Health Polling, Flu Vaccine Strategies
Jan. 9, 2023

332: Public Health Polling, Flu Vaccine Strategies

Dr. Meredith Li-Vollmer, Risk Communication Manager for the Seattle and King County Public Health Department, says polling data helped agencies better understand community attitudes and opinions during the pandemic; Shalini Nair, ASTHO Senior Analyst...
Guests: Meredith Li-Vollmer PhD , Shalini Nair MPH
331: Vaccine Hesitancy Study, Diabetes in Palau
Jan. 6, 2023

331: Vaccine Hesitancy Study, Diabetes in Palau

Dr. Kimberly Martin, a President’s Postdoctoral Scholar at the University of California San Francisco, says black people likely avoid COVID-19 vaccines because of their distrust of the healthcare system; Antonnette Merur, Chief of Nursing for the...
Guests: Kimberly Martin PhD , Antonnette Merur
327: COVID Impacts Top Issues in 2023
Dec. 20, 2022

327: COVID Impacts Top Issues in 2023

Mike Fraser, ASTHO CEO, discusses the purpose of the organization’s annual legislative series which identifies the top 10 public health issues to watch in the new year; Dr. Dan Edney, State Health Officer for the Mississippi State Department of...
Guests: Michael Fraser PhD MS CAE FCPP , Daniel Edney MD , Brent Ewig MHS
324: Vaccine Anniversary
Dec. 15, 2022

324: Vaccine Anniversary

Brent Ewig, Chief Policy and Government Relations Officer for the Association of Immunization Managers, marks the second anniversary of COVID-19 vaccines this week; Jamie Pina, ASTHO Vice President of Public Health Data Modernization, says states and territories are taking action to...
Guests: Jamie Pina PhD MSPH , Brent Ewig MHS
290: Healthy Aging Policy Trends
Oct. 25, 2022

290: Healthy Aging Policy Trends

Claire Pendergrast, ASTHO Senior Analyst for Health Improvement and Healthy Aging, discusses a survey of healthy aging policy actions enacted across the states and territories; Dr. LeQuandra Nesbitt, former Director of the District of Columbia...
Guests: Erica Pan MD MPH , LaQuandra Nesbitt MD MPH , Claire Pendergrast MPH