COVID-19 Episodes

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, a…
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…
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 St…
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 …
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 Pre…
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…
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, forme…
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 Pr…
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 …
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 …
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, Ch…
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…
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 Mode…
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 D…
Oct. 21, 2022

288: ACIP Immunization Decisions Explained

In a special episode of the newscast, Dr. Marcus Plescia, ASTHO’s Chief Medical Officer, explains the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices decision earlier this week. The committee voted Thursday to add pediatr…