Episodes

Sept. 17, 2021

28: Supporting the Public Health Workforce

Dr. Norman Oliver, Virginia’s Health Commissioner, discusses the approach states and territories should take to funding for the public health workforce; ASTHO Chief Medical Officer Dr. Marcus Plescia reacts to a new CDC/Trus…
Sept. 16, 2021

27: New COVID-19 Contact Tracing Info

Amelia Poulin, an ASTHO Senior Analyst for Infectious Disease Outbreak Response and Recovery, details an expanded contact tracing training curriculum for case investigators and teams doing COVID-19 work; CDC’s Dr. Lisa Grohs…
Sept. 15, 2021

26: Congressional Priorities

Carolyn Mullen, ASTHO’s Senior Vice President of Government Affairs and Public Relations, outlines Congressional priorities as lawmakers return to Capitol Hill; Dr. Lisa Grohskopf, with the CDC’s Influenza Division, discusse…
Sept. 14, 2021

25: FDA’s E-Cigarette Review

Jeffrey Ekoma, ASTHO’s Director of Government Affairs, discusses the FDA’s move to delay a decision on marketing applications for some flavored e-cigarette products; Melissa McGrath, Chief of Staff for the Council of Chief S…
Sept. 13, 2021

24: Reaction to the COVID-19 Strategy

ASTHO CEO Michael Fraser shares member feedback about President Biden’s new COVID-19 strategy; Dr. Thomas Dobbs, Mississippi’s State Health Officer, explains the pandemic’s impact on the nation’s hospitals; ASTHO issues a re…
Sept. 10, 2021

23: The President’s COVID-19 Strategy

Dr. Marcus Plescia, ASTHO’s Chief Medical Officer, reacts to President Biden’s new COVID-19 strategy; Dr. Norman Oliver, Virginia’s Health Commissioner, discusses the network ready to administer COVID-19 booster shots; Robin…
Sept. 9, 2021

22: Emergency Help Requests

Win Rawls, ASTHO’s Director of Preparedness and Evaluation, explains the increased demand for interstate emergency help among states and territories and the impact on the Emergency Management Assistance Compact (EMAC); Dr. U…
Sept. 8, 2021

21: New Guide to Inclusive Communications

Booker Daniels, with the CDC’s Division of Public Affairs, details a new online resource to help public health professionals improve their inclusive communication skills; Kerry Wyss, ASTHO’s Director of Environmental Health,…
Sept. 7, 2021

20: 9/11 Preparedness Lessons

Lisa Peterson, ASTHO’s Director of Health and Homeland Security, reviews plans for Thursday’s event to examine preparedness twenty years after 9/11; and Dr. Pritesh Gandhi, Chief Medical Officer for the U.S. Department of Ho…
Sept. 3, 2021

19: COVID-19 News Conference

State health officials held a virtual news conference with journalists Thursday to address the latest in the public health response to COVID-19. Dr. Nirav Shah, ASTHO President and Director of the Maine Center for Disease Co…
Sept. 2, 2021

18: Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine Facts

Dr. Scott Harris, Alabama’s State Health Officer, urges residents to help curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus; Meredith Allen, ASTHO’s Vice President of Health Security, tells states and territories five things they need t…
Sept. 1, 2021

17: New Vaccine Messaging

Dr. Thomas Dobbs, Mississippi’s State Health Officer, questions vaccine misinformation; Dr. Marcus Plescia, ASTHO’s Chief Medical Officer, discusses vaccine safety on KNX NewsRadio, Los Angeles; Rhea Farberman, Director of S…
Aug. 31, 2021

16: Overdose Awareness and Action

Dr. Mark Levine, Vermont’s Commissioner of Health, outlines steps states and territories can take to address the alarming rise in the number of overdose deaths in the United States; Luke Tomsha, founder of The Perfectly Flaw…
Aug. 30, 2021

15: CDC Domestic Travel Guidance

Dr. Kristina Angelo, a medical epidemiologist with the CDC, tells ASTHO members how they can help get the word out about the revised recommendations for domestic travelers; Cassandra Thompson, ASTHO’s Director of Preparednes…
Aug. 27, 2021

14: Vaccination Card Verification

Jim Blumenstock, ASTHO’s Senior Vice President for Pandemic Response and Recovery, discusses the importance of collaboration as states and territories stand up systems to verify an individual’s vaccination status; Joshua Ber…
Aug. 26, 2021

13: Hurricane Preparedness

Gerrit Bakker, ASTHO’s Senior Director for Public Health Preparedness, urges all ASTHO members to prepare for hurricanes, not just those with borders on the Atlantic coastline; Jes Lyons, ASTHO Senior Analyst of Social and B…
Aug. 25, 2021

12: Training Health Equity Leaders

Dr. Nirav D. Shah, MD, JD, ASTHO President and Director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, discusses responding to public concerns about COVID-19 vaccines; Daniel E. Dawes, Director of the Satcher Health…
Aug. 24, 2021

11: Impact of Pfizer Approval on Vaccine Hesitant

ASTHO CEO Michael Fraser discusses whether the FDA’s decision to give the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine full approval will win over people still uncertain about vaccination; ASTHO’s Senior Director for State Health Policy…
Aug. 23, 2021

10: Helping Schools Get Healthy

Victoria Pless, an ASTHO Senior Analyst of Social and Behavioral Health, explores the ways states and territories have helped make youth sports safe for kids during the pandemic; Alex Mays, Senior National Program Director f…
Aug. 20, 2021

9: Booster Shot Logistics

Jim Blumenstock, ASTHO’s Senior Vice President for Pandemic Response and Recovery, discusses the logistics of standing up COVID-19 vaccination sites to provide booster shots; ASTHO Chief Medical Officer Dr. Marcus Plescia po…
Aug. 19, 2021

8: COVID-19 Booster Shots

ASTHO Chief Medical Officer Dr. Marcus Plescia considers what states and territories need to do to deliver COVID-19 booster shots starting next month; Dr. Anne Zink, ASTHO President-Elect and Alaska’s Chief Medical Officer, …
Aug. 18, 2021

7: Equity and Diversity Initiatives

Dr. Joe Smyser, CEO of The Public Good Projects, discusses the hard work required to manage vaccine misinformation; Dr. Kimberlee Wyche-Etheridge talks about her new job as ASTHO’s senior vice president of health equity and …
Aug. 17, 2021

6: Preparing for COVID-19 Boosters

ASTHO President Dr. Nirav Shah (SHO-Maine) considers the risks to watch for as states and territories administer COVID-19 booster shots to some immunocompromised people; ASTHO Chief Medical Officer Dr. Marcus Plescia discuss…
Aug. 16, 2021

5: Back to School Mask Messaging

ASTHO Chief Medical Officer Dr. Marcus Plescia discusses back-to-school mask messaging; Dr. Gillian SteelFisher of the Harvard Opinion Research Program offers help to public health teams communicating mask and vaccine requir…