Season 1

Feb. 14, 2022

118: Selling Vaccines to Younger Adults

Julie Scofield, Project Director for the Community COVID Coalition, a project of the CDC Foundation, reports on the results of a months-long social media campaign to convince younger adults to get the COVID-19 vaccine; and Dr. Anne Zink, ASTHO’s...

Guests: Anne Zink MD FACEP , Julie Scofield , Dan Diamond

Feb. 11, 2022

117: ASTHO’s New Strategic Plan

Zarnaaz Bashir, ASTHO’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer, says the organization’s new strategic plan was created during and influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic; Dr. Robert Bourgeois, an occupational and environmental health expert working along the...

Guests: Zarnaaz Bashir , Robert Bourgeois MD MPH FACOEM

Feb. 10, 2022

116: Data Modernization Report Card

Dr. David Adinaro, New Jersey’s Deputy Commissioner for Public Health, evaluates the state of the nation’s public health data and information infrastructure; Dr. Joseph Gaugler, Director of the BOLD Public Health Center of Excellence on Dementia...

Guests: David Adinaro MD FACEP , Joseph Gaugler PhD , Alison Beam JD

Feb. 9, 2022

115: Cleaning Up Toxic Compounds

Alan Roberson, Executive Director of the Association of State Drinking Water Administrators, explains the growing interest in the risks of PFAS chemicals and the challenges some jurisdictions encounter when they want to do something about them; Phil...

Guests: David Carey , Alan Roberson MSCE , Phil Rooney

Feb. 8, 2022

114: How Federal Agencies Can Work Together

Dr. Josh Sharfstein, a former public health official in Maryland and principal deputy commissioner at the FDA from 2009 until 2011, says continued public confusion over testing, booster doses, and medications could be improved if two federal agencies...

Guests: Kristin Ahrens , Joshua Sharfstein MD , Richard Hamburg MPA

Feb. 7, 2022

113: PH Workforce Recovery

Joanne Pearsol, ASTHO’s Director of Workforce Development, explains how states and territories are working to help a weary public health workforce survive the pandemic; and we share details about the 11th annual African American Conference on...

Guests: Joanne Pearsol MA MCHES , David Carey

Feb. 4, 2022

112: Messaging COVID Vaccines to New Parents

Dr. Jose Romero, a pediatrician and Arkansas’ Secretary of Health, says there’s work to be done to prepare for the possibility of a vaccine for infants and toddlers; Dr. Josh Sharfstein, a pediatrician and former health officer in Maryland who...

Guests: Jose Romero MD , Joshua Sharfstein MD

Feb. 3, 2022

111: How to Modernize PH Data

Joanne Pearsol, ASTHO’s Director of Workforce Development, says more than 40,000 public health professionals responded to the latest PHWins survey; Dr. Jamie Pina, ASTHO’s Vice President of Public Health Data Modernization, offers a plan to...

Guests: Jamie Pina PhD MSPH , Joanne Pearsol MA MCHES

Feb. 2, 2022

110: Healthy Home Improvements

Kristin Ahrens, Deputy Secretary of Pennsylvania’s Office of Developmental Programs, says the pandemic crisis ultimately will make services for people living with intellectual and developmental disabilities stronger; ASTHO’s Abe Kulungara shares...

Guests: Kristin Ahrens , Abraham Kulungara MPH

Feb. 1, 2022

109: Reflections on Black History Month

Dr. Ngozi Ezike, Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health, reflects on current events in the context of Black History Month, on the first day of the month-long recognition; Dr. Anne Zink, ASTHO’s President-elect, considers the...

Guests: Anne Zink MD FACEP , Ngozi Ezike MD

Jan. 31, 2022

108: Tackling E-Cigarettes and Flavored Tobacco Products

Jan Malcolm, Commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Health, outlines policy steps available to limit youth access to E-cigarettes and flavored tobacco products; ASTHO CEO Mike Fraser reflects on the start of Black History Month; ASTHO shares a...

Guests: Michael Fraser PhD MS CAE FCPP , Jan Malcolm

Jan. 28, 2022

107: Immunization Opportunities

Rachael Banks, Oregon’s Director of Public Health, says the focus on immunizations during the pandemic is a perfect opportunity to expand the public health conversation. Immunizations are one of ASTHO’s top 10 policy issues to watch in 2022;...

Guests: Rachael Banks MPA , Yaryna Onufrey MPH

Jan. 27, 2022

106: Contact Tracing’s Role Today

ASTHO Chief Medical Officer Dr. Marcus Plescia explains the latest thinking about how best to use case investigation and contact tracing to fight the Omicron variant; ASTHO joins several other national public health groups to issue a statement this...

Guests: Marcus Plescia MD MPH , Anne Zink MD FACEP

Jan. 26, 2022

105: Rural Health Needs

ASTHO and associations representing epidemiologists, counties, cities, and public health labs issue a statement supporting jurisdictions moving away from universal case investigation and contact tracing at this point in the pandemic; Dr. Ayne Amjad,...

Guests: Devon Page , Ayne Amjad MD MPH

Jan. 25, 2022

104: Advancing Health Equity

Paula Tran, Wisconsin’s State Health Officer, says it’s possible to maintain health equity priorities even as the pandemic continues to strain resources. Health equity is among the issues considered in a set of 10 ASTHO policy briefings focused on...

Guests: Anne Zink MD FACEP , Paula Tran MPH

Jan. 24, 2022

103: Ending the HIV Epidemic

Dr. Joseph Kanter, Louisiana’s State Health Officer, talks about fighting the HIV epidemic during the COVID-19 pandemic as ASTHO releases a set of 10 policy briefings focused on public health issues expected to be priorities this year; ASTHO offers...

Guests: Joseph Kanter MD MPH , John Wiesman DrPH MPH

Jan. 21, 2022

102: Recalling COVID-19’s First Case Part 2

Dr. John Wiesman, the former Secretary of Health in Washington state, gives his assessment of the nation's pandemic response since the first COVID-19 case was discovered in his state two years ago this week. He discusses what has worked, what remains...

Guests: John Wiesman DrPH MPH , Katey Redmond MPH CPH

Jan. 20, 2022

101: Recalling COVID-19's First Case Part 1

Dr. John Wiesman, the former Secretary of Health in Washington state, reflects on the moment the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in his state and thus the U.S.; Dr. Alexis Travis, Michigan’s State Health Officer, says it’s never too late to...

Guests: Alexis Travis PhD , John Wiesman DrPH MPH

Jan. 19, 2022

100: Rethinking School Discipline Part 2

Robin Matthies, Director of Public and Behavioral Health Integration at ASTHO, explains why it’s important to consider restorative justice approaches to discipline in schools; Andy Baker-White, ASTHO’s Senior Director of State Health Policy, says...

Guests: Andy Baker-White JD MPH , Robin Matthies MSW

Jan. 18, 2022

99: Rethinking School Discipline Part 1

Maggie Davis, ASTHO’s Director of State Health Policy, provides an overview of a new ASTHO report about restorative justice in schools; Annie Evans, a senior analyst of disability integration and preparedness at ASTHO, marks the first anniversary of...

Guests: Maggie Davis JD MA , Annie Evans MPH

Jan. 14, 2022

98: MLK and Health Equity

ASTHO CEO Mike Fraser considers Dr. Martin Luther King’s influence on public health and his impact on the organization’s approach to equity; Dr. Alexis Travis, Michigan’s State Health Officer, tells us how the civil rights icon has influenced...

Guests: Kimberlee Wyche-Etheridge MD MPH , Michael Fraser PhD MS CAE FCPP , Alexis Travis PhD , John Wiesman DrPH MPH

Jan. 13, 2022

97: Announcing ASTHO’s 2022 Federal Policy Agenda

Carolyn Mullen, ASTHO’s Senior Vice President of Government Affairs and Public Relations, outlines the organization’s 2022 federal policy agenda and tells members what they ought to expect from Washington this year; ASTHO CEO Mike Fraser says...

Guests: Carolyn Mullen , Michael Fraser PhD MS CAE FCPP

Jan. 12, 2022

96: COVID-19 Messaging Lessons

Robert Jennings, Executive Director of the National Public Health Information Coalition, discusses communications lessons learned during the pandemic; ProPublica journalist Caroline Chen hopes Congress reads her story about the funding public health...

Guests: Caroline Chen , Robert Jennings

Jan. 7, 2022

93: Supreme Court Hears Vaccine Cases

Lawrence Gostin, law professor at the Georgetown University Law Center in Washington D.C., tells us what to expect from today’s Supreme Court hearing on two Biden Administration COVID vaccine mandates; ASTHO CEO Mike Fraser says states and...

Guests: Michael Fraser PhD MS CAE FCPP , Lawrence Gostin JD LLD