On March 4, 2020, ASTHO member and Illinois state public health officer Ngozi Ezike, MD, testified about the COVID-19 pandemic response before a House committee.
On Feb, 5, 2020, ASTHO CEO Micheal Fraser issued a statement assuring Americans that governmental public health officials are equipped to face the challenge of preparing for and responding to the current novel coronavirus (COVID-19). ...
On July 16, 2020, ASTHO announced the release of a COVID-19 issue guide that delves into the evolving role and function of technology in this pandemic response. Particularly as it relates to contact tracing, case investigation, and use of ...
A joint statement on transitioning away from universal case investigation and contact tracing for individual cases of COVID-19 by public health agencies.
On Sept. 3, 2020, Rachel Levine, MD, ASTHO President and Secretary of Health for Pennsylvania, issued a statement of concern and called for rigorous scientific testing in response to comments from federal leadership that implied a COVID-19 ...
On June 23, 2020, ASTHO CEO Michael Frasier and ASTHO president, and Arkansas secretary of health, Nathaniel Smith, MD, MPH issued a statement urging the American public to follow public health measures, such as wearing face coverings, to ...
On Aug. 13, 2020, ASTHO and the National Coalition of STD Directors announced that their joint venture, Making Content: A Training for COVID-19 Contact Tracers has been awarded a Power of A Silver Award by the American Society of ...
On June 23, 2020, Joneigh S. Khaldun, MD, MPH, the health official from Michigan, and an ASTHO member, testified before a Senate committee about the lessons learned so far from the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Aug. 11, 2022, ASTHO's Chief Medical Officer issued a statement of support for CDC's new COVID-19 guidelines.
An issue brief by ASTHO and the Duke University Margolis Center for Health Policy that highlights considerations for state health officials as they look to maximize the benefits of COVID-19 therapeutics.
As schools work to stay open for in-person learning, it is essential to understand key recommendations related to COVID-19 prevention in K-12 schools. CDC recommends that health department staff work closely with K-12 schools to ...
For many individuals living with disabilities, inaccessible vaccination websites have been a significant barrier to receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. Recent studies have found that many vaccination websites do not reliably meet accessibility ...
Making Contact: A Training for COVID-19 Case Investigators and Contact Tracers The nation's ability to quickly contain infectious disease outbreaks is more important than ever, and an expanded contact tracing workforce is critical for ...
Each video in this series focuses on a unique topic and features stories from ASTHO’s disability and preparedness specialists in the field. The videos demonstrate how they work to ensure information, testing, and COVID-19 vaccination sites ...
This report analyzes the results from a survey of state and territorial health agency staff to collect information regarding health agency efforts to address climate change and extreme weather.
This brief discusses the difficulty of maintaining compassion and empathy during public health crises, which ultimately leads to a phenomenon called compassion fatigue.
As COVID spread through the country and infection rates rose in every state, many of the the U.S. Affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPI) received media attention for remaining relatively COVID-free. The USAPI’s unified response in the face of ...
When rural hospitals close, it increases the distance people must travel for essential healthcare services. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted and magnified the factors leading to rural hospital closures across the country. Many ...
The 2019-2020 flu season had approximately 5 million fewer illnesses than the previous year. Thanks to COVID-19 mitigation efforts like social distancing and increased handwashing—coupled with a higher rate of flu vaccinations among the ...
This post highlights three strategies health department leaders can explore to reduce staff stress and burnout in the office: quiet spaces, art on display, and allowing pets in the office.