Displaying 11 results for

In-depth analysis on state health policy surrounding immunization. This is part of ASTHO's annual legislative prospectus series.

To address the youth tobacco epidemic, jurisdictions filed lawsuits against JUUL to end their marketing practices aimed at youth and to obtain compensation from the financial toll experienced by communities.

While communities transition from emergency response to long-term monitoring and recovery, the federal government and states are taking legislative action to improve emergency preparedness capabilities.

As many state legislatures seek to expand vaccine exemptions, it’s important to understand the fundamental differences in exemption type and their impact on a community.

This post highlights the successes and challenges of "children's cabinets" in Minnesota and Iowa as well as their efforts to address early childhood health and development.

States and territories have broad powers to protect public health and safety, including powers to prevent and control the spread of communicable disease typically exercised by state and territorial health departments. This authority is an essential tool in the fight to keep the public safe and healthy.

Anticipating a rapid deployment of COVID-19 vaccines as they are authorized, the CDC developed COVID-19 Vaccination Program Operational Guidance in collaboration with state and local jurisdictions to outline how each jurisdiction will make an authorized vaccine widely available. In addition to the operational plans, there is a legal framework of federal and state laws supporting the distribution and administration of the FDA-authorized vaccines.

The 2020 holiday season is coinciding with a nationwide surge of COVID-19 cases. With great concern that holiday travel to see loved ones may exacerbate community spread of the virus, many states are increasing public health measures before the winter holiday season. As of November 16, 2020, 13 states and D.C. had a quarantine requirement for out-of-state travelers. The U.S. territories also have instituted travel restrictions to limit the spread of COVID-19.

As the number of COVID-19 vaccinations grows, some states are looking at their vaccination rates to determine when to loosen measures that mitigate the spread of COVID-19, such as venue capacity limits, business closure times, and masking requirements. As vaccinations allow businesses to reopen and customers to return, questions have arisen about whether venues or services—especially those that bring people in close contact for long periods of times—such as retail stores, concert venues, entertainment venues, air travel, cruise ships, etc., can require patrons or customers to verify that they received a COVID-19 vaccine. So far, state policy makers have had mixed views on the issue.

Assessment of Foundational Capabilities Assessment of Foundational Capabilities in Public Health Grace Gorenflo, Brian Lentes, Melissa Touma, Anna Bradley Learn how state health departments are implementing the Foundational Public Health Services model to bolster their public health work in this report. The Foundational Public Health Services model serves as the core framework for defining cross-cutting capabilities essential for public health departments to deliver a minimum standard of service. This report compiles examples and assessments from 25 states to illustrate the implementation and progress of these foundational capabilities. Highlighting the importance of public health infrastructure, the report also includes a summary of state activities, showcases models and strategies for modernization and transformation, and reference tools such as cost assessments, legislation, and funding mechanisms used to strengthen public health systems nationwide. Dive into the full report to access these resources. Download the Report (PDF) article yes

This report contains lessons learned and examples of messaging strategies that were successful during cyanobacterial bloom responses, they were collected from 17 state health agency staff members across 12 states.