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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.

In an effort to help meet demand, some states and territories have joined interjurisdictional licensing compacts that allow a mental health care provider licensed in one state to provide care in another state—without needing to gain licensure in multiple states. These agreements also offer guidance on patient privacy for services rendered remotely or from out-of-state.

State and federal actions to expand the doula workforce and improve maternal health.

In 2020 and early 2021, state policymakers took action to raise awareness of the impacts of racism on health outcomes, to reverse the damage of racist polices, and to implement policy changes to ensure that future policies are enacted with a racial equity lens. In the past two years, many states introduced and adopted resolutions declaring racism a public health crisis. In the early weeks of 2022, there is notably less legislation that has been introduced as compared to the same time last year.