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Isolation, Quarantine, and Public Health Authority Beyond the Pandemic

Blog,
Iowa,
Ohio,

Under the Tenth Amendment, states have the power to protect the health and welfare of their populations, including the authority to implement isolation and quarantine orders to limit the spread of disease. This post is an examination of ...

FDA’s Approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine: Five Things to Know

Blog,

On Aug. 23, 2021, the FDA announced full approval of Pfizer and BioNTech’s mRNA vaccine for COVID-19. ASTHO has answers to five key questions about the approval and what it means for state and territorial health officials: What does the ...

Recent Federal Actions Spur Changes to Children's Blood Lead Level Screenings and Response

Blog,
Iowa,

The COVID-19 pandemic introduced new challenges for screening children’s blood lead levels, as screening rates across the country dropped during stay-at-home orders. A substantive federal policy change and provisions in the Infrastructure ...

Public Health and the Courtroom: How Health Officials Become Involved With Lawsuits

Blog,
Ohio,
Utah,

As leaders of their state agency, state and territorial health officials can be named parties in lawsuits alleging that an action taken by a public health agency was unlawful. These officials are typically sued in their “official ...

ASTHO Policy Watch 2022: Health Equity and Rural Health

Blog,

ASTHO has identified health equity and rural health as issues that policymakers across the country will consider in 2022.

Congress Convenes Sectors on School Reopenings

Blog,

As COVID-19 continues to spread across the country, increased attention has been given to how schools, colleges, and universities can safely reopen for the upcoming 2020-2021 academic year. To note, many schools and institutions closed in ...

How States are Bolstering a Contact Tracing Workforce

Blog,

To help break the chain of COVID-19 infections, state and local health departments are conducting disease investigations and contact tracing, core tools of public health practice used to combat the spread of communicable diseases. This ...

Social Distancing: How States are Handling Business Closures

Blog,

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, states are using their emergency powers to authorize a variety of social distancing measures. This post is a summary of executive orders that have led to the closure of many businesses and nonprofit ...

State Public Health Authorities Face COVID-19 Legal Challenges

Blog,

As COVID-19 spread across the country, governors and health officials invoked their emergency powers to order physical distancing measures designed to reduce social interactions and slow the spread of the disease. Several of these ...

From the Chief Medical Officer: Leadership Considerations for Long COVID

Blog,

Public health officials have a significant opportunity to provide leadership on the issue of Long COVID, through their own authorities, and by capitalizing on their influence in the public health and healthcare sectors.

ASTHO Policy Watch 2022: Maintaining Public Health’s Legal Authority to Prevent Disease Spread

Blog,
Iowa,
Ohio,

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 ...

Proposed Vaccination Laws to Watch in the New Year

Blog,
STIs,
HIV,
PFAS,

Vaccines are one of the greatest public health achievements of the last century, as well as some of the most powerful and cost-effective tools to prevent disease, disparities, disability, and death among children and adults. The COVID-19 ...

The Legal Framework for Administering COVID-19 Vaccines

Blog,
Iowa,

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 ...

Shifting Legal Landscape of Public Health and Places of Worship

Blog,
Ohio,
Utah,

Reconciling the tension between public health and civil liberties is one of the most significant challenges of public health law and ethics. The Supreme Court of the United States historically upheld state authority to enact and enforce ...

Nation’s Health Officials Call for Greater Collaboration and Communication With Federal Government

News,

On Sept. 2, 2020, ASTHO President and Secretary of Health for Pennsylvania released a statement urging greater collaboration between federal and state governments. This statement was a response to recent unexpected federal COVID-19 policy ...