Issue Category: Prevention and Public Health Policy

TFAH’s Portal of COVID-19 Resources

The following is a list of TFAH resources and documents related to the novel coronavirus read of COVID-19 and better equip the nation’s public health system to deal with this and future health emergencies.

Press Releases and Statements

20 Public Health Organizations Condemn Herd Immunity Scheme for Controlling Spread of SARS-CoV-2   The virus that causes COVID-19 has infected at least 7.8 million people in the United States and 38 million worldwide. It has led to over 215,000 deaths domestically, and more than 1 million globally – with deaths continuing to climb… read more (October 14, 2020)

Newly Announced Order for Hospitals to Bypass CDC and Send Coronavirus Patient Information Directly to Washington Database Likely to Worsen Pandemic Response Rather than Improve It  The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as the nation’s lead public health agency, is uniquely qualified to collect, analyze and disseminate information regarding infectious diseases… read more (July 16, 2020)

Nearly 350 Public Health Organizations Implore HHS Secretary Azar to Support CDC’s Critical Role in the COVID-19 Pandemic Response  The expertise of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and all public health agencies is critical to protecting Americans’ health during the COVID-19 crisis, said a letter to Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar from 347 health and public health organizations released today… read more (July 7, 2020)

Public Health Needs Our Support “As our nation’s struggles to manage the continued surge of COVID-19 cases, we need to strengthen the public health response… read more (June 23, 2020)

Summary of CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report on COVID-19 Impact Patterns This is the first data reported on U.S. patients and is consistent with findings from other countries. Key takeaways… read more (March 31, 2020)

Trust for America’s Health Statement in Response to Congressional Passage of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act”)
“Congress took an important step today to begin giving public health the resources it needs now to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. We are seeing in real-time the impact of the chipping away at public health budgets over the past 15 years… read more (March 27, 2020)

Cross-Sector Group of Eighty-eight Organizations Calls on Congress to Address Americans’ Mental Health and Substance Misuse Treatment Needs as Part of COVID-19 Response
A cross-sector group of 88 organizations from the mental health and substance misuse, public health and patient-advocacy sectors are jointly calling on the Trump Administration and Congress to address the immediate and long term mental health and substance misuse treatment needs of all Americans as part of their COVID-19 response… read more (March 20, 2020)

55 Organizations Call for Passage and Fast Implementation of Paid Sick Leave for all Workers as a Critical Part of COVID-19 Response
A cross-sector group of 55 public health, health, labor, business, and social policy organizations are jointly calling on the Trump Administration and Congress to pass and quickly implement a federal paid sick leave law that provides 14 days of such leave to all workers, available immediately… read more (March 13, 2020)

TFAH Applauds Passage of Supplemental Funding for COVID-19 Response: Now Funding Must Move Quickly to States and Other Entities
TFAH applauds Congress’ fast action in approving the Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act (H.R 6074). We now call on the tasked federal agencies to move quickly to send the appropriated monies to the agencies and localities working at the frontlines of the COVID-19 crisis… read more (March 5, 2020)

TFAH Statement on COVID-19 Preparations
Now that the U.S. has transitioned from the planning phase to the response phase of the COVID-19 outbreak, the Federal Executive Branch and Congress as well as state and local governments and other stakeholders should prioritize… read more (March 3, 2020)

Congressional Testimony and Sign-on Letters

Commentaries and Op-Eds

Additional News Coverage We Recommend

Coronavirus in the U.S.: Latest Map and Case Count

as compiled by the New York Times

 

 

CDC COVID-19 Information Resources

COVID-19 and Response: Webinars and Briefings

Related Reports

Trust for America’s Health Applauds the Bipartisan Policy Center Report Public Health Forward: Modernizing the U.S. Public Health System

Sustained Investment in the nation’s public health system is critical to safeguarding the nation’s health security and achieving health equity

(Washington, DC – December 2, 2021) – Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) applauds and strongly endorses the Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) report, Public Health Forward: Modernizing the U.S. Public Health System, released today. The report describes the ways COVID-19 exposed weaknesses in the nation’s public health system and pervasive disparities in conditions that affect Americans’ health. It outlines a five-year vision and actionable framework for how state, territorial and local elected and public health officials can enhance their jurisdiction’s public health infrastructure. TFAH’s President and CEO J. Nadine Gracia, M.D., MSCE and Distinguished Visiting Fellow David Fleming, M.D. served on the report’s Public Health Advisory Group.

The infusion of pandemic relief funds is an opportunity to address the community conditions that negatively impact health, according to the report.  And public health has a critical role to play by addressing health inequities, working to reverse the surge in the number of Americans living with a chronic disease, promoting healthy eating and active living, controlling infectious disease, and preventing injuries.

“BPC’s report is critical reading for policymakers. It provides a roadmap for the public health system our nation’s needs to protect everyone’s health, including communities currently at disproportionate risk due to systemic inequities,” said J. Nadine Gracia, President and CEO of Trust for America’s Health. “The report should guide immediate and sustained investment in public health.”

Many of the report’s policy recommendations align with recent Trust for America’s Health recommendations. Both BPC and TFAH are calling for the following:

  • Increase and sustain predictable and flexible public health funding. TFAH recommends an annual $4.5 billion public health infrastructure fund to support foundational public health capabilities at the federal, state, local, territorial and Tribal levels.
  • Invest in programs to address health inequities, including the root causes of disease and the impact of the social determinants of health.
  • Strengthen public health data collection and sharing. Data should be collected and disaggregated by race, ethnicity and other sociodemographic characteristics so the impacts of policies, interventions and health conditions on specific population and sub-populations groups are known.
  • Invest in the recruitment and retention of a diverse, well-trained public health workforce.
  • Protect public health departments’ ability to make science-based decisions free from inappropriate political influence.

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Trust for America’s Health is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that promotes optimal health for every person and community and makes the prevention of illness and injury a national priority.

 

Trust for America’s Health Applauds COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force Report

Addressing health inequities is critical to protecting everyone’s health and being prepared for future health public emergencies

(Washington, DC – November 10, 2021) – Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) applauds the report of the COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force, including its recommendations to President Biden for mitigating the health inequities caused or exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and for preventing such inequities in the future. We furthermore commend the Biden Administration  for responding to the report’s call to action with new investments in initiatives to improve community and public health in traditionally under-resourced communities, including communities of color and among underserved populations.

In January of 2021, the Biden Administration created the Task Force, a multisector group of individuals with expertise and lived experience relevant to groups suffering disproportionate rates of illness and death from COVID-19, experts in fields such as public health, healthcare, behavioral health, and community-based services, as well as government officials. The Task Force represents diverse perspectives on how to address COVID-19 related health and social inequities and strengthen the nation’s public health response.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and exacerbated longstanding systemic inequities in our nation,” said J. Nadine Gracia, MD, MSCE, President and CEO of Trust for America’s Health.  “The COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force has laid out a road map for reducing inequities during this pandemic and before the next public health emergency.  As the report acknowledges, we must engage in a multisector effort to address the upstream factors that contribute to underlying health inequities in order to promote optimal health and build resilience in all communities. TFAH looks forward to working with the administration on our shared goals.”

The Task Force’s report echoes many of TFAH’s policy recommendations. The following are policy priorities shared by the Task Force report and TFAH:

  • Fund the public health workforce and emergency response. The federal government should increase and sustain funding for equity-centered pandemic and public health emergency activities and infrastructure at the federal, state, local, Tribal, and territorial levels. This should include building a workforce dedicated to public health emergency preparedness, response, recovery, and disaster-related behavioral health services and supporting communities with the greatest healthcare inequities.
  • Support equity-centered data collection. The federal government should fund an equity-centered approach to data collection, including ensuring sufficient funding to collect data for groups that are experiencing disproportionate impact during the pandemic and to understand the specific needs of currently underserved populations.
  • Fund data modernization for health settings. The federal government should provide funding for healthcare and public health to update data systems centered on equity and to ensure interoperability and automatic electronic lab reporting of a robust set of disaggregated, standardized socioeconomic and demographic data elements.
  • Strengthen multi-sector collaboration. The federal government should strengthen collaboration with a diverse array of community-based organizations and public health providers by providing robust and sustained funding to build capacity, provide technical assistance and establish partnerships with communities of color and other underserved populations.
  • Prioritize vaccine, testing, treatment, and personal protective equipment (PPE) access for underserved communities. Federal, state, local, Tribal, and territorial governments should prioritize vaccine distribution, testing, treatment, and PPE access to communities of color and other underserved populations, including those who face mobility, geographic, or other barriers to access.
  • Address the social determinants of health. The federal government should lead efforts to advance the social determinants of health including nutrition safety net programs for individuals and families who are food insecure and for those that have limited access to healthy food options.
  • Increase access to behavioral healthcare. Federal, state, local, Tribal, and territorial governments should increase investment in and access to comprehensive, equity-centered behavioral health services, including a focus on prevention.
  • Lead and coordinate implementation of the COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force’s recommendations from a permanent health equity infrastructure in the White House.

TFAH reports on emergency preparedness, public health funding, leveraging policy to improve Americans’ health and create health equity, and a legislative blueprint to transform the nation’s public health system, include additional recommendations that support the Task Force’s health equity goals.