Issue Category: Prevention and Public Health Policy
Ensuring COVID-19 Vaccine Access, Safety, and Utilization: Building Vaccination Confidence in Communities of Color
This webinar comes at a critical juncture as COVID-19 vaccine development continues. As has been the case with previous public health emergencies, the COVID-19 pandemic is exposing racial inequities that have long existed in the U.S. Racial and ethnic disparities also continue in vaccine access, due to contributing factors such as lack of access to health coverage and care and issues of distrust.
Featured experts shared with policymakers and stakeholders the historical reasons for vaccine hesitancy in communities of color, highlighted ongoing vaccination disparities and discussed policy recommendations to build vaccine confidence and access in communities of color.
20 Public Health Organizations Condemn Herd Immunity Scheme for Controlling Spread of SARS-CoV-2
Great Barrington Declaration is not grounded in science and is dangerous
(Washington, DC – October 14, 2020) – 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.
If followed, the recommendations in the Great Barrington Declaration would haphazardly and unnecessarily sacrifice lives. The declaration is not a strategy, it is a political statement. It ignores sound public health expertise. It preys on a frustrated populace. Instead of selling false hope that will predictably backfire, we must focus on how to manage this pandemic in a safe, responsible, and equitable way.
The suggestions put forth by the Great Barrington Declaration are NOT based in science.
- There is no evidence that we are even remotely close to herd immunity. To the contrary, experts believe that 85 to 90 percent of the U.S. population is still at risk of contracting SARS-CoV-2. Herd immunity is achieved when the virus stops circulating because a large segment of the population has already been infected. Letting Americans get sick, rather than focusing on proven methods to prevent infections, could lead to hundreds of thousands of preventable illnesses and deaths.[i] It would also add greater risk in communities of color which have already experienced disproportionate impacts of the pandemic.
- The declaration ignores what are our best tools to fight the virus, i.e. wearing masks, physical distancing, hand-washing, avoiding large crowds, strategic testing, rapid isolation of infected people and supportive quarantine for people who need to isolate.
- We have seen the failure of the herd immunity experiment in nations such as Sweden, which has the highest mortality rate among Nordic countries.[ii] COVID-19 carries a much higher risk of severe disease and death than other infections where herd immunity was attempted before a vaccine was available.[iii] It is illogical to ignore public health and scientific evidence when so many lives are at stake.
Combatting the pandemic with lockdowns or full reopening is not a binary, either/or choice. We need to embrace common sense public health practices that allow for a safe reopening of the economy and a return to in-person work and learning while also using proven strategies to reduce the spread of the virus.
The declaration suggests a so-called focused protection approach. It suggests allowing the virus to spread unchecked among young people to create herd immunity in the entire population. This notion is dangerous because it puts the entire population, particularly the most vulnerable, at risk. Young people are not all healthy and they don’t live in vacuums.[iv] They interact with family members, co-workers and neighbors. Inviting increased rates of COVID-19 in young people will lead to increased infections rates among all Americans.
Public health guidance and requirements related to masking and physical distancing are not an impediment to normalcy – they are the path to a new normal. The goal is both public health safety and economic security; the two are not in conflict with one another, they are dependent on each other. We need to focus our efforts on the development and implementation of a national, science-based and ethical pandemic disease-control strategy.
The pandemic has created serious hardships on families’ economic security and on American’s mental health and well-being. What we need is a coordinated and robust national response including mask use, hand hygiene and physical distancing, while also ensuring social supports for those most vulnerable, including physical and mental health, and social factors. What we do not need is wrong-headed proposals masquerading as science.
This statement was authored by:
American Public Health Association
Big Cities Health Coalition
Trust for America’s Health
American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare
Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology
Association of Public Health Laboratories
Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health
de Beaumont Foundation
Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security at the Bloomberg School of Public Health
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health
National Association of County Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Directors
National Association of County and City Health Officials
National Association for Rural Mental Health
National Network of Public Health Institutes
New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
Nurses Who Vaccinate
Prevention Institute
Public Health Institute
Resolve to Save Lives, an initiative of Vital Strategies
Well Being Trust
[i] https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/covid19/88401
[ii] https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/covid19/88401
[iii] https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/from-our-experts/early-herd-immunity-against-covid-19-a-dangerous-misconception
[iv] https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6941e1.htm?s_cid=mm6941e1_w
New Report Recommends Policies to Protect and Improve Americans’ Health by Transforming the Public Health System
Nation’s Public Health System Needs Sustained Attention and Investment; The Report Provides Action Plan for the Administration and Congress Taking Office in 2021
(Washington, DC – October 6, 2020) — The COVID-19 pandemic sharply illuminated weaknesses in the nation’s public health system and ways in which structural racism put communities of color at disproportionate risk of negative health outcomes, according to a new report, The Promise of Good Health for All: Transforming Public Health in America. The report was released today by Trust for America’s Health. Among its findings is that the nation’s public health system is dangerously inadequate. The report offers a blueprint for policymakers taking office next year on how to strengthen the system, protect against health security threats, address the social determinants of health, and combat racism and other forms of discrimination that negatively affect community and individual health and resilience.
Americans are facing increasing environmental and weather-related threats from wildfires to hurricanes. Infectious disease outbreaks are a constant and complex risk as world travel allows small outbreaks to become worldwide threats in a matter of hours. Additionally, Americans have higher levels of chronic disease and mental health and substance misuse issues than ever before. As a nation, we spend over $3 trillion annually on healthcare but lag behind other developed countries in practically every health metric. A key to addressing these threats to the nation’s health is a significant investment in the public health system, including programs rooted in prevention and working at the population health level. The report calls for an annual $4.5 billion investment in the nation’s public health infrastructure including in 21st century data systems and a robust public health workforce.
“Even before COVID-19, numerous health emergencies, including infectious disease outbreaks like measles, Zika and Ebola, the opioid epidemic, weather-related events and lung injuries due to vaping demonstrated the urgency of a strong public health system,” says John Auerbach, President and CEO of Trust for America’s Health.
“Each of these emergencies brought short-term attention to the importance of the public health system, but short-term attention is not enough. Without sustained investment the nation’s public health system we will not be ready to protect Americans’ lives and livelihoods during the next health emergency,” Auerbach said.
The conditions in which people live and work are key drivers of their health. Therefore, solutions to health risks and inequities largely exist outside the healthcare sector and reinforce the importance of investing in population health and the social determinants of health. Increasing the nation’s investment in health promotion and disease prevention will not only improve the quality of life for millions of Americans, it will help decrease the nation’s exploding healthcare spending.
The report focuses on five key priority areas:
PRIORITY 1: Make substantial and sustained investments in a more effective public health system including a highly-skilled public health workforce.
PRIORITY 2: Mobilize an all-out effort to combat racism and other forms of discrimination and to advance health equity by providing the conditions that optimize health.
PRIORITY 3: Address the social determinants of health including economic, social, and environmental factors that result in preventable illness, injuries and death.
PRIORITY 4: Proactively address threats to the nation’s health security.
PRIORITY 5: Improve health, safety, and well-being for all people by providing pathways to optimal health across the life span.
Among the report’s recommendations for federal policymakers are:
- Strengthen and modernize the public health system by creating a $4.5 billion per year Public Health Infrastructure Fund to support foundational public health capabilities at the state, local, territorial and tribal levels.
- Build 21st century public health surveillance systems at the federal, state and local levels to enable rapid detection and response to disease threats.
- Create a Health Defense Operations budget designation to build sustainable funding for public health programs that prevent, detect and respond to outbreaks.
- Make advancing health equity and eliminating health disparities a national priority with a senior-level, federal interdepartmental task force charged with adopting policies and programs in housing, employment, health, environmental justice and education that reduce health inequities and address the social determinants of health.
- Expand grants to address health inequities and ensure funding is reaching under-resourced, marginalized, and disproportionately affected communities.
- Prioritize increased funding for state, local, tribal and territorial public health emergency preparedness and response programs, such as CDC’s Public Health Emergency Preparedness program and HHS’s Hospital Preparedness Program.
- Build surge capacity across the healthcare system and develop standards for healthcare facility readiness. Policymakers should provide payment incentives and reward facilities that maintain specialized disaster care capabilities.
- Grow the CDC’s Climate and Health Program so it can support every state, large cities, territories and tribes to be climate-ready. Clean air and water regulations should be restored and strengthened, including the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act.
- Increase research and effective messaging to build vaccine confidence and ensure that no person faces barriers to receiving all necessary vaccinations.
- Promote optimal health across the lifespan through access to health insurance, job-protected paid leave for workers, and significant investments in programs proven to support families and improve health – from babies to older adults.
The report is endorsed by the American Public Health Association, the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum, the Big Cities Health Coalition, the Public Health Institute, and the National Network of Public Health Institutes.
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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. On Twitter at @HealthyAmerica1
A Blueprint for the 2021 Administration and Congress
The State of Obesity 2020: Better Policies for a Healthier America
TFAH and Other Leaders Launch Public Health Communications Collaborative to Support and Advance Public Health During COVID-19 Pandemic
(Washington, DC, September 2, 2020) – The Public Health Communications Collaborative (PHCC), launched today, will promote the value of public health to protect Americans’ health and safety as well as the nation’s economy. The collaborative will coordinate and amplify public health messaging on COVID-19 issues to increase Americans’ confidence in health guidance by communicating the best available science, by positioning public health leaders as expert spokespersons, and by quickly correcting misinformation.
“Unfortunately, misinformation and conflicting messages about COVID-19 have confused the American public at a time when clear guidance about how to protect their health is critical,” said John Auerbach, President, and CEO of Trust for America’s Health. “This collaborative will share information that will advance science-based decision making during the pandemic and in doing so will help save lives.”
Founding members of the PHCC are Trust for America’s Health, the CDC Foundation, and the de Beaumont Foundation. Partner organizations are the American Public Health Association, the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials, the Big Cities Health Coalition, the National Association of County and City Health Officials, PATH, and Resolve to Save Lives.
The Public Health Communications Collaborative website will be a hub repository of information and messaging products designed to help state and local public health officials share information with their constituents and navigate the current media landscape. The site will be updated regularly with real-time messaging and resources.
To sign up for email updates from PHCC, visit the website.
TFAH Applauds the Introduction of the Improving Social Determinants of Health Act of 2020 by Senator Smith (MN) and Senator Murphy (CT)
(Washington, DC – August 5, 2020) – Trust for America’s Health (TFAH), a non-partisan, independent public health policy, research and advocacy organization, applauds Senators Tina Smith (MN) and Chris Murphy (CT) for introducing the Improving Social Determinants of Health Act of 2020. This critical bill would address the social, economic and environmental conditions that affect the health and wellbeing of millions of Americans.
If enacted, the bill would create a Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) Program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Through grants, this program would improve the capacity of public health departments and community organizations to address social determinants of health and reduce health care costs by building multi-sector collaborations and addressing policies that currently inhibit good health. Grants would also be issued to nonprofit organizations and institutions of higher education to conduct research on SDOH best practices, provide technical, training and evaluation assistance and/or disseminate those best practices. Lastly, the program would coordinate, support and align SDOH activities at CDC.
The President and CEO of Trust for America’s Health, John Auerbach, congratulates Sen. Smith and Sen. Murphy on the introduction of the bill:
“The COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the continued conversations our country is having about racism and racial justice, continue to put a spotlight on the social and economic conditions that contribute to an individual’s health outcomes during their life.
We know that a community’s resources directly impact the health outcomes of its residents. Now is the time to work to address these disparities, including those in housing, employment, food security and education.
This legislation would empower public health departments and community organizations to act as chief health strategists in their communities and lead efforts to convene partners across sectors to build integrated systems and programs that improve health and health equity.
The Improving Social Determinants of Health Act of 2020 is an important next step in improving health outcomes, would reduce overall healthcare spending and help address health inequities; TFAH is proud to support this bill and urges Congressional support.”
This bill is the Senate companion bill to Improving Social Determinants of Health Act of 2020 (H.R. 6561), which was introduced by Representative Nanette Diaz Barragán (CA-44) in April 2020.
TFAH’s summary of the bill can be found here. For more information on The Improving Social Determinants of Health Act of 2020, please contact Daphne Delgado at [email protected].
In addition to TFAH, original endorsing organizations include:
1,000 Days
A Vision of Change Inc.
Addiction Professionals of North Carolina
Addiction Connections Resource
All Youth Access, LLC
Aligning for Health
America’s Essential Hospitals
American Art Therapy Association
American Association for Psychoanalysis in Clinical Social Work
American Association of Birth Centers
American Association on Health and Disability
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
American College of Nurse-Midwives
American College of Preventative Medicine
American Federation of Teachers
American Heart Association
American Lung Association
American Institute for Cancer Research
American Kidney Fund
American Medical Student Association
American Public Health Association
Anders & Associates
Anxiety and Depression Association of America
APLA Health
Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum
Association of Maternal & Child Health Programs
Association of Minority Health Professions Schools
Association of Public Health Laboratories
Association of Schools and Programs of Public Health
Association of State and Territorial Health Officials
Association of State Public Health Nutritionists
Autism Family Services of New Jersey
Autistic Self Advocacy Network
Behavioral Health Association of Providers
Berean Wellness & Community Support Center
Better Health Partnership
Bike Cleveland
Blue Shield of California
Bridges Into the Future
Brighter Beginnings
Brooklyn Perinatal Network Inc
Build Healthy Places Network
Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus
California Consortium of Addiction Programs and Professionals
California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
CARE ADVISORS
Caregivers of New Jersey
Center for Civil Justice
Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)
Ceres Community Project
ChangeLab Solutions
Chicago Youth Programs, Inc.
Childhood Obesity Prevention Coalition
Cleveland Public Library
Coalition for Disability Health Equity
Commission on the Public’s Health System
Common Threads
Community Based Organization Partners (CBOP)- Brooklyn Chapter
Community Catalyst
Community Cup Classic Foundation
Community Engagement Studio of Flint
Community Health Councils
Community Resilience Initiative
Congregation of Our Lady of the Good Shepherd, U.S. Provinces
Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children (CLOCC)
Cook County Department of Public Health
Counter Tools
Cuyahoga County Board of Health
Deborah’s Place
Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF)
Epilepsy Alliance America
Epilepsy Information Service of Wake Forest
Epilepsy Services of NJ
Epilepsy Services of New Jersey
Equality California
Equality North Carolina
Families USA
Farmworker Justice
Flint Association of Black Social Workers
flint rising
Flint Women’s Study Community Action Network
Florida Institute for Health Innovation
George Washington University Center for Health Policy and Media Engagement
Global Alliance for Behavioral Health and Social Justice
Greater Chicago Food Depository
Greater Flint Health Coalition
GSK Consumer Healthcare
Health by Design
Health Leadership Legacy Project
Health Outreach Partners
Health Resources in Action
Health Care Improvement Foundation
Healthy Chesapeake
Healthy Kinder International
Hispanic Federation
Human Impact Partners
Human Rights Campaign
Illinois Association of Behavioral Health
Indiana Public Health Association
Impetus – Let’s Get Started LLC
Japanese American Citizens League
Jump IN for Healthy Kids
Justice in Aging
Lakeshore Foundation
Lanai Community Health Center
Latino Coalition for a Health CA
Lutheran Services in America
Maine Public Health Association
March of Dimes
MaryCatherine Jones Consulting, LLC
Metropolitan Area Planning Council
Mid-City CAN (Community Advocacy Network)
Midwest Asian Health Association
MomsRising
MountainCare
Move United
NAACP
NASTAD
National Advocacy Center of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd
National Association for Rural Mental Health
National Association of Certified Professional Midwives
National Association of Chronic Disease Directors
National Association of Community Health Workers
National Association of Counties
National Association of County Behavioral Health & Development Disability Directors
National Association of County and City Health Officials
National Association of Social Workers
National Association of School Nurses
National Center for Transgender Equality
National Collaborative for Education to Address the Social Determinants of Health
National Council of Jewish Women
National Health Care for the Homeless Council
National Hispanic Medical Association
National Medical Association (NMA)
National Network of Public Health Institutes
National Nurse-Led Care Consortium
National Partnership for Women & Families
National Recreation and Park Association
National Register of Health Service Psychologists
National WIC Association
National Working Positive Coalition
Nemours Children’s Health System
NERDS RULE INC
Network for Environmental & Economic Responsibility
NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice
New Jersey Association of County and City Health Officials (NJACCHO)
New Jersey Public Health Association
NOELA Community Health Center
North Carolina Alliance for Health
North Central Public Health District
North Dakota Rural Health Association
Northern Michigan Community Health Innovation Region
NOVA ScriptsCentral
One Joplin
Oregon Vision Coalition
PacificSource
PFLAG National
Physicians for Social Responsibility, AZ Chapter
Physicians for Social Responsibility-Los Angeles
Piedmont Access To Health Services, Inc.
Presbyterian Healthcare Services
Prevent Blindness
Prevent Cancer Foundation
Prevention Institute
Project for Whole Health Learning in K-12
Population Health Alliance
Public Health Alliance of Southern California
Public Health Foundation
Public Health Institute
Redstone Center for Prevention and Wellness
Respiratory Health Association
RESULTS
RESULTS DC
Silver State Equality-Nevada
SLM Consulting, LLC
Society for Community Research & Action (SCRA)
Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine
Society for Public Health Education
Southeast Asia Resource Action Center (SEARAC)
tahoe forest Hospital Care coordination
Tennessee Justice Center
The AIDS Institute
The Center for Community Resilience
The Gerontological Society of America
The Health Trust
The Fairfield Group
The Family Resource Network
The Los Angeles Trust for Children’s Health
The National REACH Coalition
The Participatory Budgeting Project
The Praxis Project
The Pride Center at Equality Park
The Wall Las Memorias Project
Training Resources Network, Inc.
Treatment Action Group
Trust for America’s Health
United Way of Treasure Valley
Valley AIDS Council
Vita Health and Wellness Partnership
Washington State Department of Health
Wayne State University Center for Health and Community Impact
WE in the World
Well Being Trust
West Valley Neighborhoods Coalition
Western Idaho Community Health Collaborative
Wholesome Wave
Wisconsin Division of Public Health
Wright County Public Health
Updated Sign-On Letter in Support of Including Improving Social Determinants of Health Act in COVID-19 Legislation (July 2020)
COVID-19 School Closures Put 30 Million Children at Risk of Hunger
Many States with High COVID-19 Infection Rates Also Have Highest School-Meal Programs Participation Rates
(Washington, DC – July 16, 2020) – As COVID-19 infection rates continue to increase in states across the country, many of those jurisdictions are facing the complex dilemma of high infections rates complicating school re-openings and thereby limiting students’ access to school-based meal programs. Among the states with spiking infection rates and a high percentage of students participating in school-based meal programs are Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and South Carolina.
In March schools across the country began closing to stop the spread of the COVID-19 virus. In response, and recognizing the important source of nutrition school-based meals were to millions of American children, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food and Nutrition Service began approving nationwide waivers to provide school systems flexibility in how meals were provided to students. For example, these waivers enable schools to serve meals in non-congregate settings and outside of standard mealtimes, serve afterschool snacks and meals outside of structured environments, and waive requirements that students be present when meals are picked up.
Over half of all students in elementary and secondary schools across the country depend on the National School Lunch Program, and 12.5 million of those students also participate in the School Breakfast Program. As the COVID-19 pandemic closed schools this spring, these students were placed at risk of not having enough to eat.
A new policy brief, Beyond School Walls: How Federal, State and Local Entities are Adapting Policies to Ensure Student Access to Healthy Meals During the COVID-19 Pandemic, released today by Trust for America’s Health, reviews steps the federal and state governments have taken to ensure students’ access to healthy meals when schools are closed and what needs to be done to ensure continued meal access as all school systems face uncertainties about how to safely reopen for the 2020-2021 school year.
“School meal programs are the most important source of nutritious food for millions of American children. To the degree possible, school systems, with financial and regulatory relief from the federal government, should continue to be innovative about how to deliver meals to students and should strive to meet or exceed federal nutrition standards for these meals despite product shortages created by the pandemic,” said Adam Lustig, Project Manager at Trust for America’s Health and the brief’s author.
Due to the economic impact the pandemic has had on millions of American families and the numerous uncertainties about how to safely re-open schools, the currently in place program waivers should be extended through the summer and may need to be kept in place during the 2020–2021 school year, the brief says.
Many of the states hardest hit by COVID also have highest school meal programs participation rates
States with some of the highest rates of COVID-19 infections also have high percentages of students who depend on school meals for much of their nutrition. States in which both COVID-19 infection rates are above national medians and school meals program enrollment is high include Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina.
States in which more than half of students are enrolled in school-meals programs are:
Percentage of students enrolled in school meal programs
D.C. 76.4%
Mississippi 75.0%
New Mexico 71.4%
South Carolina 67.0%
Arkansas 63.6%
Louisiana 63.0%
Oklahoma 62.5%
Georgia 62.0%
Nevada 60.8%
Kentucky 58.7%
California 58.1%
Florida 58.1%
Arizona 57.0%
Missouri 52.7%
New York 52.6%
Illinois 50.2%
Alabama 51.6%
Oregon 50.5%
Hunger, poor nutrition and food insecurity can increase a child’s risk of developing a range of physical, mental, behavioral, emotional, and learning problems. Hungry children also get sick more often and are more likely to be hospitalized. Maintaining children’s access to nutritious meals despite school closures not only ensure they do not go hungry, but also promotes children’s health.
“State and federal guidelines waivers have allowed school systems to provide meals to students during the pandemic response, keeping them in place this summer and into the 2020-2021 school year will be the difference between kids who have enough to eat and kids who go hungry,” Lustig said.
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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. Twitter:@HealthyAmerica1