News & Insights

Like many others, we recently recognized the 20th International Overdose Awareness Day, and we are especially somber, as we know that the past year has seen more people die from preventable overdose than ever before. The Biden administration acknowledged the gravity of this moment by issuing a proclamation declaring Overdose Awareness Week. Over 94,000 families, friends, co-workers, and neighbors in the United States lost someone they loved. Many more folks faced the trauma of experiencing an overdose, reversing an overdose, or witnessing an overdose.

Long existing health disparities in the U.S. have been further exasperated by the COVID-19 pandemic. States, cities, and counties are increasingly recognizing the role that structural racism plays in perpetuating and maintaining these disparities. A sampling of recent news articles highlights both the advances that are being made, as well as some of the challenges that remain.

During the 2020 election cycle, several states utilized voter initiatives to legalize medical and/or adult-use cannabis. While these policy changes align with the nation’s changing perception of cannabis, voter initiatives have met serious legal opposition. Three of these court  cases in particular emphasize the need to understand state constitutional restrictions on voter initiatives and the impact these restrictions can have on the success of an initiative.

August is recognized as Immunization Awareness Month to acknowledge and create awareness of the significant life-saving impact vaccinations have had on the public’s health.  However, despite the fact that eradication of certain vaccine-preventable diseases and development of vaccines to prevent cancer are revolutionary achievements, current challenges continue to demonstrate that the importance of vaccination awareness cannot be understated.

Testing rates for blood lead levels (BLLs) in children were alarmingly low before the pandemic and the rates have only decreased since. This is of particular concern given the possibility of increased lead exposure among children due to significantly reduced lead inspections and remediation efforts as a result of the pandemic, along with the increased time children are spending at home. Part of the ongoing recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic must include a focus on reconnecting kids with the screening, services, and care needed to detect and mitigate lead poisoning’s lifelong consequences.

Nonprofit membership organizations representing specific medical specialists like ER doctors, nurses, and mental health counselors are often asked by managers of volunteer registration systems to share names of members willing to provide assistance during public emergencies. While these registries are an important vehicle for mobilizing specialists during a crisis, the question arises as to whether the organization providing the names of individuals for the registry might be liable if harm is caused as a result of the actions taken by the volunteers whose names they submitted.

The Network is hiring a Public Health Legal Fellow to work with the Mid-States Region Office, located at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The Public Health Legal Fellow will focus on legal issues regarding public health authority, social determinants of health, health equity, and collecting, sharing, and protecting data for public health purposes. The goal is to provide a wide range of projects and opportunities that will build the Fellow’s knowledge of public health law and foster connections in the field. For best consideration, apply by August 31, 2021.

The rate of opioid overdose in rural areas has continued to rise, spurred in part by lack of access to treatment for opioid use disorders in underserved communities. Citing a need to respond to an increased need for methadone treatment in remote and rural areas, populations at particular risk of opioid use disorder, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has issued a new rule allowing registered narcotic treatment program facilities to dispense methadone for opioid use disorder treatment through mobile units.

The Network is committed to working with our partners and constituents to identify laws, policies and actions that can advance equity and address the barriers to good health in our communities. We invite you to contribute to this growing body of work by completing a brief survey. Your responses will provide valuable insight into the interests and needs of people and organizations working to advance racial equity in the communities they serve. The survey is anonymous. No identifying information will be connected to your survey responses. We also invite you to join us for one of our virtual focus group sessions where we will have a deeper conversation about this topic.

Congress is poised to do something few of us expect of them—pass bi-partisan public health legislation: The Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (PWFA). The PWFA is intended to “eliminate discrimination and promote women’s health and economic security by ensuring reasonable workplace accommodations for workers whose ability to perform the functions of a job are limited by pregnancy, childbirth, or a related medical condition.”

The COVID-19 pandemic spurred an unprecedented national vaccination campaign, prompting new legal challenges to vaccination mandates. While vaccine mandates have been upheld since Jacobson v. Massachusetts, recent court decisions indicate the potential for a change in the form of a requirement that all public sector vaccine mandates include a religious exemption.  Studies show that states with religious exemptions tend to have much lower vaccine rates, making the possibility of required religious exceptions of significant concern for public health.

The Network is pleased to announce that Dawn Hunter, J.D., M.P.H., will head the Network’s Southeastern Region Office as director, effective July 1, 2021. The position was previously held by Gene Matthews, who will remain on the Network’s leadership team as Principle Investigator. As an experienced legislative analyst and state health department policymaker, Dawn will lead work to examine legislation impacting health and racial equity, and implement strategies to build the capacity of public health agencies and organizations to effectively use law and policy to improve health outcomes of communities across the country. She will also spearhead outreach initiatives with new partner organizations, including the Healthy Democracy Healthy People initiative and the newly formed Racism as a Public Health Crisis Research Collaborative.