public health
As the COVID public health emergency ends, prepping for a new pandemic is next
After more than three years and 1.1 million deaths, the United States on Thursday will end the public health emergency for COVID-19 — and Congress is attempting to better prepare for a possible resurgence of that virus or another. The expiration of the designation, originally put in place in January 2020, means alterations to how […]
Dems bring back public health resolution to address racism
An Ohio Senate resolution to declare racism a public health crisis is back on the table. Democratic state Sen. Hearcel Craig of Columbus introduced the legislation on Wednesday, matching an measure he pushed in the last General Assembly. “This problem requires attention from every level of government,” Craig told the Senate Health Committee. “In Ohio, […]
Health harms of mass shootings ripple across communities
This article was originally published in Stateline, an initiative of The Pew Charitable Trusts. A grim and familiar pattern has followed the parade of mass shootings across America. In their aftermath, the nation’s attention focuses on the direct victims of the attacks, the dead and injured, their families and friends, and the witnesses. But a […]
People behind bars are a lot sicker. New efforts aim to help
Compared to the rest of the world and compared to earlier generations, vast numbers of Americans are behind bars. And, by many measures, those people are far sicker than most others, several health professionals who are trying to address the issue said Monday. With a 500% increase over the past 40 years, more than 2 […]
U.S. senators criticize federal health officials for lagging monkeypox response
WASHINGTON — Congress held its first hearing on monkeypox Wednesday, with lawmakers rebuking federal public health officials for their slow response to the outbreak, even though the hearing came four months after the first U.S. case was diagnosed. “By any measure, in fact by every measure, the response from the Biden administration on the monkeypox […]
What monkeypox outbreak? Little planning by colleges as students resume classes
WASHINGTON — College students are heading back to campus following more than two years of a pandemic that led many schools to empty out for full semesters and later move to hybrid schedules in a struggle to curb the spread of COVID-19. But the attempt by colleges and universities to return to something resembling normal […]
As gun laws loosen, gun deaths increase
Many states have been loosening their gun laws in recent years. This year Ohio allowed people to carry handguns without a permit — a move that enjoys the support of just 20% of Americans, the Pew Research Center reports. When Gov. Mike DeWine signed Senate Bill 215 last month, he joined 23 other states, almost […]
The US was not prepared for a pandemic: Free market capitalism, deregulation may be to blame
By Elanah Uretsky, Brandeis University It’s unclear when the pandemic will come to an end. What may be an even more important question is whether the U.S. will be prepared for the next one. The past year and a half suggests that the answer may be no. As a medical anthropologist who has spent the […]
Future osteopathic doctors fight against the ‘disinformation dozen’ to save their profession
When Dr. Sherri Tenpenny told a hearing of the Ohio House Health Committee that the COVID-19 vaccine magnetized people, not only was she relaying scientifically unfounded and false claims about the vaccine, she was also contributing to an ongoing skepticism of her profession. Tenpenny — who was invited to speak that day by an Ohio […]
Declaring racism a public health crisis brings more attention to solving long-ignored racial gaps in health
By Paul K. Halverson, IUPUI The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has joined hundreds of cities and counties across the country in declaring racism a public health threat. On April 8, 2021, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky called racism an epidemic that affects “the entire health of our nation.” Declaring racism a public […]
Upgrading low-income housing would improve public health, the environment and racial equity all at once
By Jonathan Levy, Boston University During a presidential election debate on Oct. 22, 2020, former President Donald Trump railed against Democratic proposals to retrofit homes. “They want to take buildings down because they want to make bigger windows into smaller windows,” he said. “As far as they’re concerned, if you had no window, it would […]
Supporters share personal stories on racism as a public health crisis
Sarina Herman’s mom was dying. It wasn’t just from the cancer she had, but from the chemo being used to treat it, and the language barrier her health care providers couldn’t surpass. “There have been times where they had to push her to the back of the line because maybe she didn’t understand English as […]