Governors’ annual addresses allow them to define their policy priorities for the year ahead. As of late February, 45 governors had delivered speeches and all mentioned their states’ responses to COVID-19. They also outlined plans to focus on a wide range of health, social, and economic issues and address disparities exacerbated by the pandemic. This chart and blog, highlight key health-related themes outlined in the speeches.

This analysis primarily includes governors’ state of the state addresses, but also some budget and inaugural addresses. 

Support for this work was provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the foundation.