Committed to improving the health and well-being of all people across every state.

We Celebrate State Policymakers Who Have Done the Unimaginable to Confront COVID-19

During this pandemic holiday season, when it’s an act of love to stay distant, it can be hard to find things to celebrate. But vaccines are on their way and state leaders have done the unimaginable to build systems to educate, track, trace, treat, and now vaccinate millions of Americans. That is worth celebrating.

Last year at this moment, you were all busy doing important state health policy work. Three months later, that work became even more essential as you confronted a pandemic about which little was known. In the absence of federal leadership, state leaders rose to the task.

Working with your provider communities, you up-ended regulatory barriers to get people tested. You quickly expanded programs to find, train, and deploy contact tracers. You expanded hospital capacity and workforces, expedited procedures to help people gain and/or retain their health insurance coverage, and redesigned treatment programs so individuals with substance use disorders and mental health challenges could access essential services, in part by rapidly building telehealth options.

You found places to house the homeless to keep them safe and now you are finding creative ways to quickly and safely allocate a limited amount of COVID-19 vaccines to those most in need as we await more supplies.

Most of you did that work from home, juggling family, home schooling, and sometimes inadequate internet coverage. ZOOM calls were frequently interrupted by crying children, a boisterous dog letting you know a delivery had arrived, and the need to check to make sure the kids really were doing their schoolwork. And, there is the reality that working from home – especially on critical health policy – often means working all the time with little respite.

This work has not been without serious challenges and setbacks. Knowledge about the disease is constantly evolving and health policy needs to be nimble to reflect that. While the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provided much needed support, it came late, and more is needed. Congress has just enacted a new round of assistance, but it lacks the much hoped-for support for states as their economies suffer from revenue losses attributable to COVID-19, but there is help for vaccine distribution and that matters.

The months ahead will be tough as the virus surges and, as recent news stories suggest, may mutate. Vaccine distribution requires Herculean planning and execution – including education to overcome vaccine resistance. The states’ budgets will need to be balanced as COVID-19 simultaneously demands more resources to treat and prevent the infection while wreaking havoc on businesses and workers, challenging their livelihoods and lowering tax revenues as a result.

The horrific toll of COVID-19 on state populations – and most notably on their communities of color – are constant reminders to do more while reminding the public to remain vigilant even as hope is on the way. But in this holiday season, let’s take a minute to praise the work that you have all done. You have acted quickly and skillfully against a ferocious disease in the midst of intense politicization that has made responding that much tougher. As I write this, today marks the first day of winter, but the darkest days are behind us. As each passing day gets a bit brighter, as vaccines become more available, hope, like the inevitable spring, will rise and with it our ability to look forward and welcome a new year.

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