Health Disparities

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Governance
A health worker holds a girl to give her polio vaccination drops during a house-to-house anti-polio vaccination campaign in Yemen's capital Sanaa, April 12, 2016.

Without Community Health Workers, the Global COVID-19 Response Could Fail

by Carey Westgate, Ash Rogers, Jessica Cook, Stella Luk, Daniel Palazuelos, Mandy Folse, Sarah Lindsay, Pauline Keronyai, Amanda Yembrick, Madeleine Ballard

Community health workers have played a vital role in global health efforts

Governance
Each state's progress towards reduction in symptoms and cases, health system readiness, and increased testing. The image shows a map of the united states with four colors according to outbreak status. SOURCE: Covid Exit Strategy

COVID-19 This Week—The Looming Question: Internal Travel Restrictions

by Tom Frieden

To reduce risk, we must close bars and other indoor spaces, reduce crowds, mask up, wash hands, and increase distancing

A militarized approach to contact tracing is shown here as National Guard members at the Washington State Department of Health support contact tracing efforts in Tumwater, Washington—on May 20, 2020. The photo shows the guard members standing around a cubicle space talking. A table in the foreground is decorated with a drawing of a dinosaur and emblazoned with the words "I eat COVID-19 for breakfast. REUTERS/Jason Redmond
Governance

Contact Tracing Requires Building Trust

by Sandra Mullin, Denene Jonielle Rodney

As states gear up their contact tracing efforts, here’s how they should approach getting buy-in within their communities

A boy stand in front of a graffiti promoting the fight against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in the Mathare slums of Nairobi, Kenya, on May 22, 2020. This is a powerful photo of a young boy walking in front of a sinister depiction of the virus with a face that appears to be sneeringly looking at the boy. REUTERS/Baz Ratner
Governance

The Unpaid Debt of Underinvestment in Public Health

by Sonak D. Pastakia, James Akiruga Amisi, Tina Tran, David Mazza

Limited progress on the social determinants of health has left populations in Kenya and elsewhere vulnerable to COVID-19

Chairs are pictured on top of tables in a classroom at Watlington Primary School during the last day of school, amid the coronavirus outbreak in Watlington, Britain, on July 17, 2020. The photo shows a number of tables with chairs stacked upon them. REUTERS/Eddie Keogh
Governance

COVID-19 This Week: On the Brink

by Tom Frieden

The United States is a global outlier—a long way from vaccines or containment, even as we consider reopening schools

The image shows a heat map of the United States with states colored according to the higher number of tests coming back positive
Governance

Coronavirus Epidemiology This Week

by Tom Frieden

We won’t stop COVID-19 until we focus on the data that matter

Data reporting exists but is "woefully inadequate and regrettably incomplete," like these mostly empty COVID-19 testing kits at the CDC serology testing site in Washington, DC, on June 16, 2020. REUTERS/Tom Brenner
Poverty

One Weak Link and the Whole Thing Falls Apart

by Thoai Ngo , Charlotte Brasseux

A more structured, uniform, and comprehensive U.S. approach is needed to collect, report, and analyze coronavirus data

A woman wears a mask during a Black Lives Matter protest in Centenary Square in Birmingham, England following the death of George Floyd who died in police custody in Minneapolis, on June 4, 2020. The picture shows a woman in a striking mask adorned with the words Floyd Life "Mattered." REUTERS/Jason Cairnduff
Poverty

We Need a Pro-Poor and Pro-Black Response to COVID-19

by Thoai Ngo 

Concentrate testing in poor Black and Latinx neighborhoods now and plan for an equitable distribution of future vaccines

An aerial view of the Rocinha slum in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on March 26, 2020—during the ongoing crisis over the coronavirus pandemic. The photo is a gorgeous shot taken from the sky showing the slums cascading down the mountain to the coast, which is dotted with modern skyscrapers, and the ocean beyond. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes
Poverty

Untrained Drug Sellers Replacing Doctors—A Challenge for COVID-19

by Mishal S. Khan

Success controlling COVID-19 in lower-income countries will depend on implementing strategies appropriate to those areas

A mannequin with a surgical mask on display where a vendor sells packages of masks on a corner in the Chelsea neighborhood during the outbreak of the coronavirus in New York City on March 27, 2020. The photo shows a mannequin wearing a blue mask. REUTERS/Mike Segar
Governance

Why Social Policies Make Coronavirus Worse

by Emily Mendenhall

Too late for COVID-19, but strengthening safety nets and health security in U.S. would help us respond to future threats