According to data published by the advocacy group Trust for America’s Health, there is a $4.5 billion gap between current funding levels and what is needed to achieve “an adequate level of public health protection” nationwide. Even though budget news for FY2020 is better than it has been, it continues a worrying, long-term trend of public health underfunding and public health laboratories being forced to draw on short-term crisis funding to maintain day-to-day activities. In this issue’s feature article, we examine the challenges that public health laboratories face, especially during the COVID-19 response.
Here are a few of this issue’s highlights:
- Putting COOP on the Table: California Tests its Ability to Respond During Fires
- Spanning Borders for a Cohesive Public Health Approach
- Back to School: Tracking Adenovirus Outbreaks Impacting College Campuses and Other Institutions
- Moving to the Cloud Signals a Bright Future for Public Health Data Exchange
- Aiming Upward in Marion County, Indiana
- Waterwise: The Nebraska Public Health Environmental Laboratory
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