Statement by Lori Tremmel Freeman, NACCHO CEO
“May 11 marked the end of the national Public Health Emergency Declaration for COVID-19. For more than three years, we as a nation came together to address the largest public health challenge in our lifetimes. And while the disease’s impact has been felt across the globe, the front lines of the U.S. response has been handled locally, community by community, led by our nation’s local health departments.
“From the beginning, local health department staff have worked tirelessly to keep their communities informed, track the spread of the virus, and take steps to keep their populations as safe as possible. As the nation shut down, local health officials and staff stepped up to do what was necessary, whether that be setting up vaccination campaigns for thousands of people or ensuring that one individual household had enough food to eat to support themselves while quarantining. They developed drive-through and mobile testing operations, helped schools and businesses reopen safely, and led the way through to ensure everyone in their community had access to the information and resources necessary as we learned more about the virus and the pandemic changed around us.
“There is no doubt that the response to COVID has changed our lives in untold ways. Moreover, far too many of us lost a friend or family member to this disease. We must never forget that over 1 million Americans died from this disease and many others continue to experience long-term impacts from the virus.
“The recovery from COVID-19 will assess our courage to move forward with learned intention to incorporate the lessons of the pandemic to prepare for—and respond to—future challenges. However, our ability to address these threats is at risk. Across the country we are seeing an erosion of public health authority and the politization of public health that is impacting the morale of our health departments as well as the effectiveness of our work.
“We need to rebuild trust with the public and restore the critical tools of public health. Moreover, we must learn the key lessons of the pandemic and adopt policies and procedures to implement them. and we need to strengthen and truly support the public health system—especially the nearly 3,000 local health departments who provide much needed care and strategic direction in their communities. The stronger our local health department network is before crisis, the better off we all will be when—not if—the next one hits.
“While the federal emergency is over, there is still work to be done as we embark on this next chapter. COVID-19 is still with us, and local health departments will continue to do what is necessary to support their communities and address the many other public health challenges that continue to impact our nation.”
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About NACCHO
The National Association of County and City Health Officials (NACCHO) represents the nation’s nearly 3,000 local health departments. These city, county, metropolitan, district, and tribal departments work every day to protect and promote health and well-being for all people in their communities. For more information about NACCHO, please visit www.naccho.org.
