APHA Advocates
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* Mark Barna

![Figure1](http://www.thenationshealth.org/http://www.thenationshealth.org/content/nathealth/51/7/2/F1.medium.gif)

[Figure1](http://www.thenationshealth.org/content/51/7/2/F1)

On July 1, APHA Executive Director Georges Benjamin testifies before the House Coronavirus Crisis Select Subcommittee on vaccine misinformation and hesitancy. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, was among the lawmakers taking part.

Photo collage by The Nation’s Health

## Benjamin testifies on vaccine hesitancy

Vaccine hesitancy in the U.S. is a major barrier to getting enough people immunized to defeat COVID-19. In regions where a majority of people have been vaccinated, COVID-19 cases have declined, while in areas where vaccination has lagged, cases are rising.

On July 1, APHA Executive Director Georges Benjamin, MD, testified before the House Coronavirus Crisis Select Subcommittee on continuing issues with getting vaccines to people of color and strategies for overcoming vaccine hesitancy among all races and ethnicities. Benjamin said it is important to tailor the message to a particular population, “because perceptions about vaccines differ by race, age, political party and geography.” Messaging should also be nonjudgmental and address specific concerns.

“Most people are curious about the vaccine, do not know enough about it and are eager to know more before deciding to get vaccinated,” Benjamin told Congress.

With the delta variant spreading in America, getting as many people as possible vaccinated is more important than ever, he said.

Benjamin also said a strong, well-funded public health infrastructure and workforce are vital for effective vaccine distribution. He called on Congress to fund S. 674, the Public Health Infrastructure Saves Lives Act, and H.R. 3297, a bill that offers a public health workforce loan repayment program.

## Veterans buildings must be no smoking

Ordinances making public buildings smokefree have helped reduce tobacco use and protect nonsmokers from the dangers of secondhand smoke. Veterans health buildings need to have these ordinances in place, APHA says.

On June 11, APHA and partners called on members of Congress to support legislation that would make Veterans Health Administration facilities permanently smoke-free.

In 2019, regulations were passed making VHA facilities temporarily smoke-free. But to make the regulations permanent, they must become law. The statutory change is essential for veterans who are especially susceptible to harm by secondhand smoke because of preexisting health conditions, the advocates said.

“The only effective way to protect people from secondhand smoke and secondhand e-cigarette aerosol is to provide 100% smoke-free air,” the advocates said. “Designated smoking rooms, expensive ventilation systems and similar partial approaches do not protect people from the dangers of secondhand smoke or emissions.”

## Funding needed for health infrastructure

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the deadly consequences of underfunding the public health system. To combat existing threats and prepare for new ones, strong and sustained funding in infrastructure and increasing the workforce are needed, APHA says.

In a June 22 letter, APHA and partners urged lawmakers to include S. 674, the Public Health Infrastructure Saves Lives Act, in infrastructure and jobs legislation to strengthen the nation. APHA members also joined the advocacy work, using an Association action alert to send messages of support to their members of Congress.

The legislation would fill long-standing gaps in public health, enable modernization of archaic technologies and systems, and build a foundation for a more effective, efficient public health response to future pandemics.

The bill would also establish a Core Public Health Infrastructure Program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The program would award grants to health departments to ensure they have the tools, workforce and systems in place to address existing and emerging health threats and reduce health disparities.

![Figure2](http://www.thenationshealth.org/http://www.thenationshealth.org/content/nathealth/51/7/2/F2.medium.gif)

[Figure2](http://www.thenationshealth.org/content/51/7/2/F2)

Builders used to use asbestos to insulate homes, but the practice has declined because of the material’s health dangers. On June 7, APHA and partners reached a settlement agreement with EPA to further protect the public from asbestos exposure.

Photo by Kerkez, courtesy iStockphoto

## APHA celebrates EPA asbestos action

Asbestos is known to cause chronic respiratory illnesses and cancers, resulting in over 250,000 deaths globally each year.

For many years, APHA and partners have tried to eliminate asbestos use, or at least eliminate import exemptions in which manufacturers do not have to report asbestos-containing products to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

On June 7, APHA and partners reached a settlement agreement with EPA to compel the federal agency to force manufacturers, importers and processors to report their asbestos use. The settlement will help protect the public from the material’s high health risks. Exposure to asbestos can lead to life-threatening illnesses, including asbestosis, lung cancer, gastrointestinal cancer, mesothelioma, and other lung disorders and diseases.

The APHA litigation dates to 2018, when EPA declined to accept a petition the Association and partners submitted urging the agency to include asbestos on the list of chemicals for which it would require reporting under the Toxic Substances Control Act.

## Climate change harming health

As unprecedented heat waves rocked the West Coast this summer, APHA called for federal actions to limit greenhouse gas emissions and address the public health emergency of climate change.

On June 21, APHA and partners provided comments to the Office of Management and Budget on a working group project focused on the health cost of greenhouse gases.

Among them are respiratory problems due to air pollution, heat stroke and asthma from rising temperatures, and physical and mental harm from the fallout of extreme weather, APHA said. In addition, vector-borne diseases are widening their geographical range as the world gets hotter, and algae blooms on ponds and lake are spreading toxins to populated areas. Estimates from previous iterations of the working group have fallen far short of accounting for the costs of these health harms.

“We urge the Interagency Working Group to mitigate this challenge by setting the damage function — and therefore the social cost of greenhouse gases — at a high enough level to account for physical and mental health impacts that are difficult to quantify, but no less real,” APHA and partners said.

## Social determinants bill needs support

Taking social determinants into account when developing prevention and intervention health strategies has proven to be successful.

In July, APHA urged leaders of House committees and subcommittees on energy and commerce to support H.R. 379, the Improving Social Determinants of Health Act of 2021.

The bill would create a social determinants of health program at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to ensure that existing work is coordinated. The program would award grants to state and local health agencies and nonprofit organizations to address social determinants and collect and analyze data. Strengthening work on social determinants of health — which include issues such as housing, employment, food security and education — can improve health outcomes and reduce health inequities, according to APHA.

The bill’s provisions align with recommendations in a 2017 APHA policy statement on health equity.

![Figure3](http://www.thenationshealth.org/http://www.thenationshealth.org/content/nathealth/51/7/2/F3.medium.gif)

[Figure3](http://www.thenationshealth.org/content/51/7/2/F3)

Better road design and safer crosswalks are among solutions advocated by APHA to reduce deaths on America’s roadways

Photo by kali9, courtesy iStockphoto

## Investing in road safety saves lives

Car crash deaths in the U.S. rose nearly 25% in 2020 compared to the previous year, underscoring the failure to prioritize road safety in the nation.

In a June 4 letter, APHA and partners urged the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in the House of Representatives to advance safety solutions that can reduce highway deaths and injuries.

The advocates called on legislators to support strong safety provisions included in H.R. 2, the Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation in America Act. Among the provisions are an automatic emergency braking requirements on all new vehicles, stronger underride protection standards for truck trailers, improvements to school bus safety and incentives for states to implement better road design and safer crosswalks.

The 2020 increase in car crash deaths is the highest estimated yearover-year jump that the National Safety Council has calculated in nearly 100 years. The increase occurred despite car usage in 2020 dropping 13% during the pandemic.

## Medicaid needed for exiting prisoners

People being released from prison should have access to medical care as they prepare to reenter society, APHA told a Senate committee.

In a June 30 letter, APHA and partners urged the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance to support S. 285, the Medicaid Reentry Act, which would allow Medicaid to cover health services 30 days before a person is released from prison or jail. Over half of people in the criminal justice system have mental health challenges, and 75% have a substance use disorder, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. They are also at high risk of overdosing soon release.

“Allowing incarcerated individuals to receive services covered by Medicaid 30 days prior to their release from jail or prison will expand access to vital mental health and addiction services, thereby decreasing recidivism and improving health outcomes for individuals reentering the community,” the advocates said.

*To take action on public health, visit [www.apha.org/advocacy](http://www.apha.org/advocacy)*.

## APHA urges maternal health funding priorities for US budget

Everyone affordable and safe reproductive and maternal in the U.S. has the right for access to health care, APHA told congressional legislators this summer.

In a June 22 letter, APHA and other health organizations urged support for maternal health funding priorities in the fiscal year 2022 appropriations process. Critical priorities include the Title V Maternal and Child Health Services Block Grant, the Healthy Start program and maternal health programs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the advocates said.

On June 23, APHA called on House and Senate appropriations committee leaders to provide robust funding in the budget for key reproductive health programs, such as the Title X Family Planning Program and the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program.

APHA also endorsed the Birth Access Benefiting Improved Essential Facility Services Act, which would create a Medicaid demonstration program to improve access to birthing centers and midwife services, as well as the Women’s Health Protection Act. The protection act would create a statutory right for providers to offer abortion care. The federal-level statute would invalidate state-level attacks against the right to abortion, such as medically unnecessary waiting periods and requirements that would ban abortions as early as six weeks after conception. The bill would also protect the right to abortion from court threats, such as the potential overturning of *Roe v. Wade*.

*   Copyright The Nation’s Health, American Public Health Association