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Billions spent on coronavirus fight, but what happens next?
MICHELLE R. SMITH, LAUREN WEBER and HANNAH RECHT, Associated Press and KHN
April 19, 2021
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1of5Dr. Mysheika W. Roberts, the health commissioner for Columbus Public Health, poses for a portrait in Columbus, Ohio, on Wednesday, April 14, 2021. Public health officials who have juggled bare-bones budgets for years are happy to have the additional money prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet they worry it will soon dry up as the pandemic recedes, continuing a boom-bust funding cycle that has plagued the U.S. public health system for decades. If budgets are slashed again, they warn, that could leave the nation where it was before covid: unprepared for a health crisis. “We need funds that we can depend on year after year,” says Roberts.Paul Vernon/APShow MoreShow Less
Billions spent on coronavirus fight, but what happens next?
MICHELLE R. SMITH, LAUREN WEBER and HANNAH RECHT, Associated Press and KHN
April 19, 2021
FacebookTwitterEmail 3
1of3Dr. Mysheika W. Roberts, the health commissioner for Columbus Public Health, poses for a portrait in Columbus, Ohio, on Wednesday, April 14, 2021. Public health officials who have juggled bare-bones budgets for years are happy to have the additional money prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet they worry it will soon dry up as the pandemic recedes, continuing a boom-bust funding cycle that has plagued the U.S. public health system for decades. If budgets are slashed again, they warn, that could leave the nation where it was before covid: unprepared for a health crisis. “We need funds that we can depend on year after year,” says Roberts.Paul Vernon/APShow MoreShow Less
Billions has been spent on U.S. coronavirus fight. But what happens next?
Health officials worry that funding will dry up as the pandemic recedes, continuing a boom-bust funding cycle that has plagued the U.S.
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Dr. Mysheika W. Roberts, the health commissioner for Columbus Public Health, poses for a portrait in Columbus, Ohio. Public health officials who have juggled bare-bones budgets for years are happy to have the additional money prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet they worry it will soon dry up as the pandemic recedes. [ PAUL VERNON | AP ]
Updated Apr. 19
Congress has poured tens of billions of dollars into state and local public health departments in response to the coronavirus pandemic, paying for masks, contact tracers and education campaigns to persuade people to get vaccinated.
Public health seeks steady funding, not feast or famine
By Michelle R. Smith, Lauren Weber and Hannah Recht - Associated Press and KHN
Congress has poured tens of billions of dollars into state and local public health departments in response to the coronavirus pandemic, paying for masks, contact tracers and education campaigns to persuade people to get vaccinated.
Public health officials, used to juggling bare-bones budgets, worry the money will dry up as the pandemic recedes, continuing a boom-bust funding cycle that has plagued the U.S. public health system for decades. They fear they’ll be back to scraping together money from a patchwork of sources to provide basic services to their communities much like after the Sept. 11 attacks and the SARS and Ebola outbreaks.