The purpose of the State Hospital Workforce Deficit Estimator is to help states and the federal government gauge the demand for health care professionals under different scenarios of COVID 19 infection rates and attrition. Attrition refers to the loss of health care workers due to illness, childcare or other reasons, such as burnout. The estimator allows state and federal policymakers to plan for looming spikes in COVID-19 cases and prepare by developing surge staffing plans, implementing emergency licensing for inactive health personnel, and/or recruiting from other states and the federal health workforce, among other measures.
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Aneri Pattani of Spotlight PA and Sara Simon of Spotlight PA - HARRISBURG — As coronavirus cases continue to rise in Pennsylvania, the state health department has received approval to spend nearly $27 million to ramp up contact tracing efforts, warning of potentially dire consequences if it’s unable to do so quickly. Read More. 

Christie Aschwanden of Scientific America -  Despite tracing’s success in other countries, the U.S. government has failed to adequately fund or apply the tool. There is no coronavirus vaccine. Medications for COVID-19 are still being tested. Across the U.S., states that once acted as if the pandemic was going away are setting new daily records for infections, hospitalizations and deaths. There is one proved tool that has helped other countries stem the pandemic. But in the U.S. it is severely underused; the Trump administration tried to cut financing for it from the latest pandemic relief bill, reports this week say. And it often meets resistance from the people it is intended to help. The tool is called contact tracing. Read More. 

The racial equity movement and COVID-19 are bringing needed public attention to the structural racism and inequities that underlie social and health disparities in the United States. The police killings of George Floyd and so many other Black lives have brought about increasing calls for police reform. In Minneapolis, where George Floyd’s killing occurred, the City Council recently approved a proposal to disband their police department and replace it with a new Department of Community Safety and Violence Prevention. This increasing attention and action on structural racism is occurring across systems—in criminal justice, housing, education, and healthcare.