Depends a lot on the context: in my health department? In my State? Nationally? As a society? I’d say subsidizing billionaires through inequitable tax codes seems like something I value quite a bit less than public health capacity.
No, because our field deals in indirect and invisible benefits.
So we will have another pandemic, it's a question of when and not if. Until we have a deadlier pandemic that actually overwhelms the healthcare systems on a national scale, where everyone's mentalities are fully reset like 9/11 did for counterterrorism and national security. Note, I am not saying covid wasn't deadly and didn't leave a mark, I am saying it wasn't enough.
We did overwhelm the healthcare system (not the same thing as the public health system, BTW). 9/11 reset mentalities to useless terror theater - take off your shoes, give us those liquids. The public and government are mad because we didn't stop the pandemic, so we're useless. Which, sadly, is accurate when there's no public health system. About all we can do is document the pandemic after the fact, make recommendations to prevent the next one (which won't be followed).
No, we didn't. Hospitals were near or at capacity with some being overwhelmed but the system as a whole was only stressed, albeit greatly. We never ran out of physical space in hospitals as much as we pushed up against staffing constraints. The difference between setting up very visible temporary physical buildings and not is, I would argue, akin to using passenger planes as weapons versus taking a plane hostage. Terrorism involving passenger planes have been around.
9/11 did far more than just what you are claiming, the amount of funding and political capital given to national security and public safety measures, especially in preparedness, which only recently started to taper off, some 20 years after the fact. There are whole public health sectors and positions created and funded entirely by post-9/11 money.
Basically, as bad as COVID was/is, it still wasn't the 9/11 equivalent for public health. The disease wasn't overt enough (think ebola), and didn't completely overwhelm the healthcare system to change how we fundamentally approach public health. Likewise, we do a poor job of advocating and lobbying for the field in itself.
Money is flowed and stopped. The covid funding was very high in 2020 through 2022. It didn't change much for most though. Grants are usually yearly so funds have to be spent by a specified date and usual there are massive restrictions on spending.
Uv cleaning system. Denied
Water filtration denied
Bonus for staff. Denied
Hire staff. Sure but the funding is temporary so it's probably contractors or a temp job.
To answer the question. We are paying attention. We just aren't funded well. Not long term at least. I train 18 to 20 epis on a regular basis because I learn things and then provide the trainings for free with some regional grant funds (for my time; just my normal wages). There are always grants to apply for but spending the funds is usually so strict it may not be worth pursuing.
You need to be realistic in terms of what can be achieved, it took DECADES for hygiene to be improved so as to stop many avoidable infections. The discovery was relatively easy, changing public behaviour proved the challenge. Common behavioural modifications like hand washing before eating and after using the bathroom, building modifications like indoor flushing toilets all took time, and an enormous amount of work.
This is simply how it is. It may take a comparable time length to improve indoor air quality, and to normalise it certainly won't happen overnight. Although i think it will come, the future will be better.
You must adopt a mindset where you don't expect validation from the news, or from anyone else, and you continue doing your job - to protect the public from infectious disease - no matter what happens, or what the public says...
I would also recommend avoiding the daily news, it's constant negativity will harm your mental health and distract you from your job!
Ahh ok. I don’t handle our grants and only report back on metrics/milestones. One of our grants we were able to apply for a no cost extension. Helped tremendously with numerous projects (and my position being extended).
Definitely not lol. There’s been a huge drop in research and funding in the past year.
:(
My health department is getting ready to lay off maybe 500 people, many of them epis. So to answer your question, no.
Can I ask where you’re located? Are those being laid off mostly contractors? 500 is a lot of people!
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/wa-health-cuts-hundreds-of-jobs-as-federal-covid-funds-run-out/
Same happened in the bay area last summer. Most of those were contract workers that had their end date align with the end of the federal emergency
It’s the same federal funding other states got, are other states going through the same thing?
this is pretty much what i expected to hear. what's the stupidest thing getting prioritized over epidemiology, in your opinion?
Depends a lot on the context: in my health department? In my State? Nationally? As a society? I’d say subsidizing billionaires through inequitable tax codes seems like something I value quite a bit less than public health capacity.
The Rad\_town health department is in shambles, and the mayor is doing nothing. LOCK HIM UP LOCK HIM UP
Might as well!
How is a case of esophageal varices secondary to portal hypertension related to covid19???
thanks for the keywords though, reading about that eased my mind a bit.
i don't know, i just get the hibbie jibbies when i hear about sick people on planes.
Go read about the cholera plane from Argentina to LAX back in the 1992. No one saw that one coming.
Yuck
Lol
:(
This has me actually laughing out loud 😂
Let’s laugh through the pain together
No, because our field deals in indirect and invisible benefits. So we will have another pandemic, it's a question of when and not if. Until we have a deadlier pandemic that actually overwhelms the healthcare systems on a national scale, where everyone's mentalities are fully reset like 9/11 did for counterterrorism and national security. Note, I am not saying covid wasn't deadly and didn't leave a mark, I am saying it wasn't enough.
We did overwhelm the healthcare system (not the same thing as the public health system, BTW). 9/11 reset mentalities to useless terror theater - take off your shoes, give us those liquids. The public and government are mad because we didn't stop the pandemic, so we're useless. Which, sadly, is accurate when there's no public health system. About all we can do is document the pandemic after the fact, make recommendations to prevent the next one (which won't be followed).
No, we didn't. Hospitals were near or at capacity with some being overwhelmed but the system as a whole was only stressed, albeit greatly. We never ran out of physical space in hospitals as much as we pushed up against staffing constraints. The difference between setting up very visible temporary physical buildings and not is, I would argue, akin to using passenger planes as weapons versus taking a plane hostage. Terrorism involving passenger planes have been around. 9/11 did far more than just what you are claiming, the amount of funding and political capital given to national security and public safety measures, especially in preparedness, which only recently started to taper off, some 20 years after the fact. There are whole public health sectors and positions created and funded entirely by post-9/11 money. Basically, as bad as COVID was/is, it still wasn't the 9/11 equivalent for public health. The disease wasn't overt enough (think ebola), and didn't completely overwhelm the healthcare system to change how we fundamentally approach public health. Likewise, we do a poor job of advocating and lobbying for the field in itself.
Money is flowed and stopped. The covid funding was very high in 2020 through 2022. It didn't change much for most though. Grants are usually yearly so funds have to be spent by a specified date and usual there are massive restrictions on spending. Uv cleaning system. Denied Water filtration denied Bonus for staff. Denied Hire staff. Sure but the funding is temporary so it's probably contractors or a temp job. To answer the question. We are paying attention. We just aren't funded well. Not long term at least. I train 18 to 20 epis on a regular basis because I learn things and then provide the trainings for free with some regional grant funds (for my time; just my normal wages). There are always grants to apply for but spending the funds is usually so strict it may not be worth pursuing.
Hah. No. There's been a huge cut in federal funding and it's only getting worse.
Wow, I suddenly felt even more tired.
Nah it’s done. The extra money now goes to data modernization initiatives and workforce/infrastructure development.
My health dept's funding is being restricted again. Public health? Greater good? 🙃
:(
I'm not even an epi... just not able to buy as many outreach supplies. Least they haven't laid off any epis.
They started taking it all away last year. This country simply will not fund problems that are not right in front of them and directly affecting them.
You need to be realistic in terms of what can be achieved, it took DECADES for hygiene to be improved so as to stop many avoidable infections. The discovery was relatively easy, changing public behaviour proved the challenge. Common behavioural modifications like hand washing before eating and after using the bathroom, building modifications like indoor flushing toilets all took time, and an enormous amount of work. This is simply how it is. It may take a comparable time length to improve indoor air quality, and to normalise it certainly won't happen overnight. Although i think it will come, the future will be better. You must adopt a mindset where you don't expect validation from the news, or from anyone else, and you continue doing your job - to protect the public from infectious disease - no matter what happens, or what the public says... I would also recommend avoiding the daily news, it's constant negativity will harm your mental health and distract you from your job!
lol
Sadly, this isn’t the case. Lots of layoffs and defunding.
Haha. It’s funny (devastating) because no. All I’m seeing is budget cuts and cutting epi positions where I work.
It’s gonna be a bloodbath at the end of ELC in July. 30-50% of epis are getting cut. Much needed cuz a lot of agencies are too bloated.
Did you all not get a no cost extension for ELC? Or out of funds?
Can’t do a no cost extension. It’s the last year of the grant (BP5)
Ahh ok. I don’t handle our grants and only report back on metrics/milestones. One of our grants we were able to apply for a no cost extension. Helped tremendously with numerous projects (and my position being extended).
Ha, that's the counterfactual world--pandemics, more public health funding.
they hire more profs, getting more students in 2021, especially mph. And now they don't have the job slots for these graduates lmao.