US public health services receive $3bn to build workforce and tackle local needs

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has awarded $3.2bn to strengthen the US public health system, the first time it has made such an award.1 The funds, which come mostly from the American Rescue Plan Act, will be given directly to help state, local, and territorial governments across the US improve their public health workforce and infrastructure. The covid-19 pandemic showed the weaknesses of the US public health system, said CDC director Rochelle Walensky, “State, local, and territorial health departments are the heart of the US public health system, and the covid-19 pandemic severely stressed these agencies, which were already weakened by neglect and underinvestment,” she explained. The agency said that recipients of the grants will use the money to retain, recruit, and train their workforces, including critical public health workers such as epidemiologists, contact tracers, laboratory scientists, community health workers, and data analysts.