While the globe enters the third year of the COVID-19 pandemic, a report from Trust for America's Health finds that only about half of the U.S. population is served by a comprehensive local public health system.
The report, Ready or Not 2022: Protecting the Public's Health from Diseases, Disasters and Bioterrorism, measures U.S. states' degree of crisis preparedness to respond to a wide spectrum of health emergencies and to provide ongoing public health services, including disease surveillance, seasonal flu vaccination, safe water and expanded healthcare services during emergencies. It tiers states and the District of Columbia into three performance levels: high, middle and low, based on 10 factors contributing to emergency management and disaster preparedness.