What Is a Public Health “Emergency”?

Haffajee, Rebecca L.; Parmet, Wendy E.

doi:10.1056/nejmp1406167

Cited by 43 publications

(35 citation statements)

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“…In addition to practical challenges, removal of legal barriers can also give rise to policy concerns related to government overreach and the separation of powers. 1,2,20 While addressing the best ways to allay these concerns is beyond the scope of this study, it is important to note that gubernatorial ''waiver authority is triggered only pursuant to a formal declaration of emergency'' subject to expiration and ratification requirements under state law, and that changing state law during an emergency does not affect ''[federal and state constitutional protections [and o]ther federal legal protections (e.g., Americans with Disabilities Act).'' 1 Regardless of whether a state falls within the 35 states that can change statutes and regulations, or the 7 states that can change only regulations, anticipating the practical challenges of implementing an altered legal structure and addressing fears related to government overreach may be crucial to the successful removal of legal barriers in an emergency response.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Assessment of State Laws Providing Gubernatorial Authority to Remove Legal Barriers to Emergency Response

et al. 2019

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Governors play a fundamental role in emergency preparedness and can help facilitate rapid responses to emergencies. However, laws that operate successfully under normal circumstances can inadvertently create barriers during emergencies, delaying a timely response. State laws could thus limit, or even prohibit, necessary response efforts. To combat this risk, legislatures have passed emergency powers laws in each state granting governors the authority to declare a state of emergency and to exercise certain emergency powers to meet the needs of the emergency. Researchers conducted a 50-state legal assessment, which identified and examined state laws that give governors the discretion to modify existing laws or create new laws to respond effectively to

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An Assessment of State Laws Providing Gubernatorial Authority to Remove Legal Barriers to Emergency Response

et al. 2019

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“…By statute, states are able to exercise additional powers when they issue emergency declarations. In a typical state, governors are able to declare an emergency, and usually do so for weather-related cases-although some states, such as Massachusetts in 2014, have invoked public health emergencies in order to address addiction-related issues in the state (Haffajee et al, 2014). In some states, city Mayors also may issue emergency declarations.…”

Section: Typology Of Policies During Shutdownmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mandated and Voluntary Social Distancing During The COVID-19 Epidemic: A Review

Gupta

Simon

Wing

2020

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For much of 2020, the COVID-19 epidemic upended social and economic life globally. In an effort to reduce COVID-19 risks in the U.S., state and local governments issued many recommendations and regulations to induce social distancing, adding to voluntary reductions in interpersonal contact. The responses to the epidemic helped contain spread, but also lead to high unintended societal costs. In the summer months, states took steps to revive the economy and lift social distancing regulations. However, as many epidemiologists expected, the scale of the epidemic has expanded very rapidly in the fall. In the week of October 14, the US generated around 57,000 new COVID-19 cases and 700 deaths each day. By November 15, the country was generating about 151,000 new cases and 1,200 deaths per day. These rapid increases in cases and deaths raise concerns about the capacity of local healthcare systems around the country. State governments are once again facing difficult choices about whether and how to use policies to address the spread of the virus. The incoming Biden-Harris administration faces an important challenge in trying to manage the epidemic as well as a large scale vaccination campaign. Although the epidemic is less than a year old, it has generated a huge volume of research by economists, epidemiologists, and others. This body of work may help inform policy decisions facing society in the coming months. In this paper, we make five broad contributions. First, we provide a concise review of economic and social science research on mobility patterns, labor market outcomes, consumer behavior, and population health during the first phase of the epidemic. Second, we sketch a simple microeconomic model that may be useful considering the determinants of social distancing and the role of different policy instruments in promoting distancing. Third, we present a simple typology of the policies that were used at the state and county levels during the closure and reopening phases of the epidemic in the U.S.. Fourth, we review a collection of new data sources that have played an important role in monitoring and analyzing population behavior this year. Fifth, we present results from event study regressions that try to disentangle private vs. policyinduced changes in mobility patterns during the early part of the epidemic.

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“…Opioid use disorder (OUD) is a public health problem . Patients with OUD have a high incidence of affective symptoms, such as depression and anxiety .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%