Enumeration of the Public Health Workforce in New York State: Workforce Changes in the Wake of COVID-19.

The governmental public health workforce in the United States has faced staffing shortages for over a decade that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. To assess this critical issue, the Region 2 Public Health Training Center collaborated with the New York State Association of County Health Officials to enumerate the city and county public health workforce in New York State. The organizations used an online survey to: (1) count employees and full-time equivalent (FTEs) staff in local health departments in 2021; (2) assess workforce trends since the COVID-19 pandemic; and, (3) identify challenges local health departments encounter in recruiting and retaining qualified public health workers. To assess trends, findings were compared with secondary data from 2019. Despite playing a central role in COVID-19 mitigation, local health departments experienced no overall increase in staffing in 2021 compared to 2019, with many health departments experiencing large increases in vacant positions. Recruitment challenges include noncompetitive salaries, difficulties finding qualified candidates, and lengthy hiring processes. This study complements accumulating evidence indicating that long-term investment in local public health infrastructure is needed to bolster the workforce and ensure that communities are protected from current and future health threats.

COVID-19 Vaccine Administration: Phase 2 of an in Progress Review in New York State Local Health Departments.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York State (NYS), local health departments (LHDs) have worked to mitigate the highly infectious disease. As lead public health experts in their communities, LHDs are responsible for providing communicable disease control, emergency response, and establishing immunization programs, including leading large-scale vaccine distribution efforts. The aim of this qualitative study was to understand the processes used by LHDs in NYS to administer COVID-19 vaccines, as well as identify successes and challenges, and highlight lessons learned to improve future mass vaccination campaigns. Data were collected in two phases: (1) extant data collection of public communications; and (2) discussion groups with public health leaders across the state. Notable themes from both phases include: partnerships, programmatic elements, communication, role of LHD, State-LHD coordination, and human and physical resources. Analysis of both public and internal communications from LHDs across NYS revealed several core challenges LHDs faced during COVID-19 vaccine rollout and identified innovative solutions that LHDs used to facilitate vaccine access, administration, and uptake in their communities. Findings from this multi-phase qualitative analysis support the need to bolster the capacity and training of the local public health workforce to ensure preparedness for future public health emergencies.

New York State Local Health Department Preparedness for and Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: An In-Progress Review.

A mixed-methods approach was taken to describe lessons learned by local health department leaders during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic in New York State and to document leaders' assessments of their departments' emergency preparedness capabilities and capacities. Leaders participating in a survey rated the effectiveness of their department's capabilities and capacities in administrative and public health preparedness, epidemiology, and communications on a scale from 1 to 5; those partaking in focus groups answered open-ended questions about the same 4 topics. Subjects rated intragovernmental activities most effective ( = 4.41, SD = 0.83) and reported receiving assistance from other county agencies. They rated level of supplies least effective ( = 3.03, SD = 1.01), describing low supply levels and inequitable distribution of testing materials and personal protective equipment among regions. Local health departments in New York require more state and federal aid to maintain the public health workforce in preparation for future emergencies.

Assessment of heavy metals (total chromium, lead, and manganese) contamination of residential soil and homegrown vegetables near a former chemical manufacturing facility in Tarnaveni, Romania.

Our aim was to assess local population exposure to heavy metals resulting from soil and vegetable contamination in Tarnaveni, Romania, an area located near a former chemical factory. We collected residential soil and vegetable samples from Tarnaveni and measured chromium (Cr), lead (Pb), and manganese (Mn) levels by atomic absorption spectrometry. We evaluated the relationship between soil and vegetable metals and the distance from the shuttered chemical factory, and calculated the hazard index to assess local population metal exposure via contaminated vegetable ingestion. Soil metal concentrations ranged between 15.6 and 525.8 mg/kg for total Cr, between 25.4 and 559.5 mg/kg for Pb, and between 363.1 and 1389.6 mg/kg for Mn. We found average concentrations of 17.8 mg/kg for total Cr, 2.2 mg/kg for Pb, and 116.6 mg/kg for Mn in local vegetables. We found soil concentrations for all three metals that exceeded normal background levels according to Romanian regulations (Pb exceeded 100 mg/kg in some of the samples), as well as measurable concentrations of metals in all analyzed vegetable samples. These preliminary data underscore a need for a more extensive investigation into associated adverse health effects in the exposed population.