CDC awards $3.2 billion in public health funding

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention this week awarded $3.2 billion to help state, local and territorial jurisdictions in the United States strengthen their public health workforce and infrastructure. The funding, originating from the American Rescue Plan Act, provides awards directly to state, local and territorial public health departments to provide the people, services and systems needed to promote and protect health. The funding includes $3 billion for jurisdictions to recruit, retain and train epidemiologists, contact tracers, laboratory scientists, community health workers and data analysts. The CDC says the grant is critical to delivering future resources for modernizing data systems and meeting the United States’ basic public health needs. (CDC news release, 11/29/22)