Michigan State University Extension is hosting a winter/spring Sustainability Speakers Series. The first speaker will present on Inflation Reduction Act: Funding for Sustainable Energy Upgrades. The session is on January 9, 2024, from Noon to 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The complete Sustainability Speakers Series, flyer attached, offers a diverse lineup of sessions addressing critical sustainability and environmental topics. Learn about opportunities to access funding for sustainable energy...

A reminder that the planning committee for the 2024 National Health Outreach and Engagement Conference is accepting proposals to present at the conference that will be held May 13-15, 2024. The conference will be hosted by University of Georgia, Clemson University, and North Carolina State University Extension Services in Greenville, SC. Interested individuals may submit proposals for concurrent sessions of 60 or 20 minutes in length as well as poster presentations that will be staffed at a...

For more than a decade, CDC has used a model to estimate the numbers of flu illnesses, medical visits, hospitalizations, and deaths during the flu season, and to estimate the impact that flu vaccination had on illness outcomes in the United States ( 1-6 ). The methods used to calculate the estimates of flu burden prevented by flu vaccination have been described previously ( 1 , 2 , 6 ). CDC uses the estimates of the impact of flu vaccination to inform policy and communications promoting...

CDC projects that the variant JN.1 comprises an estimated 21% of COVID cases in the United States as of December 8, 2023. JN.1 has an additional spike protein mutation that could potentially make it harder for the body to fight off an infection. However, the CDC has said that there’s been no indication that it causes more severe disease than other circulating variants. But for the 92% percent of Americans who have not received the latest vaccine, their body isn’t able to fend off more severe...

A CDC study published in JAMA Pediatrics shows that infants younger than 6 months born to people who were vaccinated during their pregnancy were protected from flu-related emergency department visits and hospitalizations. Infants are at higher risk of being hospitalized compared to other children but cannot get a flu shot until they turn 6 months. The study underscores the importance of pregnant people getting vaccinated since both pregnant people and their infants are at higher risk of...

Greetings Colleagues: The planning committee for the 2024 National Health Outreach and Engagement Conference is now accepting proposals to present at next year’s conference. The conference will be held May 13-15, 2024 and will be hosted by University of Georgia, Clemson University, and North Carolina State University Extension Services in Greenville, SC. Interested individuals may submit proposals for concurrent sessions of 60 or 20 minutes in length as well as poster presentations that will...

Cooperative Extension is uniquely positioned to be a key leader in advancing community-based initiatives aimed at tackling health inequities in underserved communities. In 2021, the Extension Committee on Operations and Policy (ECOP) adopted Cooperative Extension’s National Framework for Health Equity & Well-being (Framework) that articulates a vision for this work. Advancing health equity as a core system value across the Extension system is the first of five key recommendations. A case...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently added additional years of data for 36 health-related measures to its interactive PLACES data hub. PLACES is a collaboration between CDC, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the CDC Foundation that provides health data for small geographic areas across the country. This data allows Cooperative Extension and its partners better understand both the burden and geographic distribution of health measures within counties and assist...

The University of Georgia is currently accepting applications for a District Program Development Coordinator within its Extension Family and Consumer Sciences Program. This position gives leadership and training to the Family & Consumer Sciences ( FACS ) Agents and staff in the Southeast District of UGA Cooperative Extension. It fills a significant role in helping Agents identify programming needs, plan educational programs, and manage county educational priorities. This position is...

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Food Forum will host a symposium to explore major developments in the field of food, nutrition, and agriculture over the past 30 years and reflect on the Forum’s impact. The symposium will be held on Thursday, November 30 from 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM Eastern. The symposium will cover the key areas of food safety, food systems and sustainability, and nutrition and health. It will feature discussions on the future of food in light of...

"Structural inequities are the root cause of unjust disparities in community health outcomes. Given that uprooting structural discrimination is key to improving health for all, public health workers and policymakers need innovative, powerful law and policy tools to get results." In a recent blog post, Sarah de Guia of ChangeLab Solutions shares a relatively new and growing approach to improving community health articulated in ChangeLab's health justice framework. The framework adds "crucial...

Penn State Extension is hosting the BEAD Broadband Navigator in New York City on November 13, 2023. BEAD is a once-in-a-generation opportunity and may mean millions of dollars in broadband development for your state and local communities. Program highlights: Over $42 billion dollars in government funding is available. How can your state and local communities leverage these funds? Collaboration opportunities to accelerate local broadband deployment. Discover how broadband spatial analysis and...