The percentage of individuals who test positive for COVID-19 and the number of tests administered each day per 1,000 people have been cited as important benchmarks for determining when it is safe to ease social distancing policies or reopen economies. A positive test rate of under 10% and conducting 1.52 tests per 1,000 people day have been cited by various health officials as important benchmarks to be achieved before such actions are taken While several states are below the positive test...

The source of what the philosopher Immanuel Kant called “the moral law within” may be mysterious, but its role in the social order is not. In any nation short of dictatorship some form of moral compact, implicit or explicit, should be the basis of a just society. Without a common sense of what is “right,” groups fracture and the fragments wander. Science and knowledge can guide action; they do not cause action. No scientific doubt exists that, mostly, circumstances outside health care...

Background • Public health officials across the country are reporting spikes in drug overdose deaths that appear to be associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, with over 30 states reporting increases in opioid-involved overdose deaths primarily related to illicit fentanyl1 • Public health emergencies typically affect communities and individuals in a variety of ways, including economic loss and instability, emotional or physical isolation, additional stressors from mass at-home confinement, and...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) COVID-19 Tracker is a tool for sharing maps, charts, and data about COVID-19. COVID-19 Tracker now reports trends in COVID-19 incidence and mortality rates by 2013 National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) Urban-Rural Classification Scheme for Counties. This scheme classifies all counties in the U.S. into one of six metropolitan categories (4 metropolitan, 1 micropolitan, 1 non-core). Users can focus on one or more of the urban-rural...

The U.S. adult obesity rate tops 40 percent; highest ever recorded. COVID-19 related food insecurity puts more Americans at risk for obesity or worsening obesity. Demographic trends and the conditions in people’s lives have a large impact on their ability to maintain a healthy weight. Policy solutions include expanded access to nutrition support programs and creating more opportunities for people to be physically active. Read the State of Obesity 2020: Better Policies for a Healthier America

After decades of lower or similar mortality rates in rural areas than in urban areas of the U.S., a rural mortality penalty emerged in the 1990s and has grown since the mid-2000s. Although the rural–urban mortality gap has widened across all major racial/ethnic groups over the past 30 years, it has widened the most among working-age non-Hispanic (NH) whites. A research brief in the Population Research and Policy Review summarizes the results of a study that examined rural-urban differences...

An article by published yesterday in STAT online included alarming information about the prevalence of COVID-19 in rural communities. "As the U.S. heads toward a third peak in the pandemic, rural counties are among the areas most severely affected by Covid-19. While their absolute numbers of cases are still relatively small compared with large cities, case rates and death rates are growing fastest in rural counties . This is especially worrisome because characteristics associated with poor...

I am happy to share the Request for Applications (RFA) for seven additional land grant institutions to become a part of the Well Connected Communities Initiative. National 4-H Council through the generous support of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation seeks to showcase land grant universities that are modeling how Cooperative Extension is already working in new ways to implement the five high-level recommendations included in Cooperative Extension’s National Framework for Health Equity and...

Has your land grant institution implemented an innovation that has accelerated Cooperative Extension’s work to advance health and well being? If so, we want to help you tell that story of innovation and the difference it is making in your state. The Well Connected Communities Initiative, administered through National 4-H Council with the generous support of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, will provide seven land grant universities with $25,000 each to perform a case study of a successful...

The focus of the November EXCITE Spotlight session was utilizing Social Media in our Vaccine Education project. Teams shared resources, success stories, and difficulties of using social media to share their project messages and reach their audiences. As part of the presentation, The College of Menominee Nation was highlighted for the significant progress made in their projects goals after launching social media campaigns to reach their target audience. The College of Menominee Nation is a...

The Extension Committee on Organization and Policy (ECOP) Health Program Action Team (PAT), in partnership with the Extension Foundation (EXF), seeks a Heath Partnership and Development Coordinator who is passionate about advancing health equity through the work of the Cooperative Extension System and its partners. The central focus of the work is to assist the Extension Health Director and the Health Program Action Team identify and manage progress toward milestones related to the...

CDC confirmed the bird flu virus detected in a person in the US is an H5N1 virus. H5N1 bird flu viruses first emerged in mid-90s to cause poultry outbreaks and human infections with a greater than 60% mortality rate. Over time H5N1 viruses have evolved. Current H5N1 viruses spreading in wild birds and poultry in the US and globally are genetically different from earlier versions of the virus. Learn more about the emergence and evolution of the H5N1 bird flu here.

Walk Across Arkansas is an 8-week online group exercise program that has been changing the lives of rural and urban participants, one step at a time. Read more to learn how this program is being implemented by the University of Arkansas System, Division of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service…

I am pleased to announce that registration is now open for the 2023 National Health Outreach and Engagement Conference to be held May 22-24 in Ithaca, NY. The 2023 conference is being hosted by Cornell University and is open to all Extension faculty and staff and their community partners. You won’t want to miss this extraordinary opportunity to connect with individuals from across the country who share your passion for ensuring that all people have the opportunity to experience lifelong...

I just wanted to pass along a reminder that the early bird registration rate for the national Health Outreach Conference is available through March 17. Visit https://nhoc2023.cce.cornell.edu to register. Also know that the conference schedule has been loaded with all accepted presentations listed. Feel to browse the sessions at https://nhoc2023.cce.cornell.edu/schedule/ The conference will begin at 1:00 PM on Monday, May 22 and will end at NOON on Wednesday, May 24. The conference will...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID) kicked off the 2023-2024 fall vaccination season during an annual press conference held yesterday. At the 2023 NFID Annual News Conference: Preventing Disease This Fall and Winter, experts discussed the unique opportunity this fall to protect people with vaccines recommended against flu, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), COVID-19, and pneumococcal disease. Leading national public...

Registration is now open for the 2024 National Health Outreach and Engagement Conference to be held May 13-15 in Greenville, South Carolina. The conference is co-hosted by Clemson University, University of Georgia, and North Carolina State University. The conference schedule is packed full of keynote speakers, educational workshops, poster presentations, and an awards banquet. The early bird rate of $450 is available from now through April 15. Special lodging rates are available at the...

Registration is now open for the 2024 National Health Outreach and Engagement Conference to be held May 13-15 in Greenville, South Carolina. The conference is co-hosted by Clemson University, University of Georgia, and North Carolina State University. The conference schedule is packed full of keynote speakers, educational workshops, poster presentations, and an awards banquet. The early bird rate of $450 is available from now through April 15. Special lodging rates are available at the...