Weakened public health powers could hamper states' outbreak responses

Public health experts are worried that states are less prepared to respond to the Ebola outbreak and other infectious disease threats because many weakened their public health authorities in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. LEILA FADEL, HOST: Health officials in many states now have less power to fight disease outbreaks than they did during the COVID-19 pandemic. NPR health correspondent Rob Stein reports on the changes. ROB STEIN, BYLINE: All the COVID lockdowns, school closures, mass mandates and vaccine requirements left many Americans furious. LAWRENCE GOSTIN: There's been such an enormous backlash from the COVID-19 pandemic right across America, particularly in red states. STEIN: Lawrence Gostin studies public health law at Georgetown University. GOSTIN: It's become, you know, part of our national lore of overreaching government. STEIN: The Trump administration has reined in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in part because of that backlash. But most public health powers are local. And since the pandemic, more than half of the states made changes to their authorities to respond to public health emergencies, including many that watered down their powers. GOSTIN: Taken all together, we're in a much weaker position post-COVID in handling a health emergency. …