This analysis was prepared by Venable, LLP, on behalf of AACOM.

On May 13, the White House released a fact sheet regarding the investment of $7.4 billion in funds from the American Rescue Plan to train and hire public health workers in response to COVID-19. The funding, which is summarized below, is divided into two parts. The first focuses on the COVID-19 response, while the second invests in preparation for future pandemics.

Invest $4.4 Billion to Surge Public Health Staffing for COVID-19 Response

• CDC will fund $3.4 billion in new hiring for state and local public health departments to add staff to support COVID-19 response efforts – including vaccination outreach and administration efforts, testing and contact tracing, epidemiologists, data scientists, and other vital public health functions.
  • This funding includes at least $500 million for the hiring of school nurses, which is in addition to the K-12 Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Releif funds which can also be used to hire school nurses.
• CDC and AmeriCorps (the Corporation for National and Community Service) will launch the Public Health AmeriCorps – a $400 million investment to recruit and build a new workforce ready to respond to the public health needs of the nation.
• CDC will expand its current workforce programs, including the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS), with $245 million to increase support for programs including EIS, the Undergraduate Public Health Scholars Program, and the Dr. James A. Ferguson Emerging Infectious Diseases RISE Fellowship, which offers students from underrepresented background the opportunity to study infectious diseases and health disparities. In addition, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology will invest $80 million to train public health professionals to help modernize the public health data infrastructure, with a focus on recruiting from minority serving institutions and universities.
  • To be eligible for a Ferguson RISE Fellowship, as student must be an actively enrolled, full-time graduate student in a medical, dental, pharmacy, veterinary, public health, allied health, or social sciences program.
• With $337 million, the CDC will strengthen the public health laboratory workforce pipeline. CDC will expand the current public health laboratory fellowship programs for laboratory science graduates and implement a new public health internship program for undergraduate students to gain experiences in public health laboratory settings. Funds will improve the capacity of the nation’s public-private clinical laboratory infrastructure to support rapid, large-scale responses to public health emergencies.

Invest $3 Billion to Prepare for Future Pandemics

• CDC will create a new grant program to provide under-resourced health departments with the support they need to hire staff and build a strong public health workforce. CDC will convene federal, state, local, and territorial public health experts to inform the design and focus of this new grant program.

Please contact AACOM Government Relations at aacomgr@aacom.org with questions or for further information.

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