Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-8-2020
ISSN
2689-0186
Publisher
American Medical Association
Language
en-US
Abstract
The rapid spread of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) across the United States has been met with a decentralized and piecemeal response led primarily by governors, mayors, and local health departments. This disjointed response is no accident. Federalism, or the division of power between a national government and states, is a fundamental feature of US public health authority.1 In this pandemic, US public health federalism assures that the coronavirus response depends on zip code. A global pandemic has no respect for geographic boundaries, laying bare the weaknesses of federalism in the face of a crisis.
Recommended Citation
Sarah H. Gordon, Nicole Huberfeld & David K. Jones,
What Federalism Means for the US Response to Coronavirus Disease 2019
,
in
1
JAMA Health Forum
(2020).
Available at:
https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1001/jamahealthforum.2020.0510
