Following President Biden’s signing of the American Rescue Plan into law, David C. Harvey, Executive Director of the National Coalition of STD Directors (NCSD), issued the following statement commending the unprecedented investment to rebuild nation’s public health workforce – specifically Disease Intervention Specialists (DIS) – as the country emerges from the COVID-19 crisis.

“This is the first step to rebuilding our nation’s decimated public health infrastructure, restoring America’s trust in public health, and investing in racial justice and equity. Over the past year, the coronavirus pandemic has wrought massive disruptions to core public health functions, including STD prevention and care as limited program staff and resources have been redirected to the pandemic response. Public health workers have served heroically on the frontlines – it is now time to invest in them and get them the support they urgently need.

“With a $7.7 billion investment to expand and sustain local public health workforces, the American Rescue Plan is a lifeline to public health departments across the country who have been pushed to the brink over the past year. It will help local health workers like DIS continue their life-saving work during the pandemic and beyond to stop the spread of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases. As the nation looks toward recovery, their expertise in testing and contact tracing will be essential to keeping the pandemic at bay and rebuilding for a sustainable and lasting recovery for every community.

“We commend the commitment to supporting DIS and the public health workforce at large. Now, the Biden administration must ensure that this vital workforce receives the funding to continue its vital work of preventing the spread of infectious diseases,” says David C. Harvey, Executive Director of NCSD.