C|M|LAW Library Blog

The state government of Ohio has added some new resources to its COVID-19 website.  Many resources are organized and easily accessible via the new COVID-19 Ohio Dashboard.  “Key Metrics” include information on Cases, Mortality, Hospitalizations, and Testing, as well as an interactive Cases by ZIP Code page.  Families may want to periodically check the interactive Schools and Children pages.  The Long-Term Care Facilities resources include an interactive Long-Term Care Facility Visitation Dashboard.  Demographics resources include an interactive Ohio Opportunity Index with measures of “seven factors that impact health and well-being” that can help “guide the delivery of crucial services.”  There is even an Ohio Coronavirus Wastewater Monitoring Network page, with information on the study of wastewater samples “to look for the presence of gene copies/fragments of the virus that causes the disease.”  For information on all of the state government of Ohio activities and resources, see its COVID-19 website.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has “issued guidance with recommendations for vaccine sponsors regarding the scientific data and information that would support the issuance of an emergency use authorization (EUA) for an investigational vaccine intended to prevent COVID-19.”  The recommendations describe EUA issuance supporting information and data, “including chemistry, manufacturing and controls information, nonclinical and clinical data, and regulatory and administrative information.”  FDA’s EUA authority allows the use of unapproved medical products, or unapproved uses of approved medical products, if a domestic emergency has been determined by the Secretary of Homeland Security, a military emergency has been determined by the Secretary of Defense, or a public health emergency has been determined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services. [see 21 U.S.C § 360bbb-3]  For additional information, see the FDA in Brief: FDA Issues Guidance on Emergency Use Authorization for COVID-19 Vaccines.

Many readers know that C|M|LAW has a Center for Health Law and Policy. When starting your research in health law, be sure to check out the law library’s Center for Health Law and Policy Guide, which is full of information including: statute and regulation information, top books, databases, websites, blogs,  journals, and other periodicals.

The law library subscribes to Health Affairs, which can be accessed through the Law Databases link on the library homepage. CSU’s Michael Schwartz (main) Library also has a number of other helpful databases related to health: Health and Psychosocial Instruments, Health Source: Consumer Edition, and Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition.

As always, you can contact a reference librarian with any questions; the best way to reach us is via email at research.services@csuohio.edu.

The American Health Law Association (AHLA) is a professional legal organization for attorneys who practice in the area of health law. The organization was formed by the merger of the National Health Lawyers Association and the American Academy of Healthcare Attorneys. AHLA has over 13,000 members who practice in law and consulting firms—academic, in-house, and in a variety of public sector work settings.

AHLA has created a Coronavirus Pandemic Hub that includes information to help members and the public stay up to date on new developments on the coronavirus pandemic, with a specific focus on resources developed by AHLA for the health law community. Available are information/news documents, videos, podcasts, analyses, checklists, webinars, and links to pandemic-related websites and documents.

Equitable Enforcement to Achieve Health Equity: An Introductory Guide for Policymakers and Practitioners (guide available for download on this website with free signup for the website’s library) is a free new guidebook available from ChangeLab Solutions (ChangeLab). ChangeLab  is a national organization that advances equitable laws and policies to ensure healthy lives for all. ChangeLab has a multidisciplinary team of lawyers, planners, policy analysts, and other professionals that work with state and local governments, advocacy organizations, and anchor institutions to create thriving communities.

This guidebook was listed on the Centers for Disease Control website and came about because enforcement actions taken in the name of public health can sometimes harm, discriminate against, or otherwise undermine the health of the very people whom the laws are meant to protect. Enforcement that is carried out inequitably can create or make worse existing health inequities. The thinking behind equitable enforcement is that wrongdoers can be held accountable while still protecting the health of individuals and the community and incentivizing compliance.