Public health authority is an important legal power that allows governments to take actions to protect the public’s health. However, recent changes in public health authority may affect how health professionals can conduct their work to prevent infectious diseases.

To help state and local health departments understand recent trends related to public health authority, ChangeLab Solutions has developed a fact sheet that describes how public health authority can change over time, with examples of recent changes in response to COVID-19 and how those changes might potentially affect public health work to prevent infectious diseases.