Preparing for a Climate Emergency: The Potential Impacts on Public Health and Our Lives

Preparing for a Climate Emergency: The Potential Impacts on Public Health and Our Lives: The declaration of the pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a “public health emergency of worldwide concern” set the ground for a coordinated global response, the results of which have had far-reaching implications. The United States followed suit, with the Secretary of Health and Human Services declaring a COVID-19 “public health emergency,” and President Trump subsequently issuing a national emergency declaration that authorized the HHS to exercise additional powers. Both actions were taken in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.