Here’s the latest look at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) actions related to social determinants of health (SDoH).
Agency removes surgeon general’s gun violence advisory from website
HHS this week removed former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy’s advisory on the public health crisis of gun violence across the country from its website.
Murthy, who was nominated by former President Biden, issued the 40-page advisory in June 2024, which was the first publication from the Office of the Surgeon General dedicated to gun violence. In the advisory, Murthy underscored the widespread impact of firearm deaths and injuries on Americans.
“Firearm violence is an urgent public health crisis that has led to loss of life, unimaginable pain, and profound grief for far too many Americans,” he said in the advisory. “We don’t have to continue down this path, and we don’t have to subject our children to the ongoing horror of firearm violence in America. All Americans deserve to live their lives free from firearm violence, as well as from the fear and devastation that it brings. It will take the collective commitment of our nation to turn the tide on firearm violence.”
An HHS spokesperson told Politico about the advisory being removed that “HHS and the Office of the Surgeon General are complying with President Trump’s Executive Order on Protecting Second Amendment Rights.”
HHS announces renewal of PHE to address opioid crisis
Secretary RFK Jr. this week renewed the public health emergency (PHE) declaration addressing the nation’s opioid crisis, according to a recent HHS announcement.
The PHE allows sustained federal coordination efforts and flexibilities that enable HHS to continue to leverage expanded authorities to conduct certain activities in response to the opioid overdose crisis, HHS said.
The public health emergency was first declared under President Trump’s leadership in 2017 and was set to expire on March 21, 2025. The renewal extends the emergency for 90 days.
“Although overdose deaths are starting to decline, opioid-involved overdoses remain the leading cause of drug-related fatalities,” HHS Secretary Kennedy said in the announcement. “This Administration is going to treat this urgent crisis in American health as the national security emergency that it is. Renewing the Opioid Public Health Emergency Declaration affirms the Administration’s commitment to addressing the opioid overdose crisis and is one of many critical steps we will take to Make America Healthy Again.”