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Georgia public health stories to watch in 2026
From federal funding shifts to Atlanta’s readiness for outbreaks and the World Cup, here’s what I’m keeping an eye on for next year.
Rebecca Grapevine
December 18, 2025 • Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
Hi, Atlanta!
This is our last newsletter of 2025 before we take a break for the holidays, and I’m crafting my “to do” list for 2026. Here are the biggest Atlanta public health stories I expect to be tackling in the new year.
How Georgia public health leaders and workers react to federal funding and policy changes as they start to trickle down from Washington. They’ll be facing potentially large cuts to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funding that supports much of state and local public health work. And changes to health insurance under Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act will have widespread impact. We’ll also continue to follow how federal and state vaccine policy changes impact Georgia and its vaccine rates.
How leaders prepare for public health challenges. This could be a new outbreak (measles, bird flu, or something else), environmental disasters, or major events like the World Cup.
Stories of innovation and resilience. I’ll be tracking how local organizations and public health workers react to scarce resources and changing circumstances; how Atlanta informs global public health work; and how global health informs what we do here. I’ll also be watching how people build trust in an era of division, and how the city’s thriving tech scene can help shape public health.
Healthbeat will also continue working to find new ways to connect with readers and cultivate journalism that reflects community needs. I’m still riding the high from our sold-out, live storytelling event, and I’m looking forward to connecting with more readers IRL next year.
🎤‘Aha’ Moments
Aliki Pappas Weakland has over 25 years experience in social services and public health. At our live event, “'Aha' Moments in Public Health: A Night of Healthbeat Storytelling,” she shares a story from her early career as a social worker in Manhattan about learning how the smallest human connection can change the course of a life. Read her story here and watch her tell it on YouTube. Watch the full show here.
ICYMI
Here’s a recap of the latest reporting from Healthbeat:
Vaccines: Georgia parents show strong confidence in childhood vaccines as federal guidance shifts
5 From the Field: Q&A with dean Ali Khan on the ‘dismantling’ of the CDC and the path forward
Flu season: Why it will likely be worse this year and how to prepare
Meet Healthbeat’s new NYC reporter: What I learned about global health from Haiti’s cholera outbreak
Public Health on the Move
BioTouch, a company that provides health care supplies and logistics, plans to spend $12.5 million to expand its facilities in Columbus, which will create 480 new jobs over the next four years.
Fulton County babies from 0 to six months will receive free books to read with their parents during their well-child visits through a new partnership between the Fulton County Library System and Reach Out and Read Georgia.
Former CDC-er and Georgia State University public health professor Greta Massetti has created a survey to better understand how people who were fired or voluntarily left the CDC have been impacted. Take it here.
Demetre Daskalakis will take over as chief medical officer at the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center in New York City. Daskalakis and two other senior leaders resigned from the CDC in protest of political interference in science in August. He is also advising New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s team on health policy.
The Grapevine 🍇
Speaking at the Capitol on Wednesday, from left to right, are Felicia Chatman, executive director of the Georgia Nurses Association Peer Assistance Program; Robin Pingeton, family nurse practitioner and director of government relations for the United Advance Practice Registered Nurses of Georgia; Greg Gardner, peer recovery coach at the Georgia Council for Recovery; and Laurisa Guerrero, executive director at Georgia Council for Recovery. (Rebecca Grapevine / Healthbeat)
This week at the Capitol, recovery advocates were calling for reforms to how the nursing board handles substance use issues. The advocates want Georgia to adopt an alternative discipline model like the one used in most other states, saying it would help nurses get help earlier and remain in the workforce. Stay tuned for more reporting on this.
What I’m hearing from readers:
A really excellent roundup of Atlanta health news.
Hear from Healthbeat on other platforms:
Fox 5 Atlanta: I discuss how expiring Affordable Care Act subsidies will affect Georgians with host Airyl Onstott. Watch it here.
What Do You Know?
Test your knowledge of public health topics. Today’s question:
Recent breakthroughs in artificial intelligence have shown that which organ can help predict a host of health problems, from cardiovascular disease to cancer? |
Tell Me More
What public health stories and questions are on your mind for next year? Please take a moment and write to me! Reply to this email or send to [email protected].
With gratitude for your support this year and warm wishes for a restful holiday season.
See you in 2026!
Rebecca
Looking for your next read? Check out these other great newsletters.
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