Center for Health Policy and Law Archives

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci testifies before the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee about the response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Are we out of the pandemic? What Fauci meant by ‘a transitional phase’

While Dr. Anthony Fauci’s comments last week signal hope that the U.S. and other nations could finally be moving into a post-pandemic world, officials should proceed with caution, Northeastern experts say.

by Tanner Stening May 2, 2022

Travelers arrive for flights at Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey. The United States, and a growing list of other countries, has restricted flights from southern African countries due to the detection of the COVID-19 Omicron variant last week in South Africa. Stocks in the travel and airline industry have fallen in recent days as fears grow over the spread and severity of the variant. Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images

COVID-19 travel bans little more than 'public health theater,' professor says

New travel bans meant to delay the spread of the omicron COVID-19 variant won’t help quell the virus, but may serve to stigmatize southern African nations where the mutation was first reported, says Northeastern law professor Wendy Parmet.

by Hillary Chabot December 1, 2021

President Biden speaks at the White House and passes federal vaccine mandate

Are Biden’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates legal?

The presidential vaccination directives would have been a “slam dunk” if they were issued a year ago, says Northeastern’s public health law expert, Wendy Parmet. But the way the Supreme Court and other courts have ruled against federal mandates lately, “I’m not quite so sure,” she adds.

by Peter Ramjug September 16, 2021

students walk by northeastern’s top rated law school

Northeastern’s law school rated top in the US for public interest law

The recognition by a legal publication highlights Northeastern Law’s dual mission of social justice lawyering and experiential learning.

by Peter Ramjug September 8, 2021

Pedestrians, some with masks, some without walk along the Las Vegas Strip on April 27, 2021

What do the new CDC mask guidelines mean?

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has said that people fully vaccinated for the coronavirus no longer need to wear masks in public. How does that gibe with state and local rules mandating mask-wearing? And how will the new guidelines affect the vaccination rate? Northeastern faculty in law and public health unravel these questions.

by Eva Botkin-Kowacki May 14, 2021

Photo by Matthew Modoono/Northeastern University

Why Trump-era immigration rule likely is impacting Hispanic inoculations

Some immigrants may be foregoing vaccinations and accessing other health benefits because of a Trump administration rule. The Biden administration stopped enforcing it, but prevailing fear looms large, according to a Northeastern public health faculty expert. Several red states are suing the White House to enforce the measure.

by Peter Ramjug April 5, 2021

Migrants are seen in custody at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection processing area under the Anzalduas International Bridge on March 19, 2021, in Mission, Texas. AP Photo by Julio Cortez

The border conundrum: Solutions call for new policies to an ‘ongoing crisis’

One of the reasons for an influx of unaccompanied minors at the southern border is that their parents are being kept out under a Trump-era health law. Biden should end the expulsions and allow everyone, including adults, to seek asylum. Whether the situation rises to a “new crisis” is subjective, Northeastern’s immigration faculty experts say.

by Peter Ramjug March 30, 2021

President-elect Joe Biden removes his face mask to speak at The Queen theater on Nov. 5, 2020, in Wilmington, Del. AP Photo by Carolyn Kaster

Will Biden’s proposed mask mandate actually force people to wear facial coverings?

Probably not, because any mandate he tried to impose would likely face court challenges. But there are other ways he can use the power of the presidency to try to get more people on board, including a direct appeal to our conscience, professors Wendy Parmet and Patricia Illingworth say.

by Peter Ramjug November 19, 2020

A general view of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., on October 21, 2020 amid the coronavirus pandemic. AP Photo by Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA

An economic stimulus measure could still pass this year despite an election upheaval

Once President-elect Joe Biden takes office, little cooperation from a divided Congress is expected on most major legislative issues. The new president can still pull the levers of power to accomplish some of his administration’s priorities, professors Wendy Parmet and David Lazer say.

by Peter Ramjug November 9, 2020

Vice President Mike Pence listens as Democratic vice presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif., speaks during the vice presidential debate Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2020, at Kingsbury Hall on the campus of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. Photo by Justin Sullivan/Pool via AP

Pence and Harris’s low-key debate probably won’t change many voters' minds. Here's why.

The debate probably didn’t move the needle in terms of attracting undecideds, Northeastern professors observe. But with a Supreme Court nomination hearing on the way, their discussion set the stage for a looming political conflict

by Peter Ramjug October 8, 2020

Center for Health Policy and Law