
The COVID-19 pandemic defined the course of public health in 2020. On January 22, APHL established its Incident Command System to oversee organizational priorities, identify and respond to member needs, manage staffing and resources, and coordinate with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other federal agencies and external partners.
APHL also made a wholesale pivot from in-person trainings, professional development and conferences to new virtual platforms. Fortunately, APHL’s long-standing expertise with remote training opportunities and resources guided the transition of the remaining training programs—as well as six in-person conferences—to fully online platforms in just a few months.
But even as the pandemic continues, the critical day-to-day work of our members persists. Infectious disease samples continue to arrive in our laboratories. Babies continue to be born and screened. Natural and manmade disasters continue to occur with urgent implications for testing. Air, water and food quality continues to require monitoring. As we continue this critical work, we are profoundly grateful for the support of our members and federal partners—including (but not limited to) CDC, the US Food and Drug Administration, the Health Resources and Services Administration and the US Environmental Protection Agency—and all of our public and private collaborators.
We know that the days, weeks and months to come will be different from anything we have ever experienced as public health professionals. Our highest priority is still to do our jobs to the best of our ability, continue to educate our communities about what we do, and ensure a healthier world through quality laboratory systems.
EDUCATE
POLICY MAKERS
EDUCATE POLICY MAKERS
Even as the pandemic shut down in-person meetings, it bolstered APHL’s presence on Capitol Hill. The year was marked by a higher level of involvement on the Hill than ever before.
COMMUNICATE
CREDIBLE INFORMATION
COMMUNICATE CREDIBLE INFORMATION
Media numbers always rise for APHL when there is a public health emergency: Ebola, Zika, opioids, EVALI. But 2020 was one for the record books.
COLLABORATE
WITH PARTNERS
COLLABORATE WITH PARTNERS
APHL expanded and deepened its relationships with many federal agencies and programs, improving the flow of information, advocating for the importance of public health laboratories and data and laying the groundwork for potential future collaborations.
DELIVER TECHNOLOGY
SOLUTIONS
DELIVER TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS
When COVID-19 hit, the APHL informatics team was able to build on the existing infrastructure and relationships to quickly accommodate new reporting partners and testing data.
PROVIDE CONNECTION
OPPORTUNITIES
PROVIDE CONNECTION OPPORTUNITIES
In 2020, InFORM and five other APHL national conferences and meetings moved online, each with a slightly different format. Throughout the process, APHL provided support for logistics, content delivery and continuing education credits.
ENSURE ESSENTIAL
PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICES
ENSURE ESSENTIAL
PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICES
Even as laboratories grappled with the overwhelming demands of COVID-19 testing, other public health needs continued.
Congressional committees and member offices to whom APHL served as a resource
Congressional committees and member offices to whom APHL served as a resource
Media stories where APHL was quoted or mentioned in a single day
Media stories where APHL was quoted or mentioned in a single day
Lab alerts distributed to members with
COVID-19 updates
Lab alerts distributed to members with
COVID-19 updates
awarded to APHL to bolster ongoing recovery efforts in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands
awarded to APHL to bolster ongoing recovery efforts in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands
direct funding awards to newborn screening programs to maintain essential system functions
direct funding awards to newborn screening programs to maintain essential system functions
APHL-CDC COVID-19 Associates
were placed in laboratories
APHL-CDC COVID-19 Associates
were placed in laboratories
jurisdictions utilizing COVID-19 Electronic Laboratory Reporting (CELR)
jurisdictions utilizing COVID-19 Electronic Laboratory Reporting (CELR)
Indonesian biosafety officers who participated in virtual training to implement COVID-19 testing capacity
Indonesian biosafety officers who participated in virtual training to implement COVID-19 testing capacity
survey data points collected to support COVID-19 response
survey data points collected to support COVID-19 response
informatics help desk tickets completed as of December 31, 2020
informatics help desk tickets completed as of December 31, 2020
Provided by FDA to state laboratories under a new Laboratory Flexible Funding Model
Provided by FDA to state laboratories under a new Laboratory Flexible Funding Model
FINANCIALS
TOTAL REVENUE
(unaudited figures, by category)
![]() |
62,360,902 |
![]() |
1,088,171 |
![]() |
393,787 |
![]() |
1,033,268 |
Total | 64,876,128 |
TOTAL EXPENSES
(unaudited figures, by category)
![]() |
52,959,937 |
Global Programs![]() |
8,722,875 |
Total | 61,682,812 |
DOMESTIC PROGRAMS
Informatics | 12,814,894 |
Infectious Diseases | 11,920,787 |
Public Health Preparedness | 7,642,282 |
Newborn Screening | 5,998,833 |
APHL Consulting/Services | 4,614,976 |
Food Safety | 2,627,462 |
Lab Strengthening/Leadership | 2,285,928 |
Environmental Health | 1,504,672 |
Workshops | 1,280,429 |
Leadership Development | 787,096 |
Member Services | 621,868 |
Laboratory Systems and Standards | 498,974 |
Conferences | 361,736 |
Domestic Programs Total | 52,959,937 |
GLOBAL PROGRAMS
Angola | 12,288 |
Ethiopia | 187,488 |
Ghana | 491,870 |
India | 274,472 |
Indonesia | 362,919 |
Kazakhastan | 13,902 |
Kenya | 553,424 |
Mozambique | 1,622,578 |
Other Global Health | 1,173,948 |
Program Management | 116,589 |
Senegal | 96,935 |
Tanzania | 540,505 |
Thailand | 18,628 |
Ukraine | 248,366 |
Vietnam | 1,158,982 |
Zambia | 1,833,593 |
Zimbabwe | 16,388 |
Global Programs Total | 8,722,875 |
CY20
OPERATIONAL
EFFICIENCY RATIO
![]() |
87.04% |
![]() |
12.96% |