Resource Summary
Starting in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic — an event that by definition has no jurisdictional boundaries — became the ultimate example of an emergency that could not easily be solved by a single organization. Resource sharing among partners became a powerful tool to address the challenges brought by the pandemic. Many local health departments shared resources through partnerships that had been developed well before the pandemic, while in other instances new partnerships were forced by rapidly evolving circumstances. While resource sharing supported health departments as they weathered the pandemic, practical challenges also arose.
This brief highlights examples of resource sharing during the COVID-19 response and discusses challenges and benefits associated with sharing resources during this public health emergency.