Pathology

Disease

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Infectious disease (medical specialty)

Federalism

Pandemic

Politics

Outbreak

Political science

Virology

Health care

Social policy

2019-20 coronavirus outbreak

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)

Public administration

Health policy

Medicine

Health Policy

Highlights•Effective pandemic response requires alignment of social policy and health policy.•Federalism can create misalignment in health and social policy.•More automatic and collaborative intergovernmental relations enabled alignment and effective pandemic response.

Alignment and authority: Federalism, social policy, and COVID-19 response