Equitable Allocation of COVID-19 Vaccines

  

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine will soon announce a public comment period for a forthcoming study on Equitable Allocation of Vaccines Against COVID-19. The study is sponsored by NIH and CDC and will recommend criteria to help policymakers set priorities for the allocation of a limited initial supply of COVID-19 vaccine, when available. Public input, especially from groups highly impacted by COVID-19, is essential to inform this study. For more information, visit the study webpage and sign up for the COVID-19 & Infectious Diseases listserve to be notified when the public comment period opens.

Structural Racism is a Public Health Crisis

New podcast episode The topic of the 15th episode of The State We're In podcast is "Structural Racism is a Public Health Crisis.” Whether at the hands of police or because of pervasive inequities built into the fabric of our society, Black and Brown people are dying at disproportionately high rates compared to white people. Systemic and structural racism in housing, health care, employment, and healthy food access is resulting in Latinos and Blacks being three times as likely to be infected with COVID-19 as their white counterparts are and twice as likely to die of the virus as white people. This episode features three community leaders on why naming structural racism as a public health crisis is crucial and what comes after the acknowledgement.  Listen to the podcast on the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota Center for Prevention website.

New report from MDH Center for Health Equity:

Cultivating a Health Equity Ecosystem: Lessons Learned from the Eliminating Health Disparities Initiative

Next year will be the 20^th anniversary of the Eliminating Health Disparities Initiative (EHDI). For the past year, we’ve been working with a group of previous and current EHDI grantees to develop a report to capture the lessons we have learned over the past two decades on what it takes to advance health equity in communities of color and American Indians. On Monday, we released that report to the public on our website: Cultivating a Health Equity Ecosystem: Lessons Learned from the Eliminating Health Disparities Initiative.

Since we wrote the report, a lot has changed in the past few months. We witnessed COVID-19 ravage our communities and lay bare the systemic inequities that perpetuate health disparities. The world watched as George Floyd was murdered in our backyard and our cities burned. We are trying to process our pain and grief in the midst of the pandemic. Yet we have also seen our communities mobilize to support one another, push for justice, and rebuild. Given all of this, we at the center have struggled with how and when to release this report. However, in reviewing the takeaways from the report, we realized the lessons we have learned from our community partners are relevant now more than ever. We are deeply grateful for the leadership of our grantees over the past two decades; they have paved the way to ensure our communities have the resources, access and services needed to create their healthiest futures. Grantees have also had profound impact on systems change at multiple levels. The state’s investment in EHDI has resulted in outcomes that cannot be quantified in metrics alone. We also recognize EHDI is one element within a complex ecosystem that requires many entities working together in order to truly achieve health and racial equity in Minnesota. We are pleased to share this report: “Cultivating a Health Equity Ecosystem: Lessons Learned from the Eliminating Health Disparities Initiative.” If we have learned anything from the last few months, it is that we will not see an end to structural inequities unless systems and institutions recognize their role in perpetuating inequities, share power and collaborate across sectors, and move to invest significantly more in community-driven solutions. Please join us in spreading this report widely. We also invite you to join a webinar on Wednesday, September 16 from 1-2 pm to walk through the report and the lessons learned. Please register for the webinar on the Cultivating a Health Equity Ecosystem report webpage. A huge thank you to our EHDI grantees past and present and the many staff and partners who worked tirelessly to put this report together.

Advocate for National Low Income Housing Coalition - opportunities described below

We Are Making Progress – Don’t Let Up! Thanks to your advocacy, we are continuing to gain ground in building support for essential housing and homelessness resources and protections as negotiations for the next coronavirus relief package move forward. The White House has put rental assistance on the table for negotiations and has called for an executive order on eviction moratoriums, although both offers are inadequate to address the urgent need. More than a dozen Republican lawmakers have weighed in with their leadership in support of measures to prevent evictions and homelessness. Democratic leadership continues to hold firm on NLIHC’s top priorities to address the health and housing needs of the lowest-income renters and people experiencing homelessness. The stakes could not be higher, and now is a key moment for advocates. Together, we can make a real difference. Keep calling on your members of Congress to ensure robust resources and protections for the lowest-income renters and people experiencing homelessness remain a priority in negotiations. Even if you have already reached out – do so again today! Take Action Contact your senators and representatives again today: Demand that Congress pass the essential housing provisions of the HEROES Act. Find the phone numbers of your members of Congress here or send an email! Use NLIHC’s Advocacy Toolkit to urge Congress to take immediate action to ensure housing stability. Call out the need for #RentReliefNow on social media, using our sample social media posts and images. Tag your member of Congress and demand action! Publish op-eds and letters to the editor in your local papers using NLIHC’s media toolkit here. Background Thanks to your advocacy, lawmakers are increasingly feeling the pressure to act to ensure housing stability during the coronavirus pandemic and address the needs of people experiencing homelessness. It is unclear when a deal will be reached, but so far, all of NLIHC’s top priorities are on the table: a national, uniform moratorium on all evictions for nonpayment of rent; $100 billion in emergency rental assistance through the “Emergency Rental Assistance and Rental Market Stabilization Act;” $11.5 billion to help address the health and housing needs of people experiencing homelessness; and at least $13 billion in additional resources to ensure housing stability. It is critical that advocates do not let up the pressure until a final deal is reached. “The stakes could not be higher during this public health crisis,” NLIHC President and CEO Diane Yentel warned in a press statement. “Ensuring that everyone is stably housed during and after the COVID-19 pandemic is not only a moral imperative – it is a public health necessity.” Contact your members of Congress now! Thank you for your crucial advocacy!

Resource for communicating about public health policies

Free online course

Northwest Center for Public Health Practice (NWCPHP) announces the release of a new resource to help public health professionals create concise, well-informed arguments that communicate the importance of policy issues and options to elected officials and other decision-makers for improving health.

The free self-paced course, Policy Briefs: From Concept to Action is a step-by-step guide for helping you organize your thinking, strategize and communicate about action items, and propose changes in policies that affect your community.

Visit the NWCPHP website to learn more and register.

MN SOPHE SUMMIT OCTOBER 12

What the Health? Understanding Disease, Diversity and Disparities

Our annual summit gathers 100+ health education specialists, health communicators, K-12 health teachers, behavioral scientists, health professionals, university faculty and students from around the state to exchange information and create a healthier Minnesota through effective public health education practice. This year’s theme is, What the Health? Understanding Disease, Diversity and Disparities. Our speakers will share their expertise in disease, diversity and disparity-related topics related to health theories, evaluation and research tools, show project examples and share applicable ideas for health communicators, educators, professionals and advocates to utilize in their programming and project efforts.

Audience: Those who are interested in improving the health of Minnesota communities are welcome to attend.

More information

MN SOPHE (sopheminn@gmail.com)

Air pollution exposure linked to high COVID-19 mortality

Register Now

WEBINAR Environmental Health: Air Pollution, COVID-19 & Health Disparities

Date and Time August 21, 2020 12:00 - 1:00 PM ET Featuring Charles Lee U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Jeremy Hoffman Science Museum of Virginia Josie Williams Greensboro Housing Coalition, Inc. Valerie Stewart Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation Register Now Clear skies over many of the world’s largest cities became a visible mark of the COVID-19 pandemic as stay at home orders initially went into place. This has been a stark contrast when considering outdoor air pollution was killing around 4.2 million people worldwide each year. Researchers in the US have suggested air pollution has significantly worsened the COVID-19 pandemic and potentially led to more deaths than if pollution-free skies were the norm. This webinar will explore how different neighborhoods in the same city can have vastly different air quality and what that means for their residents’ short- and long-term health outcomes.  Speakers will discuss: What contributes to air pollution and how environmental injustice has been highlighted during COVID-19 How neighborhoods experiencing environmental injustice face poorer air quality and extreme heat while also bearing the brunt of this pandemic What one health plan foundation is doing to improve air quality and combat asthma in the communities they serve A draft agenda is available on our website. Check out our latest infographic on Air Pollution and Environmental Justice!

RSVP HERE

Join SisterSong for a week long summer institute that is sure to activate and mobilize attendees in the fight for our collective liberation.

About this Event

Join SisterSong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective for The Reproductive Justice Primer: A Summer Institute to learn from some of the leading organizers, thinkers and movement-builders about the origins of the Reproductive Justice framework, how to disrupt white supremacy in support of Reproductive Justice and the intersections of faith, religion and Reproductive Justice.

In 1994 twelve Black women coined the term, Reproductive Justice, and created the framework by which people of color could fight for their human rights, particularly the right to have a child, the right to not have a child, the right to raise children in safe environments, and the right to bodily autonomy and to live free of all oppression. More than 25 years later, amidst a global health pandemic, economic instability and social uprisings, the Reproductive Justice movement can provide the analysis, tools and models to build power and transform our communities that center the needs and wellbeing of communities of color.

Launched in 2016, the “Collective Voices” webinar series focuses on education and mobilization at the intersection of reproductive justice and other movements and issues. This project builds off SisterSong’s “Collective Voices” newsletter and political education sessions. The goal is to bring together groundbreaking and innovative leaders to share lessons and discuss ways that we can make a difference in advancing reproductive justice.

Schedule for the Week of August 10 – 14, 2020

The institute will be virtual from 3:00 pm EST - 5:00 pm EST daily.

○ Day 1: An Introduction to Reproductive Justice

A conversation about the origins of Reproductive Justice the Framework and the Movement.

Christian Adams, Membership & Development Coordinator/Lead Trainer at SisterSong

Loretta Ross, Founding Mother of Reproductive Justice

○ Day 2: Building an Intergenerational Movement

Education for folks across social justice movements that will strengthen leadership for building intergenerational synergy.

Monica Simpson, Executive Director of SisterSong

Luz Marina Rodriguez, Founder and Principal consultant of Visionary Allies

La’Tasha D. Mayes, President & CEO of New Voices for Reproductive Justice

Jennifer Wang, Deputy Director of Programs at NAPAWF

Armonte Butler, LGBTQ Health & Rights Program Manager at Advocates for Youth

○ Day 3: Practices for Disrupting White Supremacy Culture

Tools and strategies for starting conversations, to disrupt the ways white supremacy shows up in your community.

Christian Adams, Membership & Development Coordinator/Lead Trainer at SisterSong

Rev. Lyndsey Godwin,

○ Day 4: Strategies for Southern State Based Organizing

Tools and strategies for organizing in the south and the potential for policy change

LaKia Williams, Activist Service Corp Intern at SisterSong

Danielle Rodriguez, Georgia State Coordinator at SisterSong

Maya Hart, North Carolina State Coordinator at SisterSong

Chanelle Helm, Kentucky State Consultant at SisterSong

○ Day 5: A Black Womanist Theological Perspective on Reproductive Justice

A conversation with Black Womanist and Liberation Theologians

Rev. Kenyetta Chinwe, Amplify Project Coordinator at SisterSong

Dr. Toni M. Bond, Board Chair of Interfaith Voices for Reproductive Justice

*If you miss this event no worries. Members will have access to session recordings. So if you are not a member please head over to our website at www.sistersong.net and become a member today.

BREAST CANCER EDUCATION ASSOCIATION

19^TH ANNUAL EDUCATION CONFERENCE

Registration is now open for the Breast Cancer Education Association’s 19th Annual Education Conference on October 3 ^rd. This is the ONLY conference of its kind in the Twin Cities, featuring renowned experts bringing you the latest in breast cancer research, treatment and care. To register or learn more, please visit breastcancereducation.org.

Because of global health concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s conference will be a virtual event. In addition to live presentations, registered attendees will have access to all recorded sessions to view any session missed. This information will be provided to all registered attendees via email after the event.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

Over 250 people interested in the fight against breast cancer attend the conference each year. This includes survivors and their families, caregivers and health care professionals. CEU credits are offered for health care professionals and teachers, and a limited number of scholarships are available.

  FEATURED SPEAKERS

• Heather Thompson Buum, MD – Coping with Cancer as a Physician

As a primary care physician diagnosed with breast cancer in her mid-forties, Dr. Thompson Buum discusses how a doctor, as both an informed medical professional and a human being, copes with a cancer diagnosis. She will share insights on coping with the emotional impact of a cancer diagnosis and improving doctor patient communication.

• June LaValleur, MD – What Happened? I Just Want Sex to Be Like It Used to Be (Part 2)

Dr. LaValleur will discuss hormonal changes after diagnosis and treatment, as well as some physical and psychological changes to relationships that may occur with a diagnosis like cancer. 

• Andrew Mayo, MD – The River of life. A Personal Story 

Dr. Mayo, medical director of St. Croix Hospice, will share his professional journey to hospice care and his personal experience of losing his wife to cancer. He will discuss the importance of each person’s “story” in health care, as well as the concept of mindfulness and the dichotomy of love and grief.

• Maureen Farley, E-RYT 200, YACEP – Yoga and Ancient Practices in Integrative Medicine for Cancer Patients and Survivors

Maureen discusses ancient and highly accessible techniques to promote wellness, balance and wholeness for those whose life journey includes cancer.

• Kelly Grosklags, LICSW, BCD – Moving Forward with Hope and Healing

Kelly will close our conference with her unique perspective on conference lessons learned and offer direction on how to move forward and navigate a healthy well-balanced life, regardless of life’s challenges.

This Conference is designed to empower survivors and caregivers with knowledge and resources to help them live with, through and beyond cancer. It’s an inspiring and educational event where you can learn from respected leaders in the field, find practical tools and resources and connect with others who are also dealing with the challenges of breast cancer.

Do you know a MN Society of Public Health Educator (MNSOPHE) member who demonstrates leadership as a public health educator, shows real Impact on the health of the “community” they serve (city, town, business, school), along with creativity and commitment to our discipline? 

Please nominate them for our new "Professional of the Year" award by September 1, 2020.  You do NOT need to be a MNSOPHE member to submit a nomination.  See the attached form!

Sept 2020 MNSOPHE Professional of Year.docx