National Minority Health Month (NMHM) is celebrated ever year in April. NMHM began over 100 years ago as National Negro Health Week. In April 1915, Dr. Booker T. Washington dispatched a letter to the leading African American newspapers, proposing the observance of “National Negro Health Week.” Health was the key to progress and equality in all other things, he argued: “Without health and long life, all else fails.” He called on local health departments, schools, churches, businesses, professional associations, and the most influential organizations in the African-American community to “pull together” and “unite… in one great National Health Movement.” That observance grew to the current NMHM initiative to advance health equity across the country, on behalf of all racial and ethnic minorities.
NMHM’s 2021 theme, Vaccine Ready, was selected by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Minority Health (OMH). Racial and ethnic minorities have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19. Heightening awareness and providing access to COVID-19 vaccinations is critical for racial and ethnic minorities.
This Weekend Reading Series begins with In the News, with a number of this week’s important COVID-19 developments, including new CDC travel guidance, at-home COVID tests without a prescription and more. Next, check out Got Questions? for articles on vaccine side-effects, the vaccine development process and indoor hotspots. Do not miss Facts Matter with articles on 2020 suicide and death rates as well as vaccine fact checks. Last but not least, check out Did You Know? – the non-hopping rabbit is my personal favorite!
I hope you enjoy the following:
1. In the News
NPR: CDC Says Travel Is Safe For Fully Vaccinated People, But Opposes Nonessential Trips
Kaiser Health News: Backed by Millions in Public and Private Cash, Rapid Covid Tests Are Coming to Stores Near You
FDA: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Update: FDA Continues to Advance Over-the Counter and Other Screening Test Development
Associated Press: Pfizer says its COVID-19 vaccine protects younger teens
STAT: ‘Real world’ study by CDC shows Pfizer and Moderna vaccines were 90% effective
2. Got questions?
Scientific American: If You Don’t Have COVID Vaccine Side Effects, Are You Still Protected?
Kaiser Health News: Ask KHN-PolitiFact: How Can Covid Vaccines Be Safe When They Were Developed So Fast?
Nature: Why indoor spaces are still prime COVID hotspots
3. Facts Matter
Axios: CDC: Suicides decreased in 2020
NPR: CDC- COVID-19 Was 3rd-Leading Cause Of Death In 2020, People Of Color Hit Hardest
Reuters: Fact Check-Johnson & Johnson’s COVID-19 vaccine does not contain aborted fetal cells
Reuters: Fact Check-mRNA cannot be ‘spread’ from COVID-19 vaccines; mRNA is not contagious and it is destroyed by cells shortly after injection
4. Did You Know?
New York Times: Milk for Floors, Bread for Walls: 19th-Century Cleaning Tips for the Modern Era
NPR: Ken Burns’ ‘Hemingway’ Docuseries Dives Into The Writer’s Complicated Life
Smithsonian Magazine: Thanks to a Genetic Mutation, These French Rabbits Prefer Handstands to Bunny Hops
Discover: Old Wives’ Tales to Predict Weather: What’s Based in Science and What’s Just Folklore?
Enjoy the weekend!
Best,
Suzanne
Suzanne Daniels, Ph.D.
AEPC President
P.O. Box 1416
Birmingham, MI 48012
Office: (248) 792-2187
Email: [email protected]
