The fight against health disparities phillyvoice.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from phillyvoice.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Zoom-In on Health Equity: AAFA Asks Congress to Tackle Racial Disparities in Asthma and Allergy
AAFA takes annual advocacy efforts to Capitol Hill with virtual rounds
April 30, 2021 14:22 ET | Source: Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America Landover, Maryland, UNITED STATES
Washington, D.C, April 30, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) Each year, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) brings patient spokespeople and advocates from across the nation to Congress to help advance policies to improve the lives of the community it serves. Normally dubbed a “fly-in” because advocates typically travel from around the country to Washington, D.C., this year’s meetings were held via Zoom due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. With a focus on the dire need to fix the nation’s health disparities gap, AAFA appropriately themed this year’s meetings “Zoom-In on Health Equity.”
Sheila Thorne, President & CEO Multicultural Healthcare Marketing Group (MHMG)
In 2002, the U.S. Congress declared that a National Minority Health Month should be established to focus on the disproportionate impact of disease, disability, and premature death in people of color in America. As a leading expert on multicultural healthcare marketing, Thorne was a member of the Task Force, led by Dr. David Satcher, the 16
th United States Surgeon General, that drafted the resolution and was able to get April designated as National Minority Health Month and documented in the Congressional Record.
A recent report from KFF states that the Center for Disease Control (CDC) reported that race/ethnicity was known for just over half (55%) of people who had received at least one dose of the vaccine. Among this group, nearly two-thirds were White (64%), 12% were Hispanic, 9% were Black, 6% were Asian, 1% were American Indian or Alaska Native, and