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National Minority Health Month has two major goals every
year.
·
Build awareness about the
disproportionate burden of premature death and illness in
minority populations. Certainly, this disproportional burden
has a much longer history than one year but 2020 also
highlighted the disproportionate impact the COVID-19
pandemic has had on racial and ethnic minority communities.
This month underscores the need for vulnerable communities
to get vaccinated as more vaccines become available.
·
Encourage action through health education,
early detection and control of
disease complications. Although we know we need early
detection and control of different diseases, the 2021 focus
is on Covid-19 and being ready for the vaccination as a
control factor.
The US Department of Health and Human Service Office of
Minority Health is promoting #VaccineReady as an
important tool to help us get back to normal, and to prevent
the spread of COVID-19 to bring this pandemic to an end.
This focus will empower communities to:
·
Get the facts about COVID-19 vaccines.
·
Share accurate vaccine information.
·
Participate in clinical trials.
·
Get vaccinated when the time comes.
·
Practice COVID-19 safety measures.
As more vaccines become available, there are steps
communities can take to protect themselves until they can
get vaccinated. Be sure to:
·
Wear a mask to protect yourself and others and stop the
spread of COVID-19.
·
Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20
seconds.
·
Stay at least six feet (about two arm lengths) from others
who don’t live with you.
·
Avoid crowds. The more people you are in contact with, the
more likely you are to be exposed to COVID-19.
What We Know and What We’re Still Learning
·
We know that COVID-19 vaccines
are effective at preventing COVID-19 disease, especially
severe illness and death.
o
We’re still learning
how effective the vaccines are against variants of the virus
that causes COVID-19. Early data show the vaccines may work
against some variants but could be less effective against
others.
·
We know that other prevention
steps help stop the spread of COVID-19, and that these steps
are still important, even as vaccines are being distributed.
o
We’re still learning
how well COVID-19 vaccines keep people from spreading the
disease.
o
Early data show that the vaccines may help keep people from
spreading COVID-19, but we are learning more as more people
get vaccinated.
·
We’re still learning how long COVID-19 vaccines can
protect people.
As we know more, CDC will continue to update our
recommendations for both vaccinated and unvaccinated people.
Until we know more about those questions, everyone — even
people who’ve had their vaccines — should continue taking
steps to protect themselves and others when recommended.
As overwhelming as the pandemic has been, COVID-19 is not
our only health concern. The encouragement to take action on
early detection and control of disease complications covers
many health topics. For example, last August 2020, at age
43, actor Chadwick Boseman died after a private battle with
colon cancer. Recently he won outstanding actor for his role
in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom at the 2021 NAACP Image
Awards. His wife, Simone Ledward Boseman accepted the award
on his behalf. At the end, she encouraged everyone to take
care of their health and get screened regularly for cancer.
Regular physical exams and adult health screening tests are an
important part of preventive adult health care. Know which
screening tests you need and how often to have them done.
Early detection can be the key to successful treatment.
The best way to determine what screenings are most important
for you – often dependent on your age, gender, lifestyle and
family history – is to work with your healthcare provider.
Take action to get early detection and take action on
controlling disease complications.
Due to Covid-19, many local community programs are still
being offered virtually instead of face to face. If you are
interested in attending an online Zoom class on Friday,
April 9th from 11:00-11:30am on Gardening As A
Self-Care Practice, OSU Extension Educator Patrice
Powers-Barker will be presenting. The class is free, but you
must register online at go.osu.edu/overcomingpandemicparalysis
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