Big news for Latino parents – the Moderna and the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines have been authorized for children between ages 6 months and 5 years. The CDC now recommends everyone 6 months or older to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Those 5 years of age and older are also recommended to get a COVID-19 vaccine booster, if eligible. “Many parents, caregivers and clinicians have been waiting for a vaccine for younger children and this action will help protect those down to 6 months of age. As we have seen with older age groups, we expect that the vaccines for younger children will provide protection from the most severe outcomes of COVID-19, such as hospitalization and death,” said FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert M. Califf in a press release. With this recent update, it ...
Wiping the sweat from his brow, Javier Cintron listened intently to the Haitian man. Far from his home in Panama City, Florida, Javier was in Haiti on a research internship while pursuing his undergraduate education in biology and medical anthropology. As he heard the Haitian man describe the community’s health inequities, Javier thought about what he could do during his internship to help. That winter, Javier evaluated current efforts to improve the community’s overall nutrition and health and reported his findings to a volunteer group that would decide how to proceed. His contributions brought attention to potential root causes of health inequities in the community, such as lack of access to clean water. “They had to pay for a weekly supply of clean water,” Javier ...
Shiny cars screeching down the road. Grocery stores filled with bright lights and food-stuffed aisles. TV screens flickering colorfully. Cesar Ramirez stepped – mesmerized – into American life for the first time as a child. Born in rural Honduras, Ramirez only knew poverty. He lived in a one-bedroom shack with his mother and no water, electricity, or healthcare. His father, in the U.S. to work, sent money home. “We just had enough to survive, that was enough for us,” Ramirez said. Ramirez, with the support of his parents and resiliency from childhood, is now a medical student at Sam Houston State University, pursuing his dream to be a doctor who cares for patients and improving healthcare systems. He is also an intern at the Institute for Health Promotion Research ...
Clinical trials are responsible for many of today’s life-saving procedures and treatments. But finding and enrolling in clinical trials can be difficult process, especially for Latinos who may experience language barriers or lack of information. In response to these challenges, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) recently updated their search engine to better help patients find and enroll in an NHBLI-sponsored clinical trial. Available in Spanish, interested participants can now browse for clinical trials by age group, condition, and location. The search engine also includes an overview of how clinical trials work, who can participate, and benefits, risks, and safety measures of trials. Diseases and conditions studied in NHBLI-sponsored clinical trials ...
Ever heard of donating biospecimens for research? When a person donates biospecimens—blood, fluid, or tissue samples—it gives researchers the opportunity to better understand, treat, and prevent medical conditions from cancer to Alzheimer's. Biospecimens are especially needed from Latinos, who suffer health disparities. "Latinos who donate biospecimens are heroes. Their contributions enable researchers to make medical discoveries and build new therapies to help millions of Latinos across the nation," said Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, leader of the Salud America! Latino health equity program at the Institute for Health Promotion Research in the Department of Population Health Sciences at UT Health San Antonio.
What are Biospecimens?
Biospecimens are materials from the human ...
Cuando una persona dona muestras biológicas o biospecímenes—sangre, líquido, o muestras de tejido—le da a los investigadores la oportunidad de entender, tratar y prevenir de una mejor manera, condiciones médicas desde el cáncer hasta el Alzheimer. Se necesitan de manera especial muestras biológicas de latinos, quienes sufren disparidades de salud. “Los latinos que donan muestras biológicas son héroes. Sus contribuciones permiten a los investigadores hacer descubrimientos médicos y crear terapias nuevas para ayudar a millones de latinos en todo el país”, dijo la Dra. Amelie G. Ramirez, líder de Salud America! programa latino de equidad en salud del Institute for Health Promotion Research en el Department of Population Health Sciences, de UT Health San ...
A respirator keeps you from breathing in particles in the air that might hurt you, like germs, dust, and chemicals. In healthcare, we use respirators when we think we’re going to be in a situation when we could breathe in air that’s carrying infectious particles – like viruses.
Air-Purifying Respirators
There are different types of respirators available in healthcare. Air-purifying respirators work by using filters, or canisters or cartridges, to remove dangerous things from the air that you could breathe in. There are many types of air-purifying respirators. Healthcare workers often use a filtering facepiece respirator (FFR), which fit snugly against the face and cover the mouth and nose. The most common type of FFR used in healthcare is the N95 respirator – more ...
While most people who have COVID-19 recover completely within a few weeks, some continue to experience symptoms weeks after their initial recovery. This condition is often called Long COVID. Common signs and symptoms of Long COVID include fatigue, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, cough, joint pain, chest pain, and even organ damage, according to the Mayo Clinic. But we don’t know everything about the long-term health effects of COVID-19 infection. You can help researchers learn more about Long COVID through research studies, such as RECOVER, a National Institute of Health (NIH) study to better prevent, test, and treat Long COVID-19 in the future. Find a recover testing site near you!
RECOVER Research Study
The NIH launched RECOVER to learn why some people ...
Latinos are expected to comprise well over 25% of the U.S. population by 2050. But they face health disparities in eye health, diabetes, obesity, cancer, and more, endangering the future health of the nation. Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, director of Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio, will explore the causes of these disparities in a virtual presentation, "A New Vision for Reaching Latinos for Systemic and Behavioral Change," at 2:45 p.m. ET, July 14, 2022, at the 11th Annual Focus on Eye Health National Summit led by Prevent Blindness. The overall event, which is free, is set for July 13-14, 2022. "Our efforts must address structural inequities — from a lack of healthcare access to unaffordable housing to experiences of discrimination to a lack of diversity among health care ...
