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Dr. Amelie Ramirez Featured as a Latina Hero in the Fight Against COVID-19


Amelie Ramirez on Latino Leaders magazine

Dr. Amelie Ramirez, leader of Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio, is featured in the latest edition of Latino Leaders, a national magazine that aims to connect and inspire leaders of Latino, Hispanic, and Latinx heritage. The edition is called "Heroes of the Fight Against COVID-19." Highlights include: Profile stories about health leaders: Dr. Anthony Fauci, infectious disease expert; Dr. Elena Rios, president of the National Hispanic Medical Association; Dr. David E. Hayes-Bautista of UCLA; Joaquin Duato of Johnson & Johnson; Nanette Cocero of Pfizer; Bonnie Castillo of National Nurses United; Dr. Robert Rodriguez of UCSF; Dr. Xiomara Rocha-Cadman of City of Hope; and more Profile stories about Latino elected leaders: Catherine Cortez-Masto, Arizona, and Marco ...

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CDC Launches Spanish WhatsApp Chat to Encourage More Latino COVID-19 Vaccinations


CDC WhatsApp vaccine finder platform in spanish

CDC has partnered with WhatsApp, a social media messaging platform, to deliver COVID-19 vaccine information to Spanish-speaking users to encourage them to get the shot. The chat, "Mi Chat Sobre Vacunas COVID," is live and available here. "Once the user replies with 'hola,' the app returns a menu of options. [These include] information about nearby vaccination sites, transportation to and from the location and answers to frequently asked questions," according to NBC News. CDC is making vaccine equity is a vital goal to end the coronavirus pandemic. They define equity as preferential access and administration to those who have been most affected by COVID-19. Latino Usage of WhatsApp Over 30 million Latinos use WhatsApp. They use it much more than other social media platforms, ...

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Report: Housing Inequities Are Worsening for Latinos


Sad evicted mother with child worried relocating house

Close to 40% of Americans struggle to meet the rising costs of housing, and Latinos especially face hardship in affordable housing as the pandemic worsened inequities, says a new report. As the economy recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, Americans are struggling with soaring home and rent prices, affordability issues, and the risk of eviction and foreclosure, according to The State of the Nation’s Housing 2021 from Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies. Latinos and other people of color are impacted on a greater scale. "Millions of households that lost income during the shutdowns are behind on their housing payments and on the brink of eviction or foreclosure," the report states. "A disproportionately large share of these at-risk households are renters with ...

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Meet the 2021 Exito! Latino Cancer Research Trainees


Exito 2021 summer institute cohort of latino training participants

Program leaders have selected 26 aspiring Latino researchers from across the nation to join the 2021 cohort of Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training at UT Health San Antonio. Each year, Éxito! recruits U.S. master’s level students and professionals to participate in a five-day, culturally tailored Éxito! summer institute to promote pursuit of a doctoral degree and cancer research. The 26 new participants were selected from a deep pool of applicants. Each participant now will join the Éxito! summer institute on June 7-11, 2021 in San Antonio. They will interact with Latino researchers and doctoral experts to learn about Latino cancer, succeeding in a doctoral program, and the diversity of research careers. Meet the 2021 Éxito! Ccohort Leslie Aragon, ...

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Dr. Amelie Ramirez: Answering the Big Questions on COVID-19 Vaccines


Dr. Amelie Ramirez san antonio women's hall of fame

Latinos are getting vaccinated for the COVID-19 vaccine at much lower rates. Why is this? How can we build vaccine confidence? Dr. Amelie Ramirez and her team at Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio are working hard to promote vaccine confidence and answer Latinos' big questions about the vaccine. Ramirez is doing this in a variety of ways: Creating the Salud America! Latino COVID-19 Vaccine “Change of Heart” Bilingual Storytelling Campaign to share real Latinos who moved from vaccine hesitancy to vaccine confidence. Producing Salud America!'s weekly updated post on U.S. Latino vaccination rates, ways to improve confidence, and how to overcome vaccine misinformation. Joining the Latino USA podcast to answer Latinos' COVID-19 vaccine questions. Providing a ...

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New $9.8 Million Study is 1st to Seek Full Understanding of the Latino Cancer Survivorship Journey


New $9.8 Million Study is 1st to Seek Full Understanding of the Latino Cancer Survivorship Journey

Latinos with cancer face a tough survivorship journey. Many suffer advanced disease, poor quality of life, and stressful social and economic inequities. This is why a new, first-of-its-kind national cohort study will unpack the social, cultural, behavioral, psychosocial, biological, and medical influences on post-cancer life in Latino cancer survivors to fill a crucial gap in knowledge about their survivorship experience. The study, “Avanzando Caminos (Leading Pathways): The Hispanic/Latino Cancer Survivorship Study,” is funded by a 6-year, $9.8-million grant from the National Cancer Institute that will team up two of its Cancer Centers, the Mays Cancer Center, home to UT Health San Antonio MD Anderson and the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of ...

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Virtual Town Hall: Minority Health, Community Leaders Fight COVID Together


Virtual Town Hall Minority Health, Community Leaders Fight COVID Together faces

COVID-19 has a disparate impact on people of color. Latinos, for example, suffer higher case and death rates than their White peers. At the same time, Latinos are getting vaccinated for the COVID-19 vaccine at much lower rates. This is the focus of a Facebook Live town hall, "Making It Plain — Minority Health Professionals and Community Organizations Fight COVID Together," set for 7-8:45 p.m. ET, Wednesday, April 28, 2021. Update 4/29/21: In case you missed it, watch the video here. Panelists include: Amelie G. Ramirez, DrPH, is Director of the Salud America! program and its multi-level efforts to promote action and information about COVID-19 and Latinos, Professor and Chair of the Department of Population Health Sciences, and Director of the Institute for Health ...

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