African American communities

State’s Top Doc Burke-Harris to Lead Advisory Team as African Americans Raise COVID-19 Vaccine Concerns

Nine months into the COVID-19 pandemic, three vaccine trials have yielded promising results, and the first round of Americans could begin to receive shots as early as mid-December.

Last week, the California Department of Public Health announced that California Surgeon General Dr. Nadine Burke-Harris will chair the state’s Community Vaccine Advisory Committee. The group Burke-Harris leads will help guide the state’s decision making about vaccine distribution.

Los Angeles Public Health Department Continue to Study Disproportionate Death Rates Within Underserved Communities

Looking at the effects of COVID-19 within race and ethnicity, the data reflects the disproportionate death rate and financial fall within the African American and Latino communities. Black people make up 7% of the positive cases and 12% of the county rate, even though only 8% of the L.A. population are African American. An in-depth study presented those who lived below the poverty line, had three times the rate of death from COVID-19.

Governing Through Crisis

“This crisis is presenting new challenges to our community and forcing us to collaborate on new progressive solutions locally as well as citywide, said Councilmember Marqueece Harris-Dawson. It’s vital that residents remain connected and informed to keep themselves and their neighbors safe during this time. The city and state are requiring folks to make sacrifices and stay indoors and I will continue to fight for legislation that will allow our residents to remain safely in their homes and ensure they can return to work after this pandemic is over.”

Transformative 5G Technology Arrives

Cities, which include Washington, D.C.; Charlotte; Boston; Atlanta; Cincinnati; Cleveland; Columbus, Ohio; Des Moines, Iowa; Denver; Detroit; Houston; Indianapolis; Kansas City; Little Rock, Arkansas; Memphis; Phoenix; Providence, Rhode Island; San Diego; and Salt Lake City; are the world’s first to get Verizon’s 5G Ultra-Wideband mobility service.

Pioneering Medical Researcher Honored

Acting on a motion by its chairman, Mark Ridley-Thomas, the Board of Supervisors awarded a scroll to pioneering hematologist Dr. Yutaka Niihara, whose research recently led to a breakthrough in the treatment of a painful blood condition that primarily affects African American communities.