Chronic infection and deaths from the liver-ravaging hepatitis B virus declined in San Francisco from 2021 to 2023 but local case rates still exceeded the national average, the city Department of Public Health said in its first report on the disease in nearly a decade.
Category: Community
Posted inCommunity, Immigration
Cómo prepararse ante acciones de control migratorio
The Public Press ha recopilado consejos tras extensas entrevistas con cuatro abogados y defensores de inmigrantes, así como de varios talleres y conferencias de prensa sobre derechos de personas migrantes.
Posted inCommunity, Immigration
如何准备应对移民局执法
在深入采访四位移民律师与维权人士、并参加多个移民权利研讨会和记者会之后，The Public Press整理出以下建议。
Posted inCalifornia, Community, Food Systems, Government & Politics
Already Struggling, Area Food Banks Brace for Higher Demand Brought on by SNAP Cuts
Food banks expect lines to grow even longer, after Congress approved a $186 billion cut to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in early July, the largest cut in the food stamp program’s history.
Posted inCommunity, Education
San Francisco Schools to Add Language Classes While Scaling Back Programs for English Learners
The San Francisco Unified School District announced plans in July to open a school offering Chinese and English instruction using private funding, following a parent-led campaign to start a charter school with a similar focus. Proposals to expand bilingual programs in Chinese, which focus mainly on Mandarin, the official language of China and Taiwan, have […]
Posted inCommunity, Environment, Health
New Air Quality Monitoring App Aims to Protect Students in Polluted Bay Area Communities
A new app aims to provide school administrators and teachers in these communities with real-time data that can help them protect students from harmful air pollution. When air quality is especially poor, teachers might keep kids inside during recess or a coach might cancel or move a sports team practice, said Kristina Hill, an associate professor at the University of California, Berkeley. Hill developed the tool in collaboration with Charisma Acey, also an associate professor at UC Berkeley, and a focus group of advocates from five Bay Area communities with high levels of air pollution.
The app offers an interactive map where Bay Area residents can see hourly readings of the air quality in their area. It draws on the existing PurpleAir monitor network but adds key improvements like correcting for errors caused by fog and combining data from multiple monitors to paint a clearer picture of air quality in a neighborhood.
Posted inCommunity, Health, Hepatitis B: A ‘Silent Killer’, Social Services
Researchers Seek Hepatitis B Cure as Trump Slashes Health Agency Funding
The Trump administration’s efforts to slash medical research funding threaten progress toward a cure for hepatitis B. Its proposed budget calls for $1.8 billion in cuts to the National Institutes of Health and the elimination of all federal funding for the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, along with additional cuts to the Food and Drug Administration, which has final say on approving new drugs and treatments. The cuts are just the latest in a series of hurdles that researchers and clinicians face in managing hepatitis B infections in the United States.
Posted inCommunity, Government & Politics, Immigration, Law & Justice, Social Justice
Protests Against ICE Continue for 2nd Day in San Francisco
In response to weekend demonstrations in Los Angeles following raids throughout L.A. County by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, and President Trump ordering the deployment of 2,000 California National Guard troops against protesters there, Bay Area residents came together for a second day of protests largely focused on marching around San Francisco’s Mission District.
Posted inCommunity, Health, Hepatitis B: A ‘Silent Killer’, Social Services
Stigma, Insufficient Screening Keep Hepatitis B in the Shadows
Commonly known as a “silent killer” because it can have few symptoms, chronic hepatitis B can lead to liver damage or cancer, is not well studied and as a research area remains underfunded. Many living with it face significant social stigma, which discourages getting tested and leaves patients isolated and unwilling to open up about their experiences.
The silence hits immigrant communities the hardest, a phenomenon advocates have spent decades trying to fix. Asian Americans are disproportionately affected by hepatitis B, especially by chronic infections. Years of community work have led to better outreach, and new efforts like universal screening are starting to build momentum.