Category: Health
Posted inCommunity, Environment, Health

New Air Quality Monitoring App Aims to Protect Students in Polluted Bay Area Communities 

Avatar photo by Audrey Mei Yi Brown

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 

Avatar photoAvatar photo by Mel Baker and Zhe Wu

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, Health, Hepatitis B: A ‘Silent Killer’, Social Services

Stigma, Insufficient Screening Keep Hepatitis B in the Shadows 

Avatar photo by Zhe Wu

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.

Posted inCommunity, Environment, Health

‘Forever Chemicals’ Threaten Community of Bay Fishers

Avatar photo by Audrey Mei Yi Brown

It’s long been risky to eat fish from San Francisco Bay because pollutants like mercury build up in their bodies, and new research shows they are also contaminated with harmful “forever chemicals,” including one never before detected in marine fish. High levels of these chemicals are found in 10 species of fish frequently caught in San Francisco Bay, according to a study that the San Francisco Estuary Institute published in May. The newly detected contamination threatens anglers’ health and what many of them consider a way of life.

Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, are colloquially called “forever chemicals” because they are notoriously difficult to eliminate or break down. PFAS can cause cancers, thyroid and hormone disruption, and developmental delays, and can weaken the immune system, said study author Rebecca Sutton.

Posted inHealth, Hepatitis B: A ‘Silent Killer’, Immigration, Social Services

Poorly Tracked Virus Is a ‘Silent Killer’ Affecting Asian Americans Most

Avatar photo by Zhe Wu

Hepatitis B is widely misunderstood, a problem worsened by insufficient screening and detection. Chronic hepatitis B isn’t as consistently detected as are acute cases, allowing the disease to frequently progress unchecked and do more damage. According to the World Health Organization, only 13% of those living with the virus know they have it, leaving many, especially in immigrant and marginalized communities, undiagnosed and without access to timely treatment.

Posted inGovernment & Politics, Health, Homelessness

Homelessness Challenges Persist in SF Despite City Following Newsom Policy Lead

Avatar photo by Madison Alvarado

Gov. Newsom says repeatedly that the state is “flooding the zone” with mental health, substance use and homelessness resources. Amid a slew of press conferences and announcements last week on the release of new mental health funding and a push to make homeless encampments illegal statewide, Newsom repeatedly called on local governments to take charge. San Francisco is engaging in many of the initiatives Newsom cited, but still faces considerable challenges in addressing homelessness, behavioral health issues and substance abuse.

Posted inHealth, Homelessness, Labor

Arrested UC Workers Released, Charged with Disrupting Public Meetings with Labor Protest 

Avatar photo by Madison Alvarado

More than 20 labor leaders and University of California workers were arrested May 15 as they protested at a UC Board of Regents meeting at UC San Francisco’s Mission Bay campus. They were charged with willfully disturbing a meeting. 

Demonstrators, who were protesting working conditions and calling for the university to engage in fair contract negotiations, were released after a few hours, said Liz Perlman, executive director of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees 3299 , which represents 35,000 employees across several UC campuses, medical centers, clinics and research labs. Perlman, who was arrested, said she was given a citation with a follow-up court date.

Posted inArtificial Intelligence, Government & Politics, Health, Technology

Opposite of Efficiency

Avatar photo by Jason Winshell

A team of 20 people from the U.S. Digital Service had been providing project oversight and design expertise to modernize the CDC’s National Electronic Disease Surveillance System Base System to ensure it would flexibly meet the diverse needs of public health departments nationwide. 

When DOGE laid off 19 of those federal employees. it stripped away the expertise and accountability needed to ensure the project would be successfully completed by federal software contractors — in effect promoting government waste and inefficiency instead of reducing or eliminating it.

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