God Is Love: Why Finding Common Ground Is Paramount to LGBTQ Folks Feeling Welcomed In Religious Spaces

“God loves me radically. And any member of faith, any leader of faith should also love me radically.” — Alphonso David, President of the Human Rights Campaign

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Bank of America and Uber Are Giving Back To Communities Impacted By COVID-19

In response to COVID-19, or the novel coronavirus, many private companies and financial institutions are doing what they can to provide relief for those impacted by the viral outbreak. The global pandemic has caused massive economic fallout and political tensions amid the race for more effective treatments, and ultimately a vaccine.

The virus has triggered state governments in the U.S. to issue mandatory stay-at-home orders, closing all non-essential businesses until the disease can be contained. Over 700,000 jobs have been lost since the pandemic started with another 3 million filing for unemployment in the first weeks, the largest number claims ever recorded in a single week.

Bank of America is one of the major companies looking to help individuals impacted by COVID-19 by committing $100 million to support local communities in need. The funds will be used to help improve medical response capacity, food insecurity, increase access to remote learning amid school closures, and provide financial support to the country’s most vulnerable populations. In addition to the pledge, the banking institution will also be offering deferrals on credit cards along with home and auto loans to current customers.

“Bank of America is deferring mortgage payments for up to 90 days or until the crisis is over,” Bank of America representative Bill Halden told Business Insider. The company will also increase funding to several national and global organizations that are on the front lines, tackling the most pressing issues in local communities.

Uber is also stepping up, providing support by teaming up with healthcare union 1199SEIU, which represents over 450,000 first responders in the country, to deliver free meals and discounted rides to healthcare professionals.

“Each and every day 1199SEIU members put aside their own fears and go to work on the front lines, helping to save lives in the face of a global pandemic,” says George Gresham, president of 1199SEIU to USA Today. The $2 million partnership will serve healthcare workers in New York, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Maryland.

from Black Enterprise https://ift.tt/2y4DYHi

Dr. Joynicole Martinez Debunks Dangerous Myths, Shares Uncommon Insights on COVID-19

Dr. Joynicole Martinez is an internationally esteemed epidemiologist and the founder and CEO of the Alchemist Agency. Through her work, she studies chronic and infectious diseases to understand how they spread and how to control them. “I also work to identify societal characteristics that affect the pattern of disease and health distribution,” she told Black Enterprise.

In addition, as a community advancement and population health expert, she has developed initiatives that reach across disciplines to strengthen health and wellness, including the development of mixed-income, mixed-finance housing communities.

Black Enterprise sat down with Dr. Martinez to discuss her work as an epidemiologist, COVID-19, and infectious disease intervention in communities of color.

Black Enterprise: Let’s discuss the current pandemic, COVID-19. What is it and how is it spread?

Dr. Martinez: Coronaviruses are common circulating viruses that usually cause upper respiratory symptoms such as cough or runny nose. COVID-19 illness is caused by a novel coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2 and is the seventh coronavirus identified that infects humans.

The progression of SARS-CoV-2 infection symptoms is broad. It ranges from asymptomatic infection, mild upper respiratory tract illness, and severe viral pneumonia with respiratory failure to death. Although not highlighted in the initial reports, smell and taste disorders have also been reported as symptoms in patients.

Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is thought to occur mainly through respiratory droplets. Respiratory droplets can be generated by sneezing (40,000 droplets), coughing (3,000 droplets), or talking (about 600 droplets per minute). It can be transmitted through fomites, or objects that can carry the virus on their surface. Finally, viral shedding is possible via asymptomatic people.

The SARS-CoV-2 virus appears to mutate more slowly than the seasonal flu, which should allow an opportunity to develop a vaccine before the next seasonal cycle. Influenza mutates constantly. That’s why it’s necessary to vaccinate against different strains of the flu each year. The virus causing COVID-19 is mutating at a rate that could allow a single vaccine rather than one that needs to be updated each year.

The rapid spread and large number of people in a community who have recovered will offer a level of natural immunity through antibodies combined with the introduction of a vaccine, that develops community or ‘herd immunity.’ In most cases, 80% to 95% of the population must be immune to the disease to stop its spread. The sooner we vaccinate the less likely we are to have another cycle.

Can you distinguish research models from tracking data?

Tracking is used to identify exposures and isolate individuals who are infected or exposed in an effort to “flatten the curve.” Governments across the world are relying on research models (i.e., mathematical projections) to help guide decisions in this pandemic. These models are not meant to serve as a crystal ball. They always describe a range of possibilities—and those possibilities are highly sensitive to our actions. Because models forecast based on these varying populations and sets of conditions, there is a natural level of uncertainty.

In the early phases of the viral spread, no COVID-19 tests were performed in the USA. As testing began to occur, limited data began to arrive. The data from testing and tracking is changing rapidly, so the forecasts and models change daily. The more data we get, the better our forecasts and the faster we recover as a population.

(Dr. Martinez speaking before an international audience of experts on her research at the P50 Summer Peace Summit in Brussels, Belgium)

Are there certain systemic problems associated with the spread of COVID-19?

Unfortunately, we have as much erroneous and misleading information circulating as that which is factual and helpful. A few weeks ago, we heard rumors of blacks being immune to the virus, that ingesting strange and very dangerous treatments (such as drinking bleach) could prevent infection, and that donning the N95, procedure masks, and gloves could prevent you from becoming sick.

Wearing a face mask is not a guarantee that you won’t get sick – viruses can penetrate the highest-rated masks. However, masks are effective at capturing droplets you expel from your mouth. So, the new recommendation is based on some protection being used so you don’t put others at risk. It also suggests that wearing a face mask may provide some protection against the respiratory droplets transmitted by others.

Tight-fitting N95 respirators filter out at least 95% of particles. By comparison, a typical surgical or procedure mask has a range of 60 to 80%. This N95 rating is only achieved when fitted and worn correctly—which is not easy to do. N95 masks are difficult to put on for people who aren’t trained medical professionals. If you’ve put the mask on right, it is hot and stuffy, so a lot of people take it off before it can be effective.

The masks, gowns, gloves, hoods, and other PPE are also expensive. So, when people seek out testing and they aren’t critically symptomatic, they further strain our already taxed medical infrastructure. The test is not treatment, and there is no magic cure.

Have communities of color been desperately impacted by this situation?

The research shows that individuals with comorbidities are more likely to be hospitalized. Comorbidities or pre-existing conditions that seem to make COVID-19 illness more dangerous and more likely to require hospitalization include hypertension (most common), followed by diabetes and coronary artery disease, COPD, chronic liver disease, asthma, and obesity. People who have immune systems that are compromised have a reduced ability to fight infections and other diseases. This may be caused by certain diseases or conditions, such as AIDS, cancer, diabetes, malnutrition, and certain genetic disorders.

According to the most recent data available from Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, when compared with non-Hispanic white citizens in the U.S., blacks are 60% more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes, 20% more likely to die from heart disease, have the highest rate of any racial and ethnic group for all cancers combined and for most major cancers, and represent 44% of the HIV positive population.

In the US, blacks and minority groups dealing with systemic obstacles to food, housing, employment, healthcare, and education will more frequently suffer preexisting conditions and become more ill if infected.

The rate of infection is not biological. The virus can’t see your race and it will infect you without regard to your skin color.

Don’t buy into the hype, understand the underlying issues. Racism, segregation, and inequality contribute to health outcomes and drive health disparities across the life course and this pandemic just highlights what we already knew.

What is your best advice, framed as a holistic approach, in addressing the outbreak going forward?

People are our best offense and defense. Individuals must altruistically follow social distancing regulations—that’s their front line. Next is to carefully share information from qualified sources. Finally, adhering to the thresholds for testing, which ensure that professionals treat the most ill and staying safe by sheltering-in-place and practicing strict hygiene protocol are smart things we can all do.

If you’re a middle-aged, reasonably healthy person and you develop mild, flu-like symptoms and think you may be infected, the new guidance is to call your doctor. Your doctor will likely tell you to assume you’re infected and self-quarantine until you’ve been fever-free for three days (unless your condition worsens, in which case call your doctor again).

Social distancing is our only real, scalable strategy at this point. It’s the only lever big enough that, if we pull it really hard, will actually flatten the curve and keep our hospitals from being overwhelmed, as we see in New York City. Plan A was to stop it from escalating. We’re on to Plan B, and there is no Plan C. So, we have to make this work, period.

from Black Enterprise https://ift.tt/3c1JMzO

Baby Phat Partners With Footlocker to Release The Courtside Capsule

Don’t call it a comeback! Kimora Lee Simmons recently relaunched the iconic Baby Phat clothing line and has struck a partnership with Foot Locker, according to Essence.

In addition to the working relationship with Foot Locker, the former supermodel and Baby Phat founder and her daughters, Ming Lee and Aoki Lee, officially launched a new line named “The Courtside Capsule.”

The prices for The Courtside Capsule are listed between $53 and $114 and features a red, black, and white color scheme. Pieces range from a Full Zip Jogger and Hoodie to a form-fitting dress like the Lace Tank.

The family has also struck an alliance with the Freedom Shield Foundation. Last week, the iconic fashion brand announced a food distribution initiative that will ensure thousands of meals for families affected by the recent coronavirus pandemic. Baby Phat founder Simmons and her daughters, Ming Lee and Aoki Lee have donated approximately 150,000 meals through the Freedom Shield Foundation and have plans to deliver an additional 160,000 meals scheduled for this week. 

Baby Phat has teamed up with the foundation in anticipation of helping support other nonprofits in carrying out food distribution within their communities. The initiative is taking place because people have lost work due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Schools have been closed and many children in poorer neighborhoods relied on the meals they received in school and no longer have access to them. The initiative will also benefit families that are struggling to feed their kids due to COVID-19-related layoffs and furloughs from jobs.

“This is a real girl power story,” Kimora said in a press release. “Ming Lee and Aoki Lee inspire me constantly, because they’re so connected to the way girls and women are dressing today; and cute dresses with cool kicks reign supreme. Baby Phat has always been designed by and for women, and we’ve always bridged ‘feminine’ and ‘sporty.’ That’s what makes Foot Locker such a perfect partner, they have their finger on the pulse of how women dress today because they’ve always cared about women! They understand that this is about lifestyle.”

from Black Enterprise https://ift.tt/2y4nVc9

Dr. Joynicole Martinez Debunks Dangerous Myths, Shares Uncommon Insights on COVID-19

Dr. Joynicole Martinez is an internationally esteemed epidemiologist and the founder and CEO of the Alchemist Agency. Through her work, she studies chronic and infectious diseases to understand how they spread and how to control them. “I also work to identify societal characteristics that affect the pattern of disease and health distribution,” she told Black Enterprise.

In addition, as a community advancement and population health expert, she has developed initiatives that reach across disciplines to strengthen health and wellness, including the development of mixed-income, mixed-finance housing communities.

Black Enterprise sat down with Dr. Martinez to discuss her work as an epidemiologist, COVID-19, and infectious disease intervention in communities of color.

Black Enterprise: Let’s discuss the current pandemic, COVID-19. What is it and how is it spread?

Dr. Martinez: Coronaviruses are common circulating viruses that usually cause upper respiratory symptoms such as cough or runny nose. COVID-19 illness is caused by a novel coronavirus called SARS-CoV-2 and is the seventh coronavirus identified that infects humans.

The progression of SARS-CoV-2 infection symptoms is broad. It ranges from asymptomatic infection, mild upper respiratory tract illness, and severe viral pneumonia with respiratory failure to death. Although not highlighted in the initial reports, smell and taste disorders have also been reported as symptoms in patients.

Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is thought to occur mainly through respiratory droplets. Respiratory droplets can be generated by sneezing (40,000 droplets), coughing (3,000 droplets), or talking (about 600 droplets per minute). It can be transmitted through fomites, or objects that can carry the virus on their surface. Finally, viral shedding is possible via asymptomatic people.

The SARS-CoV-2 virus appears to mutate more slowly than the seasonal flu, which should allow an opportunity to develop a vaccine before the next seasonal cycle. Influenza mutates constantly. That’s why it’s necessary to vaccinate against different strains of the flu each year. The virus causing COVID-19 is mutating at a rate that could allow a single vaccine rather than one that needs to be updated each year.

The rapid spread and large number of people in a community who have recovered will offer a level of natural immunity through antibodies combined with the introduction of a vaccine, that develops community or ‘herd immunity.’ In most cases, 80% to 95% of the population must be immune to the disease to stop its spread. The sooner we vaccinate the less likely we are to have another cycle.

Can you distinguish research models from tracking data?

Tracking is used to identify exposures and isolate individuals who are infected or exposed in an effort to “flatten the curve.” Governments across the world are relying on research models (i.e., mathematical projections) to help guide decisions in this pandemic. These models are not meant to serve as a crystal ball. They always describe a range of possibilities—and those possibilities are highly sensitive to our actions. Because models forecast based on these varying populations and sets of conditions, there is a natural level of uncertainty.

In the early phases of the viral spread, no COVID-19 tests were performed in the USA. As testing began to occur, limited data began to arrive. The data from testing and tracking is changing rapidly, so the forecasts and models change daily. The more data we get, the better our forecasts and the faster we recover as a population.

(Dr. Martinez speaking before an international audience of experts on her research at the P50 Summer Peace Summit in Brussels, Belgium)

Are there certain systemic problems associated with the spread of COVID-19?

Unfortunately, we have as much erroneous and misleading information circulating as that which is factual and helpful. A few weeks ago, we heard rumors of blacks being immune to the virus, that ingesting strange and very dangerous treatments (such as drinking bleach) could prevent infection, and that donning the N95, procedure masks, and gloves could prevent you from becoming sick.

Wearing a face mask is not a guarantee that you won’t get sick – viruses can penetrate the highest-rated masks. However, masks are effective at capturing droplets you expel from your mouth. So, the new recommendation is based on some protection being used so you don’t put others at risk. It also suggests that wearing a face mask may provide some protection against the respiratory droplets transmitted by others.

Tight-fitting N95 respirators filter out at least 95% of particles. By comparison, a typical surgical or procedure mask has a range of 60 to 80%. This N95 rating is only achieved when fitted and worn correctly—which is not easy to do. N95 masks are difficult to put on for people who aren’t trained medical professionals. If you’ve put the mask on right, it is hot and stuffy, so a lot of people take it off before it can be effective.

The masks, gowns, gloves, hoods, and other PPE are also expensive. So, when people seek out testing and they aren’t critically symptomatic, they further strain our already taxed medical infrastructure. The test is not treatment, and there is no magic cure.

Have communities of color been desperately impacted by this situation?

The research shows that individuals with comorbidities are more likely to be hospitalized. Comorbidities or pre-existing conditions that seem to make COVID-19 illness more dangerous and more likely to require hospitalization include hypertension (most common), followed by diabetes and coronary artery disease, COPD, chronic liver disease, asthma, and obesity. People who have immune systems that are compromised have a reduced ability to fight infections and other diseases. This may be caused by certain diseases or conditions, such as AIDS, cancer, diabetes, malnutrition, and certain genetic disorders.

According to the most recent data available from Department of Health and Human Services Office of Minority Health, when compared with non-Hispanic white citizens in the U.S., blacks are 60% more likely to be diagnosed with diabetes, 20% more likely to die from heart disease, have the highest rate of any racial and ethnic group for all cancers combined and for most major cancers, and represent 44% of the HIV positive population.

In the US, blacks and minority groups dealing with systemic obstacles to food, housing, employment, healthcare, and education will more frequently suffer preexisting conditions and become more ill if infected.

The rate of infection is not biological. The virus can’t see your race and it will infect you without regard to your skin color.

Don’t buy into the hype, understand the underlying issues. Racism, segregation, and inequality contribute to health outcomes and drive health disparities across the life course and this pandemic just highlights what we already knew.

What is your best advice, framed as a holistic approach, in addressing the outbreak going forward?

People are our best offense and defense. Individuals must altruistically follow social distancing regulations—that’s their front line. Next is to carefully share information from qualified sources. Finally, adhering to the thresholds for testing, which ensure that professionals treat the most ill and staying safe by sheltering-in-place and practicing strict hygiene protocol are smart things we can all do.

If you’re a middle-aged, reasonably healthy person and you develop mild, flu-like symptoms and think you may be infected, the new guidance is to call your doctor. Your doctor will likely tell you to assume you’re infected and self-quarantine until you’ve been fever-free for three days (unless your condition worsens, in which case call your doctor again).

Social distancing is our only real, scalable strategy at this point. It’s the only lever big enough that, if we pull it really hard, will actually flatten the curve and keep our hospitals from being overwhelmed, as we see in New York City. Plan A was to stop it from escalating. We’re on to Plan B, and there is no Plan C. So, we have to make this work, period.

from Black Enterprise https://ift.tt/3c1JMzO