MEDIA ADVISORY
California Tuberculosis (TB) Experts Address the Rise in TB Cases in Impacted Communities with Existing Comorbidities and COVID-19
March 22, 2023
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
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SAN FRANCISCO, CA—In honor of World TB Day, the Coalition for a TB Free California and the Association of Asian Pacific Community Health Organizations (AAPCHO) plan to host a virtual press conference on March 24th to highlight the growing number of cases of TB in California’s Asian American Native Hawaiian Pacific Islander (AANHPI), Latino, and Black communities. Moreover, even though both TB and COVID-19 are infectious diseases that affect the lungs, TB, has a longer incubation period with a slower onset of disease. Prior to COVID-19, TB was the leading infectious disease killer in the world, claiming 1.5 million lives each year. Before 2020, advances to eliminate TB were underway globally, but the COVID-19 pandemic has reversed years of progress made in the fight to end TB.
California has nearly double the rate of TB disease than the nation. Join Coalition for a TB Free California and AAPCHO to hear an update from doctors, researchers, public health offices, and patients on the state of TB burden in California and its disproportionate impacts on the AANHPI community.
| WHEN: | Friday, March 24, 2023, 11:00 AM – 11:45 AM |
| WHERE: | Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3199735630 Meeting ID: 319 973 5630 One tap mobile +16694449171,,3199735630# US +16699009128,,3199735630# US (San Jose) |
| WHO: | Margo Sidener, CEO, Breathe California of the Bay Area Chibo Shinagawa, Program Manager of Infectious Diseases, AAPCHO Jacqueline Cuen, TB Survivor Dr. Shereen Katrak, MD, MPH, Director, TB Free California TB Control Branch, CDPH Dr. Amy Tang, Director of Immigrant Health, NEMS Michael Carson, TB Program Manager (retired), and former Executive Committee Member (CTCA) |
About NEMS
North East Medical Services (NEMS) is one of the largest non-profit community health centers in the United States targeting the medically underserved population of the San Francisco Bay Area. NEMS offers comprehensive health care services to a variety of patients, a majority of whom are low-income, access Medicaid, and are limited English proficient. NEMS providers and staff offer linguistically competent and culturally sensitive services in many languages and dialects other than English, including Cantonese, Mandarin, Toishan, Vietnamese, Burmese, Tagalog, Spanish, and Hindi. NEMS operates 21 clinics and delivery sites in San Francisco, Daly City, and San Jose. For more information, please visit www.nems.org.
About Coalition for a TB Free
California The Coalition for a TB Free California is a growing statewide coalition of community organizations, survivors, advocates, and providers working with public health TB experts with the following purposes:
- Engage in TB elimination activities to increase health equity among Californians
- Promote TB prevention to public and community health care systems
- Increase the visibility of TB as a preventable, urgent public health problem
- Advocate for new resources to eliminate TB in California
About AAPCHO
AAPCHO is a national association of community health organizations dedicated to promoting advocacy, collaboration and leadership that improves the health status and access of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders in the United States, the U.S. territories, and Freely Associated States. For more information on AAPCHO, please visit www.aapcho.org.
Contact
Jessica Ho, NEMS, (415) 509-5353, Jessica.Ho@nems.org
Kristine Cecile Alarcon, MPH, (510) 671-5054, kalarcon@aapcho.org