US Senator

Get Your COVID-19 Vaccine When It’s Available

By U.S. Senator Catherine Cortez Masto

Seniors in Nevada have endured such a challenging year, but there’s hope on the horizon. Last December, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the Pfizer-BioNTec (Pfizer) and Moderna vaccines, bringing us all one step closer to curbing this pandemic. over 1.8 million vaccines were distributed to Americans, yet only 21 people encountered a significant allergic reaction, all of whom recovered. Black and Latino health care workers have also been encouraging their communities to get the COVID-19 vaccine once it becomes available. In a “love letter to Black America,” Black doctors including Dr. Kizzmekia Corbett, who are in key decision-making roles for the Moderna vaccine, are asking

Catherine Cortez Masto Both vaccines are highly effective in their community to trust this science and help in continuing to preventing symptomatic COVID infec- protect the health and well-being of their community. These tion. The Pfizer vaccine showed efficacy of 95 percent and the coronavirus vaccines are an opportunity to resume our daily Moderna vaccine followed close behind at 94.1 percent. Both lives, but it will be most effective if we all work together. are equally effective across different ethnic and racial groups. And both vaccines require two shots: a priming dose, followed During these challenging times, we’re reminded of what’s by a booster shot. most important in our lives: our loved ones. To protect one another, we all need to get our vaccines as soon as they become The Pfizer and Moderna vaccines also use very similar tech- available. nology. The vaccines deliver mRNA into our bodies, which give our bodies instructions to make just one of the 29 proteins I know many seniors across Northern Nevada are incredibly from the coronavirus. Importantly, the vaccines do not expose eager to receive their vaccines, and Governor Steve Sisolak us to the entire virus. The instructions for that one protein, and Nevada’s health professionals are working hard to disknown as the spike protein, enter into our cells, and the body tribute vaccines across the Silver State. Nevada’s new vaccine builds the spike protein in response to the mRNA’s instruc- playbook means that seniors ages 70 and up are the first in tions. Our cells then realize they’ve never seen this spike pro- line to receive vaccines in the general population, followed by tein before, sparking an immune response to destroy it. But seniors ages 65 to 69. before our bodies destroy the spike protein, they memorize it for the future, instructing our b-cells to make antibodies and For information about COVID-19 vaccines, you can visit www. our t-cells to keep a lookout for it. This way, if the coronavirus washoecounty.us/health/index.php and click the link attached enters our bodies after we’re fully vaccinated, our t-cells will to “COVID-19 vaccine information can be found here.” There detect the spike protein on the coronavirus quickly, and the you can find updates on when the vaccine will be available for antibodies we’ve already created will destroy the virus before your age group or occupation if you are an essential workwe get infected. er. You can also read the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services’ COVID-19 Vaccination Program Playbook here Most Americans are eager to be vaccinated against the or by typing “Nevada COVID-19 Vaccination Playbook” into coronavirus, especially seniors, but some are still hesitant to your preferred internet search engine. In addition, The Nevada receive their vaccine. They may have reservations about every- Independent has a comprehensive article explaining Nevathing from the novel approach the vaccine uses to a fear of the da’s coronavirus vaccination process that’s updated as more syringes used in the vaccine. Black and Latino Nevadans may information becomes available entitled, “Indy Q+A: When have unique concerns based on their communities history with can I expect to receive the COVID-19 vaccine? Who is getting medical racism. Still others may be concerned about common vaccinated now? Is it safe?” vaccine side effects, like fatigue, injection site pain, headache, muscle pain, and joint pain—all of which are actually signs Let’s all help Nevada recover as quickly as we can. We need that the body’s immune system is kicking into gear. I want you to work together and encourage each other to make the to know that I hear and understand your concerns, and I’m responsible choice to get vaccinated -- if not for ourselves, for committed to reassuring Nevada’s seniors that these vaccines the people who’ve endured the most this past year. I know are safe and effective. Nevada’s seniors are eager to reconnect with friends and family, and I’m committed to ensuring they can safely, as soon The evidence? Millions of vaccine doses have been admin- as possible. istered to Americans, with minimal problems. As of January,

Housing / from page 4 Our local workers are struggling to keep up with the cost of living and our seniors are typically on fixed incomes, so if there needs to be a change in their housing situation it can prove to be very difficult.

The other obvious concern is for those who have lost income and are facing housing instability now. We are seeing a record high in eviction filings and unfortunately the vast majority of people do not know what to do when they are faced with court paperwork or trying to figure out what their rights are under the law. My company, Imperium Property Management & Consulting launched a program with the City of Sparks that offered mediation services for tenants and landlords. One such example was a gal who was served a notice by her landlord to vacate the property in 30 days. The woman actually hadn’t even fallen behind on rent and was still in an active lease so a 30 day notice was totally inappropriate. We spoke with the landlord and they rescinded the notice. We’ve also helped quite a few families obtain rental assistance through the various funds allocated from the CARES Act. A young man had hours drastically reduced at his job and was looking for another. He was only eating every 3 days when I spoke to him. Within 24 hours, we got him food and had him approved for rental assistance. He actually ended up getting a full-time job by talking to one of our resource coordinators as well. There are so many people in need of some sort of assistance and they just don’t know where to go. That is honestly my biggest worry.

Q- How do we move forward in 2021 and what are the key

elements that will help?

A- Continuing to come together as a community is key. Awareness and education to our community are huge. I know we are all awaiting for aid from the Feds but in the meantime, we need to try and keep communication open. That probably sounds idealistic but our community is still one where there are very few degrees of separation and word of mouth works incredibly well. If someone knows their neighbor needs a little help, let’s try our best to help each other find those resources. Personally, I am continuing to counsel people in what their next best steps are in their situation, no matter how dire it seems.

Q- If people do need help, what do they do?

A- If someone is behind on rent or afraid they are about to fall behind, they’re more than welcome to reach out to me at: 775-799-5470 or to fill out an intake form on our website www.nncepp.com.

We’ve actually assisted quite a few landlords as well so we encourage them to reach out if they feel stuck. If someone owns their home, they need to contact their mortgage provider and inquire about what their options are, as they do vary depending on the mortgage provider. There are moratoriums on both Evictions AND Foreclosures. So if people have questions, please reach out!

As you can tell from our conversation, we are facing a season where having the right information is imperative. T Tran has proven to be one of those local leaders who is willing and ready to help. But if you are in these situations or know someone who is, please utilize the help available. Another tool that is available to help you if you find yourself in a crisis is 2-1-1 Nevada. They have a list of resources available for you including different areas of assistance with housing. To reach them you can either call 2-1-1 or go on the web site https:// www.nevada211.org.

As the year unfolds, I am hopeful. Yes, we will be facing some difficult times. However, if we will just work together, educate each other, and focus on how to climb the obstacles as a community, we will prevail. Let’s make 2021 a year where we come together and truly function as a healthy and whole community.