Health

Federal government responds to monkeypox surge with Emergency Use Authorization

By HEATHER BUTTS Special to the AmNews

After more than two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, many were hoping that this would be the summer that they could throw caution to the wind. But along with the COVID threat that refuses to go away, the number of monkeypox virus cases continues to rise. As of August 30, 2022, there are more than 18,000 cases of monkeypox in the United States alone. This, coupled with the short supply of vaccine for the disease, has led to a need for a solution to an increasingly growing public health emergency. Federal officials believe they have come up with a short-term solution in the form of an Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for the Jynneos vaccine, modifying the route of administration and dosage. Many in the community are asking if this is EUA safe and does the vaccine actually work?

According to Dr. Wafaa El-Sadr, University Professor Dr. Mathilde Krim-amfAR, chair of Global Health Epidemiology at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health [Full disclosure the author of this article is an assistant professor at the Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health but does not work with Dr. El-Sadr], in an interview with AmNews, in order to be infected “somebody has had contact with someone who has monkeypox and particularly what we call close contact, skin-to-skin close contact in particular. . . it takes a couple of weeks and then they come down with some of these symptoms of monkeypox and these could start with a skin rash and the skin rash can occur anywhere in the body and…it has a certain characteristic look some of the skin rashes on the palms and the soles, in the genital area but it's a very firm kind of skin rash and has a very specific appearance.”

The AmNews also spoke with Dr. Demetre Daskalaskis, the White House National Monkeypox Response deputy coordinator and the CDC’s director of the Division of HIV/ AIDS Prevention, about who is most at risk.

According to Daskalakis, “[T]he majority of the cases continue to be seen among gay, bisexual, other men who have sex with men. They continue to be a really important group for us to work with to . . . increase access to [the] vaccine.”

According to an article published earlier this year in the New England Journal of Medicine, that “although the current outbreak is disproportionately affecting gay or bisexual men and other men who have sex with men, monkeypox is no more a ‘gay disease’ than it is an ‘African disease.’ It can affect anyone.”

While the outbreak continues to grow, public health officials have implemented a plan to stretch the currently available vaccine in a safe way so that more at-risk people can be protected.

On Aug. 9, 2022, the Biden administration announced a comprehensive plan to expand the number of vaccine doses available to combat the disease. Through an Emergency Use Authorization (“EUA”), there have been changes to the way the vaccine is administered, thus increasing the number of doses accessible to healthcare providers.

According to the White House, there are currently 400,000 vials of the vaccine available for use and in inventory. These vials could translate into 2 million doses using the new EUA.

In response to the proposed EUA, Paul Chaplin, president & CEO of Bavarian Nordic authored a letter to HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, and FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf, stating that the company had “some reservations on the [intradermal] approach.”

While he has expressed concerns about the EUA, Chaplin is also one of the co-authors of the 2015 clinical trial of the Jynneos vaccine that the federal government cites specifically to modify the Jynneos dosing. The study specifically speaks to utilizing such a dosing modification during a public health emergency.

According to Daskalakis, “The data really show that the dosing that you give in the skin that's the one that [the two delivery methods] really elicit the same level of immune protection or immune response in the lab… so they're equivalent which is really exciting because then one dose goes for five people.”

Activists gathered at Foley Square in New York City, NY on July 21, 2022 to demand federal and state governments take immediate action to make the monkeypox vaccine available for all those at risk of being infected (Photo by Karla Coté/Sipa via AP Images)

You can learn more about monkeypox the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s monkeypox site: https://www1. nyc.gov/site/doh/health/health-topics/monkeypox.page

Remembering the Jacksons

Make sure this year’s back to school to-do list includes applying for free school meals

This week saw the passing of EDITORIAL Esther Cooper Jackson, a noted civil rights activist and a cofounder of Freedomways journal. Much more could have been said about Mrs. Jackson, particularly her devotion to her husband, James Jackson, a stalwart of the Communist Party for many years.

Mr. Jackson died in 2007 and several years before, in the early 1990s, he withdrew from the Party as the Soviet Union collapsed. All of this, the convergence of Jackson’s departure, and the end of the Soviet Union are evoked with the death of Mikhail Gorbachev. He was the nation’s leader from 1985 to 1991, just about the time Mr. Jackson ended his affiliation.

What did not end for the Jacksons was their commitment to civil and human rights, and in our obit on Esther some of the remarkable details of her life are cited. But one of the things that should be stressed about this activist couple is the role they played in the founding and the unwavering struggle to end Jim Crow and racist segregation as members of the Southern Negro Youth Congress (SNYC).

They were key organizers in the South, especially in their commitment to end unfair labor practices of tobacco workers as well as their fight to end discrimination in busing and transportation. Some historians have cited the SNYC as a forerunner to the larger Civil Rights Movement and such organizations as SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee).

The couple was idolized for their unbroken matrimonial ties and their unflagging militancy.

When the books are written about the amazing couples in the movement, Ossie and Ruby, Malcolm and Betty, Martin and Coretta, Paul and Eslanda, et al they should not forget the Jacksons and remember their unflinching stand on the ramparts and fight for freedom, justice, and equality as we remember them.

By RACHEL SABELLA

When your kids go back to school across our state this fall, their school breakfast and lunch won’t automatically be free like they have been through the pandemic.

We know many kids struggle with hunger at home, and getting them a healthy breakfast and lunch ensures they can thrive in and out of the classroom. But because federal rules have switched back to the pre-pandemic status quo, families and caregivers in many districts including Amsterdam will have to submit an application to qualify for free or reduced price meals.

If you’re a parent, it’s incredibly important to fill it out right away. You can find them on your school or district’s website, or in person at school offices.

Beyond ensuring your kids can get their school meals, the forms may qualify your family for additional benefits like discounted exam fees and college applications, extracurriculars, scholarship opportunities, and even home wifi. They can also help your child’s school secure additional classroom resources that will support all students’ education.

So as you’re checking things off your back to school to-do list, be sure to fill out the school meal application. After all, nutritious school meals are as important to students’ learning as notebooks and pencils.

Rachel Sabella is the director of No Kid Hungry New York.

Congress went on recess––but the kids keep missing out

Perhaps legislators and their staff do merit a break after a productive summer. But a permanent expansion of the Child Tax Credit is needed once they come back

By GARY CUNNINGHAM

Elinor R. Tatum: Publisher

and Editor in Chief

August in the nation’s capital is not only infamous for sweltering heat and humid days (a marshy urban heat island now worsened by climate crisis). It’s also that time of year when corridors of power, influence and policy-making empty out. Literally. Members of Congress, in both House and Senate chambers, eagerly rush back to their home districts to reconnect with constituents, reboot and break––during an election year like this one, there’s quite a bit of fundraising and campaigning, as well. In D.C. parlance, we call this congressional vacation the “August recess.” And just like the recesses from your school days, these weeks are begrudgingly viewed as a chance for Capitol Hill’s legislators and staffers to recharge so they can return refreshed in September.

No doubt, with the recent passage of an ambitious $430 billion Inflation Reduction Act, legislators and their staffers do merit a break. This new law kickstarts the important investments we need: more affordable healthcare and direct climate crisis response, along with decreased deficits and much-needed revenue to the federal government through new tax provisions targeting large corporations and the wealthy. Especially exciting is the historic funding in our vital, but underfunded, Internal Revenue Service. A lack of resources to this critical agency (since the government can’t fund itself or function without it) has disproportionately impacted low-income taxpayers, many of whom are Black, brown, Indigenous and Asian Pacific-Islander households of color. As we examine the legislation closer, we’re hoping the $80 billion of additional funding over ten years to improve tax enforcement leads to a fairer tax system that better supports our BIPOC communities.

Still, the Inflation Reduction Act is not enough. A glaring omission is a permanent expansion of the Child Tax Credit––a critical investment in children and their families. Remember: For six months in 2021, families received advanced monthly Child Tax Credit payments to keep their incomes steady. The elements temporarily added to the Child Tax Credit in the 2021 American Rescue Plan—refundability, advanced monthly payments, an increased credit amount––actually worked. Families used these funds for basic necessities like food, utilities, and car repairs. Did these payments or $250-300 per child replace work? Absolutely not, as numerous studies proved.

But what these payments did do is offer families the space, temporary peace-ofmind and desperately needed resources to easily put food on their tables, pay for childcare, get safe transportation to and from work, and pay for heat in their homes.

We miss the Child Tax Credit because our nation was in a much better place with it. Considering 70% of children in poverty being children of color, expanding the Child Tax Credit was a significant relief to already struggling BIPOC households wading dangerously through the pandemic. Before the expansion, nearly half of all Black and Latinx children were excluded from the full benefit because their families did not owe enough federal income tax to qualify.

How do we know that the expanded Child Tax Credit worked? Because, by the end of 2021, 3.7 million children were kept out of poverty, including 163,000 Asian children, 737,000 Black children, and 1.4 million Latino children. Some of our nation’s best economic minds, in fact, have argued for its continued expansion.

But we cannot make expansions to the Child Tax Credit if it would mean cutting other crucial benefits programs and hurting families in the process. Recently introduced

policies, like the Family Security Act 2.0 for example, contain draconian work requirements that would move us all in the wrong direction. With their racist origins, work requirements (as innocuous as they sound) are counterproductive. To build racial economic justice, we need provisions that support BIPOC communities, not hurt them. Reducing inflation is important, but lower-income households also need immediate and regular support as they struggle to pay for goods and services due to rising costs and stagnant wages. BIPOC communities are especially impacted by rising costs and more severely crushed by inflation, particularly when with the insensitive pricegouging we’re seeing from skyrocketing rents and other essential survival items. Was the expanded Child Tax Credit perfect? No—it excluded families based on which tax identification number they used to file their taxes. One million children from immigrant households could not access the CTC because they did not have a Social Security number. Mixed-status families contribute money to taxes and are often left out of relief, including pandemic relief. But this exclusion could easily be fixed in new legislation. Three years into a pandemic, the economic and health situations of our families have gone from bad to worse. The time to build back for justice is now––we can’t wait any longer to reimagine and establish an economy that works for all of us. That’s why a first step on our path to racial economic justice is for our nation to invest in the Child Tax Credit. Let’s take this August summer recess, a pause in the busy lives of policymakers, to think more about how we should Kristin Fayne-Mulroy: Managing Editor help kids and their families this fall. When ConNayaba Arinde: Editor gress comes back to Washington in September, Cyril Josh Barker: Digital Editor they should pass the Child Tax Credit expansion Damaso Reyes: Investigative Editor to finally give kids and their families the long Siobhan "Sam" Bennett: overdue break they need … and deserve.

Chief Revenue Officer and Head of Advertising Wilbert A. Tatum (1984-2009): Chairman of the Board, CEO and Publisher Emeritus

Gary Cunningham is president & CEO of Prosperity Now.

DISCLAIMER: The views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not represent those of the New York Amsterdam News. We continue to publish a variety of viewpoints so that we may know the opinions of others that may differ from our own.

ARMSTRONG WILLIAMS

Imagine a world devoid of journalism. Would our lives be better without it? Historically, the response was an emphatic “no. ”Journalism provides us insight into the affairs of the world, illuminates the dark secrets held by miscreants, and makes us far more conscious of the issues that will touch our everyday lives. However, although there are still a significant number of journalists with integrity, we have seen an increase in the number of journalists who have been seduced by the pleasures of fame and led astray by their inability to dissociate their personal views with the critical roles that they hold.

With the advent of the Internet, the barriers to become a journalist have eroded, making internet journalism seize the mantle from print journalism. Consequently, an increasing number of journalists have built a name for themselves and are able to deliver news and insights in ways that were unimaginable just a few decades ago.

Journalism is a business, and businesses need to make a profit. With the vast number of journalists emboldened by their ability to disseminate news across the globe easily, instantly, and practically for free, these journalists must compete with one another and distinguish themselves from the pack.

The use of misleading headlines, false news, inflammatory pieces, reputational assaults, and hurriedly compiled reports including substantive evidence from questionable sources has become commonplace. The business has transitioned from one of integrity to one of click-gathering.

Unfortunately, whether we like it or not, journalism is indispensable –– it is the backbone of a functioning world. Journalists tear down the barriers separating us from the rest of the world. It is the responsibility of journalists to gather information on world events and other fantastic, terrible, and intriguing tales in order to enlighten us about the status of our communities. Without them, our only sources of news would be word of mouth and governmentsupplied material. This crucial task must be carried out by impartial, independent parties that have no allegiance to any person or idea other than the truth.

Yet, the leaders of the pack, those who have established themselves as trustworthy and dependable sources of information, have utilized their power, reputation, and ability to attract “clicks” to propagate news that suits their interests and suppress news that does not. This violation of trust by journalists may serve their own interests, but not that of the general public. In fact, these journalists are neither independent nor impartial; they are mere cogs in the propaganda machine. The only interests they serve are those of themselves or their parties, and the only thing that is objective to them is their fallible notions of truth.

The news should not serve American interests. In fact, the news should not serve anyone’s interests. The only interests that the news should serve are those of freedom of information; to inform the public of the facts and let them draw their own conclusions. However, journalists do the exact opposite. They either claim to serve America’s interests, their own interests, the interests of their party, or the interests of what they perceive to be right. If the media did not serve any interests, our nation would not be facing the division that it is now experiencing. We would not need to be concerned that our thoughts might be censored. Instead, with independent, impartial journalism, individuals are free to draw their own conclusions based on the facts. People may examine the stories they are told and determine for themselves what they believe is right and wrong, who is good and who is bad, as opposed to a journalist repeatedly instructing readers to support a certain perspective or despise a particular individual.

It should not be the case that a viewer of CNN sees just a portion of the information and must then flip to FOX to see the other facts, and vice versa. By virtue of this basic fact, it is evident that the media organizations that author these types of stories do not serve the public and instead are out to deceive them.

What function therefore does biased news serve? It cannot be stated that the objective of this type of news is to serve us by making us more educated, more independent thinkers, and more well-rounded. Instead, biased news only serves the objective of those that media organizations want to serve.

Will journalism ever return to its former glory? The days when the truth was not manufactured, but rather exposed? As the world becomes more connected, the number of journalists using novel strategies to earn more money and serve the interests of more powerful individuals increases. Regardless of the eventual conclusion, I implore anybody who sees a headline or reads a story to always dig deeper and seek the truth, rather than allowing the truth to be fed to you.

Armstrong Williams (@ARightSide) is manager / sole owner of Howard Stirk Holdings I & II Broadcast Television Stations and the 2016 Multicultural Media Broadcast Owner of the year. www. armstrongwilliams.co | www. howardstirkholdings.com

CHRISTINA GREER PH.D.

Someone recently asked me what some of my favorite things were. I had to pause and think a moment about all of the things that bring me joy. I reflected on so many areas of my life where I was brought enjoyment without spending a dime. That’s not to say we can’t enjoy things that cost money, but in an effort to consume less and be more present, it is nice to know that the mere thought of nature or taking a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge can bring me so much joy in what sometimes feels like an insane world.

So, my question for you gentle reader is thus, “What are some of your favorite things?” I always tell my students they must have a favorite president, two actually, one living and one deceased. It is important for them to recognize that these flawed men could be great leaders or help pass significant legislation while also failing in a different area of their presidency. For what it’s worth, my two favorite presidents are Jimmy Carter and Lyndon B Johnson. I also tell my students they need to have two favorite cities, one in the U.S. and one outside of the U.S. These are places that feel like “home.” Whether they visit the place often, live in the particular locale, or have only visited once, having a place that feels like “yours” is essential to the soul. My favorite domestic city is Baltimore, M.D. and my favorite international city is London. Both places feel like they were made just for me. The cobble-stoned streets, the inner harbor with the salt air blowing through the city, and the Baltimore accent (I know, I know) make this old city so special to me. Similarly, the architecture and history of London and the dreary weather with the sun fighting its way to the surface always makes me slow down just a bit and appreciate the changing of the weather. I don’t know if I could ever pinpoint my favorite singer or musician, there are far too many to choose from. I wouldn’t know whether to start with Aretha Franklin and Steve Wonder or list Bob Marley, Sarah Vaughan, Ray Charles, or Betty Carter. I do know that Biggie a.k.a. The Notorious BIG a.k.a. Christopher Wallace is hands down my favorite rapper of all time. Some may find my love of the rapper Biggie Smalls and my favorite author Mark Twain as a juxtaposition, however, both are master storytellers so it makes sense to me.

Making these lists helps me think of all the beautiful experiences, friendships, conversations, and travels I’ve had over the years. As the seasons change, I implore you to make lists of all your favorite things that make you happy and complete.

Brooklyn Bridge (Amanda Ulloa photo)

Christina Greer, Ph.D., is an associate professor at Fordham University, the author of “Black Ethnics: Race, Immigration, and the Pursuit of the American Dream,” and the co-host of the podcast FAQ-NYC and host of “The Blackest Questions” podcast.