PRSRT STD U.S. Postage Paid Permit No. 746 Seattle, WA
VOL 39 NO 41 OCTOBER 10 – OCTOBER 16, 2020 FREE 38 YEARS YOUR VOICE
More ways to get your flu shot, as health professionals cite urgency
Special Health Issue SENIOR CARE SO IMPORTANT 3
WHAT'S COVID TESTING LIKE? 5
PUBLISHER'S BLOG: TRUMP IS OLD 7
Photo by George Liu
Reader suggests new approach to ending homelessness
Encampment in the ID
75-year-old ICHS patient, Zhaolun Shi, recently came to one of the health clinic’s flu shot events and said he makes sure to get vaccinated every year.
Healthcare professionals recommend you get your annual flu shot now—and are adding new ways to make it as safe and convenient as possible. Annual flu shots are more important than ever to reduce the spread of respiratory illnesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Lessening flu cases helps to avoid a “twindemic” and adding strain on the health care system.
“Anything we can do to differentiate and figure out whether this is flu or COVID is helpful.” DR. LAKSHMI DEEPA YERRAM
see ICHS on 4
Photo from ICHS
By Angela Toda ICHS
Local Taiwanese American brings showers to homeless in Puerto Rico Through Doctors Without Borders
Dear Editor,
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see ALLEN on 3
In San Juan, Puerto Rico, Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) doctor Jonathan Caldera and MSF nurse Rosa Cifrian walk through La Peninsula to provide home-based medical care for people who lack access to health services.
By Mahlon Meyer NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY Amidst the tropical trees and scrub brush, the trailer with its assortment of electronic gear, plastic
tubing, and gigantic plastic tubs doesn’t look like much. But when attached to a pickup truck, it can be hauled all over the island and quickly turned into a portable shower unit for up to four people.
The portable shower trailer was designed for the homeless and drug users in Puerto Rico by Wayne Chang, a Boeing engineer —one of many projects undertaken by Doctors Without Borders during
the pandemic. In a departure for the well-known aid organization, also known as Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), emergency see MSF on 11
Photos from Medecins Sans Frontiers
I agree with Patricia Fong (October 3–9 Northwest Asian Weekly issue) that there is a big homeless problem in the Chinatown-International District (CID) and that the issues of Covid-19 exacerbate the situation even more. What I don’t agree with is the idea that removing these encampments is going to magically solve this problem. In fact, the city swept the CID encampments just a few months ago only to see the camps come right back. As a resident of the CID, I watched on May 21 as the Navigation Team, which included over 40 police officers and only four social service workers, tore down people’s camps and threw all of their possessions away. There were no plans for where people were supposed to go once the
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