Care in the Crisis Symposium: April 29

COMMUNITY NEWS

Care in the Crisis Symposium: April 29

One in five adolescents is suffering from a diagnosable mental illness. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for American teens.

Anxiety, depression, and eating disorders surged among youth during the COVID-19 pandemic. On Friday, April 29, the AIM Scientific Symposium: Care in the Crisis presents experts, parents and youth to tackle tough questions and forge solutions. The event may be attended remotely or in person at the Sunset Center in Carmel, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with a reception, youth art display, and award ceremony to follow.

California’s “Mental Health Czar,” Dr. Thomas R. Insel, will speak at 9 a.m. Speakers from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. include:

Dr. Stephen Hinshaw, professor of psychology at UC Berkeley, author of 13 books and an authority on attentiondeficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Dr. John Piacentini, director of the UCLA Child OCD, Anxiety, Tic Disorders Clinic and Center for Child Anxiety Resilience, Education, and Support, on tools for parents to distinguish normal vs. abnormal anxiety.

Dr. Walter Kaye, a professor of psychiatry at UC San Diego and founder and executive director of that university’s Eating Disorders Program on what scientists have learned about new approaches to treat eating disorders.

Shashank Joshi, psychiatry professor and director of Stanford University’s School Mental Health team, on trends in adolescent suicide prevention.

“Crisis Symposium” page 14

“Changing Lives” from page 5

The women dress in colorful, traditional clothes and are known for their vibrant, intricate back strap weavings wares.

The indigenous Ixil people of Chajul were targeted for genocide during Guatemala’s devastating 36-year civil war. They are one of the poorest communities in the country and only 5% graduate from high school. Many of them saw no future except to emigrate to earn a living and provide for their families. Katie noticed how interested the girls were in books and learning. She also knew poor families could only afford to send one or two children to school and they always prioritized boys.

But Katie and Pedro had a better idea. In 2004 they founded a nonprofit called “Limitless Horizons Ixil,” starting with a scholarship program for 10 students, prioritizing girls who were least likely to attend middle school without their support. Fast forward to today and they have supported more than 2,500 indigenous middle and high school youths in Chajul.

In 2010, they established the first and only public library in Chajul. It is equipped with “friendly librarians, computers, STEM and art activities and supplies and 10,000 books in Spanish, Ixil and English.”

Their Emerging Leaders Program has a paid fellowship for a few high school graduates each year with eligibility for a five-year university scholarship. They also support graduates to obtain employment, attend university, and start small businesses.

A major part of Limitless Horizon Ixil’s work has been to empower girls and women: Lifting up Chajul’s girls and women, providing opportunities and female role models they otherwise would not have.

Students working on a science project.

One of their major goals is to build up men’s and boys’ understanding of the importance of gender equality, which is why boys comprise about one-third of the participants in all their programs. And the secret to their success: All of their programs are driven and led by their primarily female local teams, who ensure that Chajul’s unique context and culture are represented.

But the most exciting project is the construction and opening of their new middle and high school in Chajul, “Colegio Horizontes!” This highly unique school for the region, focuses on critical thinking, interactive learning, and building gender equity and student leadership, and is changing the educational landscape in the community.

While the entire building process will not be entirely completed until summer 2022, the school has already opened with 24 indigenous 7th graders in person, eight hours a day, five days a week, compared to other local schools with classes lasting only 4 hours or fewer a day and often with classes of more than 60 students.

The student body is over 70% girls – all scholars are from Maya Ixil families living in extreme poverty. They take 11 courses: Math, Spanish, science, social studies, technology, entrepreneurship, Ixil language and culture, English, physical education, artistic expression, and life skills. There is a Mentoring, Student and Family Support Team to help students and parents with educational workshops and any challenges they might be facing in school or in their homes.

“To date, 96% of the total school starting costs have been raised. Before the grand opening in July 2022, we are striving to raise a final $75,000 to primarily cover solar energy installation and final construction costs.

Our organization has nearly $310,000 in matching pledges towards that final budget, so gifts will be matched dollarfor-dollar in the next couple months,” said Katie.

Colegio Horizontes will change the futures of hundreds by preparing youth for college and careers, bringing economic security to their families without migrating to the U.S., thus breaking cycles of poverty in Chajul. The effects of scholars’ highquality education will strengthen families, creating a ripple effect for generations.

An incredible village of supporters has empowered Katie to achieve so much, and she and her team are eager to finish fundraising and open the school this summer and welcome the support of anyone interested. n •••

Contact: Katie Morrow, co-founder & executive director, 831-824-4827, katie@limitlesshorizonsixil.org.

How to support: limilesshorisonzixil. org, or P.O. Box 3120, Santa Cruz, CA 95063, U.S.A. EIN/Tax ID #26-4296182.

Photos provided by Katie Morrow

“COVID Update” from page 7

Underlying conditions were a factor in 19 of the 20 most recent local deaths during the peak of the highly contagious and thought-to-be-mild Omicron variant.

The most COVID fatalities in the county occurred in January 2021, when vaccines were not available and 22 people died in one week.

The nonprofit Pajaro Valley Healthcare District Project must raise $15 million by Aug. 31, according to Santa Cruz County Administrative Officer Carlos Palacios, to buy Watsonville Community Hospital out of bankruptcy and fund the first year of operations under local ownership.

Watsonville based Driscoll’s is matching all donations up to $1.75 million until May 1. If $1.75 million is raised from the community, it results in $3.5 million. To donate, see https://www.pvhdp.org/

The hospital has 620 employees and shares the treatment of Covid-19 patients with Dominican Hospital.

Two of the five governing board members live in Aptos, John Friel and Dr. Katie Gabriel-Cox. The other three are Marcus Pimental, Jasmine Najera, and Tony Nunez.

Pajaro Valley Schools

Pajaro Valley schools, which ended spring break April 11, report only 7 active student cases and 3 staff cases in April.

Two of the student cases are at Valencia Elementary. The other Aptos schools report zero cases.

The state’s guidance to schools and childcare facilities: After March 11, masks are not required but are strongly recommended.

“All community members have a right to make different choices with regard to recommended masking, and it is imperative that we respect personal choice and treat each other with respect and kindness,” posted Dr. Faris Sabbah, Santa Cruz County Superintendent of Schools.

Santa Cruz County Office of Education, with Inspire Diagnostic, has provided 398,900 tests.

Cases in schools peaked at 4,407 on Jan. 27, dropping to 44 on April 10. The 14-day positivity rate, 12.25% on January, is down to .79%.

Pfizer & Moderna

It’s April and parents anxious to have shots for their younger children under 5 are still waiting for Pfizer and BioNTech to gather data on whether a third dose is effective.

Pfizer initially applied for emergency use authorization for young children for two doses.

Pfizer stock peaked at $61 in December, fell in March to $46 and has been trading at $53.

On March 23, vaccine-maker Moderna reported positive results — no severe cases, hospitalizations, or deaths — in two clinical trials for children under 6 — and said it would ask the Food and Drug Administration to authorize its Covid-19 vaccine for emergency use authorization for those children.

In the trial, Covid cases decreased 43.7% for kids 6 to 23 months, and 37.5% for kids 2 to 6. At the outset, the FDA called for vaccines to cut infection by at least 50%.

Moderna stock peaked in November at $368, then fell to $128 in March and stabilized in April at $159.50.

Mary Holland, president and general counsel of Children’s Health Defense, contends there is no COVID emergency for children under 5 years old.

Children have a 99.995% recovery rate, and a body of medical literature indicates that “almost zero” healthy children under 5 have died from COVID, according to Holland, citing studies in Germany, England and Wales.

Myocarditis Risk

In a 2022 report in the Journal of American Medical Association online, Dr. Matthew Oster of the CDC reported the government’s VAERS database received 1,991 reports of myocarditis after one dose of mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccine and 1,626 met the CDC’s definition for probable or confirmed myocarditis.

Myocarditis is inflammation of the heart, which can lead to clots, a stroke or heart attack.

Oster’s conclusion: “The risk of myocarditis after receiving mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines was increased across multiple age and sex strata and was highest after the second vaccination dose in adolescent males and young men. This risk should be considered.”

Public health officials say the scientific consensus is that Covid vaccines are safe, but some are skeptical about relying on science from drug-makers, which saw profits rise in 2021. They point to the U.S. government database, https://vaers.hhs. gov/, where health care providers are to report adverse events after a vaccine.

The reporting site was created after Congress passed a law in 1986 protecting vaccine manufacturers from civil personal injury lawsuits and wrongful death lawsuits resulting from vaccine injuries.

After Covid arrived, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar invoked the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act, a 2005 law that allows the HHS secretary to provide legal protection to companies making or distributing critical medical supplies such as vaccines unless there’s “willful misconduct” by the company, according to a report by CNBC.

This lowers the cost of immunizations, and the protection lasts until 2024.

Fourth Shot?

Astudy of 274 health care workers in Israel published in April in the New England Journal of Medicine found evidence that a fourth dose of mRNA vaccine, Pfizer or Moderna, is “safe, and somewhat efficacious (primarily against symptomatic disease).”

They added, “Our results suggest that maximal immunogenicity of mRNA vaccines is achieved after three doses and that antibody levels can be restored by a fourth dose. Furthermore, we observed low vaccine efficacy against infections in health care workers, as well as relatively high viral loads suggesting that those who were infected were infectious. Thus, a fourth vaccination of healthy young health care workers may have only marginal benefits. Older and vulnerable populations were not assessed.”

Fully vaccinated means having two shots (Pfizer or Moderna) or one Johnson & Johnson shot. All were developed for the initial Covid-19 coronavirus.

For Omicron, the dominant variant, a booster shot is needed. Booster shots are 90 percent effective against preventing Omicron hospitalizations, according to the federal Centers of Disease Control.

California reports 83.8% of residents age 5 and up have had at least one shot.

On the CDC Covid tracker, Santa Cruz County reports 90.6% of residents age 5 and up have at least one shot and 82.4% fully vaccinated.

As of April 1, people 50 and older in California are eligible for a second mRNA booster shot from Moderna or Pfizer. Also, kids 12 and older are eligible for the Pfizer booster and those 18 years and older with moderate and severe immune-suppression are eligible for a Moderna booster.

Omicron Less Deadly

Omicron is deadly than Delta, which raged in 2021.

Santa Cruz County reports 259 Covid deaths, up from 225 as of Dec. 15, before Omicron was confirmed on Dec. 16 and 17.

One statistic is similar: 79% to 81% of those who died had pre-existing conditions.

Why do people fear Omnicron?

They may have a pre-existing condition (diabetes, obesity, asthma, high blood pressure).

Half of Americans do, so they are at higher risk for severe Covid illness.

So are people 85 and older.

Some people who got Covid experience “long Covid,” with fatigue and brain fog months afterward. A 2022 study in the journal Cell by researchers following more than 200 patients found many acute Covid patients had low cortisol, which could be addressed.

Testing

The Santa Cruz County Office of Education reports 406,400 tests completed. Drive-though testing for students, staff and families at these locations:

Cabrillo College, Aptos, Parking Lot K, Monday to Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Santa Cruz County Fairgrounds, 2601 E. Lake Ave., Watsonville, Monday to Friday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Santa Cruz County Office of Edu-

cation, 399 Encinal St., Santa Cruz, Monday to Friday, 2 to 5 p.m.

Directions for rapid response antigen tests are at https://drive.google.com/ file/d/1U8AdsSyH14sDvrjD6T25krhvOF RFsuXs/view

For test options see: https://tinyurl. com/get-tested-santa-cruz.

Based on federal recommendations, the state shortened the isolation time for those testing positive from 10 days to five days.

Schedule booster shots at https:// myturn.ca.gov/ or by asking your local doctor and pharmacies. For local vaccine providers, visit www.santacruzhealth.org/ coronavirusvaccine.

For help scheduling an appointment, call the Community Bridges Helpline at 831-219-8607 or 831-440-3556 (English, Spanish, Mixteco and Triqui).

For local information on COVID-19, go to www.santacruzhealth.org/coronavirus or call (831) 454-4242 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. n •••

Total COVID cases: 495

••• COVID Deaths: 259 As of April 11 Age 85 and older: 110 • 75-84: 61 • 65-74: 46 60-64: 15 • 55-59: 4 • 45-54: 10 • 35-44: 8 25-34: 5 Underlying Conditions Yes: 209 • No: 50 Race White 147 • Latinx 89 • Asian 16 Black 3 • Amer Indian 1 • Hawaiian 1 Another 2 Gender Men: 133 • Women: 126 Location At facility for aged: 115 Not at a facility: 144