By George Fernandez
It seems like each month, even day-after-day, stands to acknowledge some new trigger or initiative preventing for public consideration – and furthermore – public motion. April is not any exception. A fast Google search tells us it’s Group Service Month, Earth Month, and even Nationwide Humor Month.
With so many observations preventing for our consideration, it’s laborious to chop by means of the noise and shine a correct highlight on the intense points which are devastating our communities, notably proper right here in Pennsylvania. Well being fairness is on the prime of such examples, but many aren’t conscious that April is Nationwide Minority Well being Month (NMHM), not to mention why it issues and what must be completed proper right here in our communities.
In accordance with the CDC, NMHM is noticed each April to underscore the significance of enhancing well being outcomes for racial and ethnic minority teams. The significance of addressing the hole in minority well being fairness is at an all-time excessive for the reason that onset of COVID-19. The pandemic has affected racial and ethnic minority teams, and individuals who dwell in rural areas by inflicting extra extreme sickness and demise than in different teams due to low revenue, discrimination, and lack of healthcare entry.
And let’s not overlook the longstanding systemic well being and social inequities which have put many individuals from racial and ethnic minority teams at elevated threat of getting COVID-19 or experiencing extreme sickness, no matter age. Extra folks from some racial and ethnic minority teams work in important work settings, resembling healthcare amenities, farms, factories, grocery shops, public transportation, and different service-related jobs than different teams of individuals. Some individuals who work in these settings have extra possibilities to be uncovered to COVID-19.
Why ought to this matter, notably in Pennsylvania? Latinos are the fastest-growing ethnic inhabitants within the Commonwealth. In accordance with U.S .census knowledge, the Latino inhabitants grew by 82.6 p.c between 2000 and 2010 and can be the fastest-growing subgroup nationwide.
With over a quarter-million Latinos calling Pennsylvania house, well being fairness for minority teams must be elevated to our most urgent concern.
Extra than simply merely being conscious, or “observing” the problem, we have to roll up our sleeves and take motion! The specter of COVID-19 shouldn’t be going away. As an alternative, we have to modify to this new actuality by supporting our minority communities in tangible, proactive methods.
Pennsylvania faces main gaps in well being fairness exasperated by the pandemic. For months, hospitals didn’t do elective surgical procedures, preventive care was positioned on the again burner, and psychological well being issues went from a gradual burn to a speedy boil with dire penalties which have unfold additional than we ever might have imagined.
With April shining a highlight on enhancing minority well being, we have to use this as a ringing alarm that we should get again into movement and make minority well being fairness a prime precedence. I cost our medical neighborhood, authorities leaders, and each particular person to take a crucial take a look at the place you might have the affect to make a distinction. Particularly, we have to give attention to getting again to preventative care to handle most cancers, diabetes, HIV and Aids, tobacco and substance abuse, cardiovascular points, and far more. Furthermore, we have to guarantee preventative care is free and simply accessible to our minority inhabitants.
Minority well being impacts every considered one of us. When the individuals who make up the spine of our neighborhood should not effectively, Pennsylvania shouldn’t be effectively. The vibrancy of our economic system, workforce, training, tradition and a lot extra depends on the well being and wellness of our Latino neighborhood.
Earlier than April, and NMHM come to a detailed, I’m hopeful that that is only the start of the dialog and that everybody will step as much as do their half to make sure well being fairness for everybody in Pennsylvania.
George Fernandez is the Founder and CEO of Latino Connection, a nationwide chief in neighborhood training, well being outreach, and wellness programming centered on reaching low-income, uninsured communities.
Electors take a group photo after the end of proceedings. Pennsylvania’s electors cast their votes for President-elect Donald Trump and Vice President-elect JD Vance in the chambers of the state House of Representatives at the Capitol in Harrisburg, Pa.
December 17, 2024.
Dan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.comDan Gleiter | dgleiter@pennlive.com
Penn Medicine researchers Katalin Karikó Ph.D., and Dr. Drew Weisman Ph.D., won the 2023 Nobel Prize in Medicine for their work on mRNA technology that contributed to the COVID-19 vaccine research.
Patents typically last about 20 years. The university holds at least four patents for its mRNA technology across the United States and Europe.
Researcher Karikó, an adjunct professor at Penn Medicine for 36 years, worked as a senior vice president for BioNTech between November 2013 and October 2022, according to her LinkedIn profile. She is considered an external consultant for the company as of Jan. 2, according to its website.
The COVID-19 vaccine, also known as Comirnaty, generated about $5 billion in sales in 2024.
As part of the deal, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer is expected to chip in $170 million for the Penn royalties and $364 million towards the NIH royalties owed.
As a company, BioNTech generated about $3.9 billion in revenue during 2023, down from $17.7 billion in 2022. BioNTech estimated 2024 revenue to be between $2.7 billion and $3.3 billion.
The university licensed its mRNA patents to several companies between April 2010 and August 2020, including Epicentre Technologies Corp., mRNA Biotherapeutics Inc. and Cellscript.
In 2017, BioNTech sublicensed the university mRNA technology from Cellscript and expects to keep developing more pharmaceutical medications, such as cancer treatments and flu vaccines, using the university patented technology.
Licensing revenue at the University of Pennsylvania has been a substantial revenue stream for the Philadelphia institution since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
In fiscal 2021, the university collected $300 million in license revenue. In fiscal years 2022 and 2023, the university garnered $1 billion each year. During fiscal year 2024, it reported $466 million in licensing revenue.
In May 2024, Penn Medicine researchers developed an mRNA vaccine for the H5N1 avian flu, leveraging prior COVID-19 vaccine research. The research was funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health and the Department of Health and Human Services.
The Duke University Human Vaccine Institute was awarded $7 million from the federal health agencies to conduct clinical trials in early 2025.
But for the commercialization of such research, the university relies on pharmaceutical manufacturers to license such patents and take the drug to market.
It was not immediately clear which companies, if any, have licensed the experimental avian flu technology.
Jan. 2 (UPI) — A Pennsylvania man has been indicted on charges of attempting to support the foreign terrorist organization Hezbollah, the Justice Department reported Thursday.
Jack Danaher Molloy, 24, a former resident of Pittsburgh, attempted to provide material support and resources to the terrorist group from August 2024 through December 2024, in Lebanon, Syria, the Western District of Pennsylvania, and elsewhere, the Justice Department said in a statement.
Molloy undertook these actions “knowing that the organization was a designated terrorist organization and that the organization had engaged in and was engaging in terrorist activity and terrorism, ” a release from the Justice Department said in a criminal complaint.
Molloy, a citizen of both the United States and Ireland, previously served on active duty status in the U.S Army, traveled to Lebanon in August 2024 and attempted to join Hezbollah but was told by “multiple individuals that the time was not right, and that he needed to take other steps before he could join the terrorist organization,” the Justice Department release said.
Molloy continued to try to join Hezbollah while living in Upper St. Clair, Pa. and allegedly continued to communicate with members of the organization online and in Lebanon. He also expressed his hatred toward, and promoted violence against, Jewish people,” documents show.
“Molloy’s alleged animus toward Jews was also evidenced by multiple images and videos on his electronic devices and the usernames he chose for his social media and email accounts, including the username “KIKEKILLER313″ on the social media platform X. In one alleged WhatsApp exchange with a family member, Molloy agreed that his ‘master plan was to join Hezbollah and kill Jews,’” Justice Department documents show.
He is also alleged to have visited a website that showed the possible incarceration location of Robert Bowers, the man who carried out the 2018 Pittsburgh Tree of Life Synagogue shooting during which he murdered 11 Jewish worshippers. It is thought that Molloy was a Bowers sympathizer.
The indictment also says Molloy lied to FBI investigators at the Pittsburgh International Airport in October, 2024 about his contact with members of Hezbollah. He said had no current or future plans to become involved with the organization and that he had no business in, nor was he meeting with anyone, in Syria.
“These statements and representations were false because Molloy knew at that time that (1) he did have current and future plans to become involved with Hizballah and (2) Molloy travelled to Syria in furtherance of his attempts to join Hezbollah, and while in Syria, set up a meeting with an individual there,” the Justice Department release said.
Molloy faces up to 28 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted on the material support and false statement charges.
On a quest for global domination, Chinese EV makers are upending Thailand's auto industry
New Year life lessons from country star: 'Never forget where you came from'
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/24982514/Quest_3_dock.jpg "Meta’s ‘software update issue’ has been breaking Quest headsets for weeks")
Meta’s ‘software update issue’ has been breaking Quest headsets for weeks
Passenger plane crashes in Kazakhstan: Emergencies ministry
It's official: Biden signs new law, designates bald eagle as 'national bird'
These are the top 7 issues facing the struggling restaurant industry in 2025
'Politics is bad for business.' Why Disney's Bob Iger is trying to avoid hot buttons
The 25 worst losses in college football history, including Baylor’s 2024 entry at Colorado
