Monthly Newsletter
Honoring California’s Patient Advocacy Organizations During Giving Tuesday and Beyond
November 2022
November 29 marked GivingTuesday, a global movement that takes place on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving to promote generosity and counter the consumerism of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Over the past year, CBF has highlighted many patient advocacy organizations in California that are truly making a difference in the lives of people who are living with chronic health conditions and severe illnesses. The following are links to some state and national patient advocacy groups to consider learning more about or lending support, whether its #GivingTuesday or any day:
Observe Crohn’s & Colitis Awareness Week (December 1-7) by donating to Connecting to Cure Crohn’s & Colitis. Co-founders Stacy Dylan and Dana Zatulove each have sons with IBD and experience firsthand the difficulty of watching their children suffer from these debilitating diseases. Yet instead of hopelessness, they found the dedication required to make a difference in the IBD community by raising awareness, supporting patients and families, and raising funds to find a cure for Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.American Lung Association in California is the leading statewide organization working to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease through education, advocacy and research.
Carrie’s Touch is devoted to health equity by saving more lives of Black women diagnosed with breast cancer and to ensure that they have an equal opportunity to live well after diagnosis.
The Clearity Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on bringing molecular profiling to the forefront of ovarian cancer diagnosis and treatment to help women live longer, healthier lives.
NAMI California is the leading organization of individuals working with mutual respect to provide help, hope and health for those impacted by serious mental illness.
Sickle Cell Disease Foundation in California addresses the needs of individuals with sickle cell disease and their families by emphasizing educational and support programs and services that meet the physical, psychosocial and economic needs of their clients.
The Wall Las Memorias serves low-income and hard-to-reach communities throughout Los Angeles educating community members on the importance of HIV and AIDS, substance abuse prevention, mental health stigma reduction for LGBTQI2-S transitional-aged youth, and health and wellness for transgender women and the non-binary community.
Women’s Alzheimer’s Movement was created to discover why Alzheimer’s discriminates against women and communities of color and to prepare women and their families for the impact of Alzheimer’s by providing them with information and tools to help prevent the disease.
Life Science Companies at the Forefront of Treatments and Vaccines for RSV
Now that the holidays are upon us and family, friends and co-workers are gathering more often, states like California are beginning to see an uptick in cases of COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Only three states in the U.S. currently have more flu activity than California, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control. The current RSV surge in California is severely impacting infants, toddlers and older adults. Life science companies like Pfizer and GSK both have vaccine candidates under FDA approval. Sanofi and AstraZeneca expect FDA submission acceptance in late 2022 for a RSV treatment that would become the first single-dose immunization for the broad infant population. Infectious disease experts say the best way to prevent RSV, COVID-19 and the flu is to:
- Stay up-to-date with immunizations;
- Avoid crowds or wear a mask around large groups of people;
- Take extra precautions around people who are immunocompromised by wearing masks, social distancing; avoiding indoor congregate settings;
- Stay home when sick.
Visit this link for more information.
Stay informed on the latest news and trends on the economic and health benefits of this industry by visiting CABiotech.org
For more information about California’s biotechnology and life science industry, contact California Biotechnology Foundation Executive Director Patty Cooper at (916) 764-2434 or [email protected].
For more information, contact Patty Cooper with the California Biotechnology Foundation at 916-764-2434 or [email protected].