Obesity is one of the direst health equity issues impacting the Black community, especially amid the rising Delta variant. Nearly half of Black Americans are living with obesity, one of the leading comorbidities for severe cases of COVID-19. In fact, 78% of people who were hospitalized, placed on a ventilator or died from COVID-19 were overweight or suffered from obesity. Yet, outdated Medicare rules block access to safe and effective treatment options and perpetuate dangerous and discriminatory stigmas. Congress must act now to modernize policies and provide obesity care to those who need it most.

This is an online on-the-record briefing for reporters with Admiral Rachel Levine, M.D., assistant secretary for health for the federal Department of Health and Human Services. The Alliance for Health Policy will host the briefing for credentialed reporters and Alliance President and CEO Sarah J. Dash will moderate.

The Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) will convene public health leaders to discuss how states will work to vaccinate the children ages 5-11, ongoing efforts to address vaccine hesitancy and health equity, how states are working to administer booster shots to J&J and Moderna recipients and more.

An estimated 80 million Americans currently lack access to dental care. As oral health is essential to the overall health and well-being of an individual, the high volume of those without access can have potentially devastating health consequences such as an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease, respiratory disease, chronic diseases, diabetes, and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Three main barriers to accessing dental care include coverage, provider shortages, and cultural barriers to oral health. In this webinar, we will hear from leaders in the field of oral health who are working to reduce disparities in access to and quality of care.

NPR is offering a one-year fellowship for three recent or near graduates interested in becoming public media journalists. The Kroc fellowships were made possible by a 2003 bequest to NPR from philanthropist Joan Kroc. Fellows receive a stipend of more receive “a stipend of more than $50,000 and benefits, including paid vacation.”

This session, hosted by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and the Capitol Hill Steering Committee on Pandemic Preparedness and Health Security will examine how Federal agencies, Congress, and the White House can foster greater agility, speed, innovation and coordination to re-imagine research and development for pandemic readiness. Speakers include: Eric Lander, MD, Director, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Dawn O’Connell, JD, Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services  and Gigi Gronvall, PhD, Senior Scholar, The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security.

When/ Where: 1 p.m. ET, November 17, 2021 (virtual)

Visit the organization’s website to register. 

This National Press Foundation briefing will help journalists explain the clinical trial results in plain language and also look ahead to how vaccinating children will affect family, schools, day care, extracurricular activities and more. And it will offer tips for covering vaccine hesitancy, misinformation and disinformation.

Tim Herrera, author, former editor of The New York Times’s Smarter Living and the writer of the Substack newsletter Freelancing With Tim, will be hosting a panel of experts who will dive into the nitty gritty of perfecting the pitch. Tim regularly hosts Zoom panels with industry veterans and also offer advice in the newsletter on pitching, setting rates, building a freelance business and writing.

When/Where: 4:30 p.m.-6:00 p.m. ET, Wednesday, November 17, 2021 (online)

Cost: $3.00

Visit this webpage to register.