Blog
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New Wildfire Smoke Resources
Almost overnight, most of California’s air is now thick with wildfire smoke. The wildfire season is here. Last month we shared several wildfire resources to assist asthma stakeholders as they support families and individuals with asthma. We now want to share a few more. First, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has updated its AirNow maps…
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Thunderstorm-Related Respiratory Illnesses Among Older Adults
JAMA Internal Medicine released a research letter on August 10, 2020, examining emergency visits for thunderstorm-related respiratory illnesses among older adults. The study was designed “to determine whether increases in emergency department (ED) visits for acute respiratory illnesses occur among Medicare beneficiaries in the days surrounding thunderstorms across the continental US.” The researchers note this…
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ASHRAE Releases Report on Damp Buildings, Human Health and HVAC Design
ASHRAE, formerly known as the American Society of Heating Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers, has released a report titled “Damp Buildings, Human Health and HVAC Design.” The report take an in-depth look at dampness-related health risks in buildings and provides details of symptoms of dampness. It also provides suggestions to improve HVAC systems and describes the…
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Economic Cost of Respiratory Conditions for Adults in America
In Morbidity and Mortality Week Report’s July 2020 edition, an article examines the economic cost of respiratory conditions for adults in America. The study focuses on asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and looks at employed adults over 18 between the years of 2011 and 2015. Researchers found that “the annualized total medical expenditures,…
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American Lung Association Launches Lungcast
The American Lung Association has launched a new podcast with their Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Albert Rizzo. Lungcast spotlights conversations with researchers, physicians, patients, and advocates about hot topics impacting lung health. The first episode aired August 4th, 2020, and featured Dr. David Ho, a disease expert helping to solve the COVID-19 pandemic. For more…
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UC Davis Releases Ventilation in Schools Video
The University of California Davis Western Cooling Efficiency Center has released a video on the importance of ventilation in schools. “Ventilation in Schools” is a six minute video that helps show why schools being ventilated and having good indoor air quality is critical to protecting the health and well-bring of those in the schools. It…
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The Looming Threat of Concurrent Influenza and COVID-19 Epidemics
On August 14th, 2020, researchers from the Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston published, “Influenza in the COVID-19 Era” in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The authors write, “A looming threat of concurrent influenza and COVID-19 epidemics is a major concern for public health officials and clinicians.” They recommend…
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Lessons Learned from a Decrease in Asthma Emergency Department Visits During the COVID-19 Pandemic
On August 4th, researchers from the National Health Service published an article in The Lancet: Respiratory Medicine on “COVID-19 and preschool wheeze care: lessons learned.” The authors explain that, “The pattern of increasing visits to the emergency department by children younger than 5 years with preschool wheeze and other respiratory conditions has been disrupted by…
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RAMP CHW Meeting: Wildfire smoke and asthma
Stephanie Holm, MD, MPH, Co-Director of the Western States Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Unit, presented “Wildfire smoke and asthma” on August 3, 2020. To view the full presentation, click here. RAMP hosts regular convenings for CHWs, promotoras, and others providing asthma education. For additional information about future meetings, including how to join them, please visit our…
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Study Suggests Type of Asthma (Allergic vs. Non-allergic) Impacts COVID-19 Severity in Adults
Researchers Zhu et al from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Massachusetts General Hospital analyzed data from 492,768 participants in the UK Biobank, which stores biologic samples from participants and is linked to their medical records. The researchers found 65,677 participants had asthma and 641 patients had severe COVID-19. “After adjusting for…
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Philanthropy’s Response to COVID-19 and Inequalities
In a Viewpoint published on July 23, 2020 in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the president of the Ford Foundation, Darren Walker, connects the disproportionate impacts on low-income communities and communities of color from COVID-19 with broader inequities and racism in our economy, policing and other systems. He calls on philanthropic and other wealthy organizations…
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Largest Cohort Study Yet Affirms No Increased Mortality with COVID-19 in Asthma Patients
Published on July 8, 2020, in the journal Nature, authors Elizabeth J. Williamson et al, reviewed results of the largest cohort study conducted by any country to date. They looked at risk factors connected to 10,926 COVID-19 deaths in the UK. They found that “COVID-19-related death was associated with: being male…; older age and deprivation…