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Every year on December 1, organizations and individuals worldwide observe World AIDS Day to show support for people living with and affected by HIV and honor those who have lost their lives to HIV-related illness.
This year’s theme is “World AIDS Day 35: Remember and Commit.” Over the past 35 years, significant progress has been made in addressing HIV and AIDS thanks to advancements in medical research, increased access to treatment and prevention, and a broader understanding of the virus.
The HHS Office of Minority Health (OMH) reaffirms its commitment to addressing the health disparities that disproportionately affect racial and ethnic minorities in the U.S., particularly Black, Latino, and LGBTQ+ individuals living with HIV. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in 2021, Black and African Americans accounted for 40% of all new HIV diagnoses; Hispanic/Latino people accounted for 29% of all new HIV diagnoses.
World AIDS Day serves as a yearly reminder of the global struggle to end HIV-related stigma. It is an opportunity to honor those we have lost and to commit to working toward a day when HIV is no longer a public health threat. Join OMH and its partners to help increase awareness about the HIV epidemic and share resources for health care providers and communities.
Find a testing site near you with HIV.gov's testing sites and care services locator, and get tested today!
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The first week of December is National Handwashing Awareness Week (December 1-7) in the U.S.
According to the CDC, handwashing with soap and water is one of the simplest, most effective ways to avoid getting sick and spreading illness to others. Keeping hands clean is especially important right now during the winter season to help stop the spread of COVID-19 and other illnesses. Studies have shown that handwashing can prevent 1 in 3 diarrhea-related sicknesses and 1 in 5 respiratory infections, such as a cold or the flu.
Follow these five easy steps to prevent the spread of germs:
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Wet your hands with clean, running water, turn off the tap, and apply soap.
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Lather your hands by rubbing them together with the soap.
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Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds.
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Rinse your hands well under clean, running water.
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Dry your hands using a clean towel or air dry them.
Learn how to keep your community safe through handwashing by visiting the CDC’s Life is Better with Clean Hands webpage and downloading free resources and materials in English and Spanish. Use the hashtags #KeepHandsClean and #ManténLasManosLimpias on your social media platforms to promote the importance of handwashing.
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December 4 - 8, 2023, is National Influenza Vaccination Week (NIVW), a national awareness week focused on highlighting the importance of influenza vaccination. Getting vaccinated can reduce flu illnesses, visits to doctors’ offices, and missed work and school due to flu, as well as make symptoms less severe and reduce flu-related hospitalizations and deaths. Flu vaccination is especially important for people from racial and ethnic minority and Tribal groups, who are often less likely to be vaccinated against flu and more likely to be hospitalized with flu.
Updated information and resources are available for the 2023-2024 flu season, including the composition of flu vaccines and more ways to find flu shots for you and your family at no or low cost. Visit GetMyFluShot.org to find a flu clinic near you. Visit CDC’s webpage to access more information about the 2023-2024 flu season and view vaccine recommendations
To learn more about how to protect yourself, your family, and your community from the flu this winter, visit the CDC’s influenza (flu) webpage, also available in Spanish.
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Don’t wait! Enroll in a Marketplace plan by December 15 to start the new year with full health insurance coverage.
The Marketplace Open Enrollment Period on HealthCare.gov generally runs from November 1 to January 15. Consumers who enroll by midnight on December 15, 2023, (5 a.m. EST on December 16) can get full-year coverage that starts January 1, 2024. Consumers who enroll after December 15 but before the official deadline in January will have coverage that starts February 1, 2024.
Last year, the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) released a new report showing significant gains in health insurance coverage among populations with historically higher uninsured rates, like Black and Latino consumers, during the 2021 and 2022 Open Enrollment periods. Latino enrollees increased by 53%; Black enrollees increased by 49%; American Indian/Alaska Native enrollees increased by 32%; and Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander enrollees increased by 6%.
Visit HealthCare.gov to compare plans today. Spread the word about open enrollment by sharing resources from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
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The holidays can make it hard to stick to healthy practices. The best ways to prevent most chronic diseases are to eat healthy, be physically active, and avoid tobacco and excessive alcohol use. With a little planning, you can approach the busiest time of the year with some strategies to stay on track. CDC has resources for making healthy choices this holiday season including trying a new recipe for your next family gathering.
Managing your mental wellness during the holiday season is also important and can be challenging when unaware of holiday triggers. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has resources to help manage mental health and emotional wellness.
The following are tips from SAMHSA to help recognize and manage stressors this holiday season:
- Take time to notice your own responses.
- Ask yourself “What helps and what hurts?”
- Talk about what the holidays may bring up for you.
- Pay attention to nutrition and exercise.
For additional resources to help addressing mental health, visit MedlinePlus and MentalHealth.gov. And for more healthy holiday tips visit CDC.
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In recognition of World AIDS Day, the OMH Knowledge Center is sharing a collection of recent articles and documents focusing on HIV/AIDS prevention and health care for racial and ethnic minorities. The collection explores topics like culturally appropriate HIV/AIDS care and sexual health programs, access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), health literacy among HIV/AIDS patients, and more. Many of these resources are available online for free.
You can access this collection through the OMH Knowledge Center online catalog.
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