Caribbean American Weekly - Issue 133

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ISSUE 133 VOLUME 22

September 9, 2021

SERVING THE CARIBBEAN AND HISPANIC COMMUNITIES!

20 Years After the 9/11 Nightmare – Journey So Far

BY LINDA NWOKE SPECIAL TO CAW

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his year's 9/11 memorial marks the 20th anniversary of one of the most devastating incidents ever recorded in the history of the United States. An organized tripartite assault on Americans took place in three locationsNew York, Pennsylvania, and Washington, DC on the same day, claiming the lives of almost 3000 people in the

Dr Chokshi On the Deadly Delta Variant ....3

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Changing Minds: What Moves the Needle for the Unvaccinated? ....19

Trump's Policy Virus Continues to Spread

BY MARIBEL HASTINGS AMERICA’S VOICE

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udging by recent developments on a variety of fronts, from immigration to abortion rights to voting rights, it would appear that the hand of Donald Trump and his Republican accomplices are scoring victories, even though they control neither the White House nor Congress.

Editorial credit: Evan El-Amin / Shutterstock.com

Veronica Campbell Brown Honored Award ....17

continued on page 15

Effectively Share Caregiving Duties with Siblings ....21

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Are Some People in the Caribbean Becoming the Architects of Their Own Destruction? ....2

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Can Teens Be Vaccinated Against Their Parents’ Will? ....13

Lessons From NYC’s Children of 9/11 Help the Kids of COVID as School Resumes ....8

Suicide Prevention Must Be Prioritized ....10

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CARIBBEAN SPECIAL REPORT Caribbean Consulates Anguilla 845 Third Avenue New York, N.Y. 10022 Tel: 212-745-0200 Antigua & Barbuda 305 East 47th Street, Suite 6A New York, N.Y. 10020 Tel: 212-541-4117 The Bahamas 231 East 46th Street New York, N.Y. 10017 Tel: 212-421-6420

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Are Some People in the Caribbean Becoming the Architects of Their Own Destruction?

BY SIR RONALD SANDERS

Barbados 820 Second Avenue, 5th Floor New York, N.Y. 10017 Tel: 212-551-4325 Belize 675 Third Avenue, Suite 1911 New York, N.Y. 10017 Tel: 212-593-0999 Dominica 800 Second Avenue, Suite 400H New York, N.Y. 10017 Tel: 212-949-0853 Dominican Republic 1500 Broadway, Suite 410 New York, N.Y. 10036 Tel: 212-599-8478 Grenada 685 Third Avenue, Suite 1101 New York, N.Y. 10017 Tel: 212-599-0301 Guyana 308 West 38th Street New York, N.Y. 10018 Tel: 212-947-5119 Haiti 815 Second Avenue,6th Floor New York, N.Y. 10017 Tel: 212-697-9767 Jamaica 767 Third Avenue, 2nd Floor New York, N.Y. 10017 Tel: 212-935-9000 Martinique 444 Madison Avenue, 16th Floor New York, N.Y. 10022 Tel: 212-838-6887 Montserrat 845 Third Avenue New York, N.Y. 10022 Tel: 212-745-0200 Panama 1212 Avenue of the Americas, 20th Floor New York, N.Y. 10036 Tel: 212-840-2450 St. Kitts & Nevis 414 East 75th Street, 5th Floor New York, N.Y. 10021 Tel: 212-535-5521 St. Lucia 800 Second Avenue, 9th Floor New York, N.Y. 10007 Tel: 212-697-9360 St. Maarten 675 Third Avenue, Suite 1807 New York, N.Y. 10017 Tel: 800-786-2278 St. Vincent & The Grenadines 801 Second Avenue, 21st Floor New York, N.Y. 10017 Tel: 212-687-4981 Trinidad & Tobago 125 Maiden Lane, 4th Floor New York, N.Y. 10038 Tel: 212-682-7272 For more Consulate information go to www.cawnyc.com/directory

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he question has to be asked. Are some people in Caribbean countries becoming the architects of their own and the region’s destruction?

There is clearly an organized anti-vaccination campaign throughout the region.

Who is behind the campaign is unclear, but what is evident is that opposition political parties and criminal elements in Caribbean societies are taking advantage of the anti-COVID-19 vaccination sentiment for their own narrow purposes.

So, while great strides had been made in countries such as Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados and Guyana to suppress the coronavirus and curb its spread through a vigorous inoculation program against the pandemic, that march is now being halted.

The process, that was taking many Caribbean countries to ‘herd’ or ‘community’ immunity, is now being derailed.

This means that the countries, particularly tourism-dependent ones, that were heading toward opening their borders and recovering their economies with the obvious attendant benefits for their populations, will now be a setback, if not gravely reversed.

The people of Caribbean countries where this situation takes hold will have no one to blame but themselves. Vaccines now exist and are available for most countries to inoculate 70 percent of their adult population. The provision by the government of the United States of Pfizer vaccines, suitable for children, to six CARICOM countries, has enhanced their capacity to immunize their people against the lethal coronavirus. The six countries that are recipients of Pfizer doses so far are Antigua and Barbuda (17,500); The Bahamas (397,000); Barbados (70,200); St Kitts-Nevis (11,700); St Vincent and the Grenadines (35,100), and Trinidad and Tobago (305,370). Other Caribbean countries will also be beneficiaries as soon as they settle requirements for storing and distributing the vaccines safely.

The US donation fortifies supplies of vaccines that have been delivered through the COVAX facility, administered by the World Health and Pan American Health Organizations, as well as gifts from India, Russia, and China to several countries.

Caribbean countries, principally Antigua and Barbuda and Barbados, enjoyed great success in the early stage of the inoculation program. But this initial enthusiasm by people who recognized the value of being immunized from a deadly disease concealed the anti-vaccination movement that had already

taken hold.

Oddly, the success of many Caribbean governments and health authorities in suppressing the coronavirus and curbing its spread also contributed to the propaganda that the virus would not kill and that greater risk exists from inoculation.

The anti-vaxxers seized upon the containment of the disease as some sort of warped evidence that it was better to contract it than to prevent it.

Consequently, there has been a recent resurgence of COVID-19 infections throughout the Caribbean. In Martinique, a French island neighboring Saint Lucia and Dominica, it is so bad that the authorities have locked down the country again and asked all tourists to leave.

While Martinique can afford this drastic step because it is politically and administratively a part of France which gives it budgetary support, should CARICOM countries take similar action, they would immediately suffer even further economic decline. This time, economic recovery and a return to any semblance of normal life would be extremely prolonged with long-term unemployment and severely reduced social welfare programs. Many economies would simply collapse.

Additionally, the strain on health systems that are only now being eased from COVID-19 cases would intensify beyond their capacity to cope. Further, other noncommunicable diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension, kidney failure, and cancer, would take many lives as resources are diverted again to persons infected by the coronavirus.

Anyone who doubts these real possibilities should check the situation in parts of the US where medical resources are much greater than any CARICOM country. For example, data from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control shows that hospital occupancy in Horry County is at 93.3 percent. The report reveals that 94 out of 98 beds in intensive care units are occupied, and 44 of them are COVID-19 patients. Thirty-four patients are currently on ventilators, and 21 of them are COVID-19 sufferers.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), COVID-

19 cases are rising in nearly 90 percent of jurisdictions in the US, with outbreaks in areas with low vaccination rates.

Politics played a huge part in the antivaccination campaign in the US, started by former president Donald Trump. It was adopted by right-wing religious and political groups who have exposed their congregations and supporters to illness and death by encouraging gatherings of unmasked persons at which they rail against vaccinations.

Political parties in some CARICOM countries have taken a page from the Trump playbook. They have jumped on the anti-vaccine sentiment in the expectation that protests and marches against inoculation would galvanize a mass movement to topple governments. They have gone as far as to encourage violations of the law and confrontations with police. In St Vincent, this emboldening of lawlessness resulted in a supporter of an opposition political party hurling a stone at the head of 75-year-old Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves that wounded him but could have killed him.

Political parties that irresponsibly align themselves with the anti-vaccination campaign, particularly to violate the law and confront police carrying out their role to protect the wider citizenry, are playing with fire. Not only are they exposing people to disease and death, they are also risking killing economies which, even if their political actions help to topple governments, will leave them with countries so ruined that the majority of their populations will never forgive them.

COVID-19 remains a threat to human life as great as atrocities resulting from terrorism or war. The fact that, unlike leprosy, the disease is not obvious until it has ravaged its victims only hides its lethal effects.

All leaders of Caribbean societies, including politicians who want power, should put the well-being of their people and their countries first.l Sir Ronald Sanders is currently Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the United States and the Organization of American States.

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THOUGHTS

What to Know About the Delta Variant

BY DR. DAVE A. CHOKSHI

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rom the beginning of the COVID19 pandemic, our knowledge about the virus has constantly evolved, and we are now confronting a new challenge. Over the past several months, we have seen a rise in COVID-19 infections as a result of the delta variant, a new strain of the original virus causing COVID-19. As of last week, delta made up over 99% of COVID-19 cases in New York City, up from 9% in early June.

Understandably, many New Yorkers have questions about what delta is and how it will impact everyday life. Here are three things to know.

First things first: Vaccines. Viruses are tricky and will mutate in order to survive.

The delta variant is a prime example; it has evolved to become fast and formidable. Compared to the original COVID19, it is at least twice as contagious, and it may lead to more serious illness.

The good news is, we can protect ourselves and our community by getting vaccinated. The vaccines lower your chances of getting COVID-19, and if you do get infected, they will significantly lower your risk of hospitalization or

death. In fact, a new study on people in New York found that, even with the delta variant spreading, COVID-19 vaccines were more than 90% effective in preventing hospitalizations.

So if you are unvaccinated, get to the nearest vaccination site, or sign up to get the vaccine at home. It has never been easier: just call 877-VAX4NYC. Get your first dose, second dose – and third only if your doctor has said that you are significantly immunocompromised. The vast majority of New Yorkers do not need a third dose of the vaccine at this time.

Second, masks. I urge New Yorkers to continue to wear masks indoors, regardless of whether you’re vaccinated or not.

We know that masks stop the spread of COVID-19. In New York City, masks are required on all public transportation, in health care settings, and in schools, because most children remain unvaccinated. But wearing a snug-fitting, highquality mask in all indoor settings is another way to protect yourself and those around you.

Third, our basic public health guidance remains as critical as it has always been: wash your hands, keep your distance, stay home if you’re feeling ill, and get tested if you’ve been exposed to COVID-19. These steps have helped us all stay safe throughout the pandemic, and they are an absolute must for anyone who is not yet fully vaccinated.

As the City’s doctor, I want all New Yorkers to know that, while the delta variant is spreading quickly in our communities, we do have a pathway out of the pandemic with vaccination. We have come so far in our fight against COVID19. I remain hopeful that as more New Yorkers get vaccinated, we will return to our normal lives again, safely. l Dr. Dave Chokshi is New York City’s Health Commissioner

TEAM My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. —Hosea 4:6 Publisher I.Q. INC. Managing Editor & Editor-in-Chief

Pearl Phillip Legal Advisor Brian Figeroux, Esq. Graphic & Website Designers Praim Samsoondar Kenrick Williams Feature Writers Linda Nwoke Victoria Falk Contributors Jennine Estes Tarsha Gibbons Janet Howard Mary Campbell Travis Morales Chris Tobias Email info@myiqinc.com Telephone 718-771-0988 Website www.cawnyc.com

Texas Abortion Law Sets Dangerous Precedent, Leaving Women and Choice Behind

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ATIONWIDE: The U.S. Supreme Court refused to block a bill enacted by the Texas State Senate this week that will make abortion nearly impossible in the state, setting the limit at six weeks of gestation while also allowing for any party to sue women they believe had an abortion or helped someone get one. This is an attack on the nearly seven million women of reproductive age in Texas and for all who support access to a safe and legal abortion.

Among those facing the repercussions of the new law, Black and Latina women,

low-income folks, and rural residents will be affected the most. This law will make Texas the state with the most extreme abortion ban in the United States, a sad yet not unexpected narrative to derive from a state legislature with just 26% of its members being female. While women will be the most affected by this new statute, they ultimately did not have a voice in its passage.

Right now, the vast majority of women in Texas seeking an abortion are being denied the care that they need. Under this law, it is estimated that only 16% of

Texans seeking abortion will be able to access it in-state, while 46% of people seeking abortions in Texans will carry their pregnancies to term against their will.

“The precedent being set here is dangerous — every person should be able to make their own choices in regard to their health. Your personal medical decisions should never be controlled by politicians, neighbors, or strangers. Abortion rights are in grave danger, in Texas and nationwide, but for our community it means so much more. Uninformed men are con-

trolling the narrative and creating hurdles for women while putting their lives in the hands of strangers. This law will have damaging effects on low-income and BIPOC women who are already struggling, but it will also have negative longterm effects on our healthcare system nationally, and it’s clear that this is the intention. Texas’ law is just one of 600 restrictions introduced so far in 2021 across the country. We need to fight back and say enough is enough,” said Yadira Sanchez, co-executive director of Poder Latinx. l

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CIVIL RIGHTS

How Bullying and Spying on Muslims After 9/11 Spawned a Justice-Seeking Generation

BY CLAUDIA IRIZARRY APONTE ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY GABRIEL SANDOVAL, THE CITY

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he weeks and months after Sept.

11, 2001, were marked by a profound sense of both loss and unity, as much of the city banded together in an emotional response to the attacks on the World Trade Center.

But for many Muslim, Middle Eastern and South Asian New Yorkers, those emotions led to new reasons to be afraid: Children were harassed on their way to school and taunted as “terrorists;” immigration crackdowns tore apart communities like Little Pakistan in Brooklyn; and an NYPD surveillance program spied on innocent people in New York and beyond for more than a decade.

“There’s a lot of trauma,” associated with the Islamophobic backlash, said 30year-old Shahana Hanif of Brooklyn, a daughter of Bangladeshi immigrants who is poised to become the first Muslim woman elected to the City Council.

But what shines through 20 years later is the organizing within the city’s Muslim communities that the era fostered.

Editorial credit: miker / Shutterstock.com

Grassroots groups serving heavily Muslim and South Asian communities, like the Taxi Workers Alliance, Desis Rising Up and Moving and South Asian Youth Action, were all created or expanded in the post-9/11 era.

And this year, more Muslims ran for local office in New York City than ever before.

“We cultivated these spaces after being targeted, surveilled,” Hanif said. “It’s a victory in our organizing in the last two decades.”

Ruining Trust The NYPD’s surveillance of Muslim communities was revealed by a 2011 Pulitzer Prize-winning Associated Press

investigation that noted the department’s spying, under former Mayor Mike Bloomberg’s leadership, extended from the city into the tri-state area.

The sprawling program targeted people based on a broad set of alleged “key indicators” of violence, which included country of origin, enrollment in religious school, mosque attendance, and even hanging out in ethnic coffee shops and restaurants, The AP found. Cops reportedly went undercover as Islamic converts and hired informants to spy on their neighbors.

A spokesperson for the NYPD did not immediately respond to THE CITY’s request for comment.

Long before the scope of the surveil-

lance was exposed by the press, residents of neighborhoods being spied on had suspected something was up, according to multiple people who spoke with THE CITY. They cited everything from odd interactions with law enforcement to generally suspicious activity by others in the community.

“What we thought of in an abstract way suddenly became very concrete,” said Asad Dandia, 28, who charged he was spied on as a teenager in Brooklyn and later joined a class-action lawsuit against the NYPD. In March 2012, Dandia said he got a Facebook message from someone who wanted to join Muslims Giving Back, the charity group that he co-founded as a student at CUNY’s Brooklyn College.

That person became a close friend, even dining with Dandia’s family at their Brighton Beach home. By the fall, he said, the young man confessed he was an NYPD informant.

“The community was rattled,” said Dandia. “All of us were thinking, ‘What are the ramifications of this?’”

Dandia’s group wasn’t the only one tar-

continued on page 5

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CIVIL RIGHTS Bullying and Spying/ continued from page 4 geted: Desis Rising Up and Moving, an advocacy group for those in the Indian diaspora, was also infiltrated by NYPD informants around that time, according to Fahd Ahmed, DRUM’s executive director.

“The social fabric of our community got damaged,” said Ahmed, who noted that many Sikhs, followers of a religion that has nothing to do with Islam, became targets of harassment because of their turbans.

Dandia went on to join one of two landmark lawsuits against the NYPD the following year, Raza v. City of New York, which triggered reforms to protect against discriminatory surveillance in a 2017 settlement. The other lawsuit, Hassan v. City of New York, was settled in 2018.

Although the court’s decision was considered a victory by many, it did little to comfort others whose trust in law enforcement and local government became deeply eroded.

Inspired to Defend The fallout of the surveillance program could be seen a turning point for many in the Muslim and South Asian communities, and the moment that galvanized neighbors to organize and become more civically engaged.

A decade after the extent of the surveillance was first revealed, a groundswell of young Muslims sought local public office.

Among them was Tahanie Aboushi, a civil rights attorney who was raised in Brooklyn and Staten Island. Earlier this year, she campaigned to succeed embattled Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance Jr., running on a decarceration platform.

She earned endorsements from progressive stalwarts like U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), and Reps. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) and Rashida Tlaib (DMich.), but finished a distant third in the June Democratic primary.

Hanif, meanwhile, is expected to cruise to election in November after winning the primary for the Brooklyn seat currently occupied by her boss, Councilmember Brad Lander, who is now the Democratic nominee for comptroller.

For Hanif, being a child on 9/11 and during its aftermath offered no shelter from Islamophobia: She recalls being called a “terrorist” by strangers on her way to her mosque, and how she stopped wearing her hijab in public.

The harassment became so overwhelming that she and her cousins, then ages 10 and 11, penned a letter to then-President George W. Bush urging him to act.

“My politicizing is a direct result of being raised in that climate,” she said.

Aboushi, who was a high-schooler in 2001, said the experience also formed her.

“You remember all of it because it completely consumed your life,” she said in an interview. “Whether you were going to the grocery store or playing in the park, or walking through the hallways of your school, you were constantly the sub-

ject of that hate and anger and frustration and ignorance.”

She said the experience contributed to her desire to become an attorney “and speak for those that might be afraid to speak up, and to make sure that our rights are protected.”

“We had to learn, at least for me, how to advocate for myself, but advocate for others in the community, protect our rights and to be aware of what was going on,” added Aboushi, who runs a civilrights law firm with her siblings.

A Community Group Grows Before September, 2001, Mohammad Razvi and his family operated several successful businesses on Coney Island Avenue in the part of Midwood known as Little Pakistan. He owned a 99-cent store, a real estate company and a restaurant. His father had pizzerias and a grocery store that dated back to the 1980s.

After the 9/11 attacks, Razvi told THE CITY, he knew he needed to help Muslim families facing harassment, discrimination and deportation.

In Feb. 2002, he formed a nonprofit organization, aiming to provide support to the community for maybe six months.

But nearly two decades later, Razvi’s nonprofit, the Council of Peoples Organization, is going strong.

“What was a 1,000-square-foot office space is now currently about 25,000square-foot office space. And what was run by volunteers now has about 50 employees and 60 volunteers,” Razvi said.

In 2010, COPO started hosting Muslim Youth Career Day, bringing together several city, state and federal law enforcement agencies.

“The best thing was for the youth, the way they ask those questions, very, very direct, you know, ‘Why did you knock on the door and pick up my uncle?’” he said As a result of the program, many Muslims have joined law enforcement, Razvi said.

‘Hesitation and Distrust’ Yet while positive civic engagement in these communities grew after 9/11, so did feelings of isolation — and the anxiety that any political conversation or interaction with a stranger could make you a target.

“There still is a hesitation and distrust to be in places of worship and community centers, to continue as we were,” observed Aboushi.

Added Ahmed, who leads DRUM: “The ways we engage with each other, so much of that got shattered because we don’t know who’s listening and we don’t know who’s watching.”

“Part of the enduring legacy is that these really horrifying practices were hastily put together based on a lot of hatred and innuendo on what it means to be Muslim American,” Scott Simpson of Muslim Advocates, a Washington-based civil rights group, said in an interview with THE CITY last year.

“This is going to continue to haunt us for a long time,” he added.

During his short-lived run for president last year, Bloomberg doubled down on the program, declaring that spying on

Muslims was “the right thing to do.”

“We had just lost 3,000 people on 9/11,” he said in an interview with PBS Newshour. “Of course we were supposed to do that.”

He also contended the courts ruled the program was “exactly within the law.”

In reality, settlements from two separate lawsuits acknowledged that Muslims were improperly targeted, and reforms were later made to protect against religion-based surveillance.

Bloomberg’s remarks offended Aboushi, who noted the similarities between the three-term mayor’s rhetoric and the antiMuslim policies of former President Donald Trump.

“The targeting of Muslims didn’t start with Trump: It was something that was carried on from Bloomberg’s spying on Muslims, and that contributed to someone like Trump’s rise,” Aboushi said, referring to the former president’s Muslim travel ban.

“Trump’s actions didn’t happen in a vacuum: history and context is important and that includes Bloomberg’s spying on Muslims, and being unapologetic and deliberate about that,” she added.

‘In The History Books’ As a young girl, Hanif was no stranger to Islamophobic bullying and harassment, but she said she was sheltered from the full scope of the surveillance tactics until she enrolled in Brooklyn College.

She believe the history should be taught in the city’s schools, also noting that in

her experience 20 years ago, “schools and teachers were not equipped to deal with” a response to Islamophobic bullying.

“We knew families were getting deported. But I had no idea to what extent surveillance was taking place until at Brooklyn College, where informants were roaming free,” she said. “None of this is being taught in middle schools.

None of this has been taught in high schools.”

Dandia, now an urban studies master’s candidate at the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies, noted that the mass surveillance of Muslims didn’t end with the Bloomberg era or only resume under Trump.

He cited the Countering Violence Extremism Task Force, an Obama-era policy meant to clamp down on domestic terrorism that ended up disproportionately targeting Muslims and was weaponized in the Trump era.

“I think the conversation ought to pivot towards holding the Democratic establishment as a whole accountable for its complicity in lots of the policies that Bloomberg himself piloted in New York,” he said. “[The advocacy] gets exhausting after a while, but I think it’s worth it because we scored a bunch of significant policy changes,” said Dandia. “We’re in the history books.” l

This story was published on Sept.7, 2021

by THE CITY.

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IN THE NEWS 20 Years After 9/11 continued from page 1 country, with over 2700 persons lost, specifically in New York City.

Post-attack, it has continued to claim the lives of many who participated in the evacuation and clean-up, many of whom developed various health challenges. It is still re-lived in the minds of most Americans and anyone on American soil.

In less than a month to the day of the remembrance of the terrorist attack, thirteen young U.S servicemen and women serving our country in Afghanistan were killed by a suicide bomber during the evacuation in Kabul. The suicide bombing occurred in the same country where the terrorist network originated committed the heinous crime in 2001, a country that served as the training camps of the Al-Qaeda terrorists.

The deadly act of terrorism, albeit in a distant city, reminded the world and Americans especially, of the price paid for the freedom and relative peace experienced over the years from those who detest the country. From President Joe Biden to the family's members of the fallen heroes and several people watched in heartbreak: as the bodies, including 5 Marines who were only 20 years old, and served in a war that started the same year they were born and transported to their families, having paid the ultimate price for their country.

A single Rose that is left by someone's name at the 9/11 memorial in New York City Effects of Terrorism Setting aside the tumultuous emotions that arise from such a tragedy, one begins to question the reason for such thoughts that result in the act of terrorism. Studies show that the central emotion to any terrorist attack is 'hatred,' an intense negative emotion borne from extremist reasoning that often results in destruction and sometimes death. Most terrorist attacks are deliberate acts to harm and destroy people, places, or objects.

It is a manufactured reasoned act to incite fear, uncertainty, and sometimes rebellion. The emotions of fear spread in ripples from the victims and survivors to

others around. And in this time of technological advancement to people far from the incident through the media. Beyond the physical injuries and damages, the psychological suffering inflicted by terrorism is part of the consequences.

Countries must develop intervention strategies to address the confrontation and reduce the impact of such traumatic experiences among the citizens, specifically by focusing on the ways to limit the adverse psychological effects of terrorism.

Over time, several experts have studied the effect of traumatic experiences on individuals, revealing that individuals respond differently to the impact of traumatic events. They explained that there are variances across psychological and physical reactions caused by the interaction between the events and factors like genetic composition, social circumstances, experiences, and expectations.

Kessler et al.,1995 explain that those exposed to a traumatic event show increased psychiatric disorders like acute stress disorder, substance use, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and generalized anxiety disorder. Such studies have extended into traumatic events related to terrorist attacks.

Since the 9/11 attack in the states, studies have expanded into the youths, necessitated because adults get caught up in their feelings and forget that some of their fears and reactions also affect children and young ones. Hence, the focus is on uncovering the effect of terrorism on adolescents. In other countries where terrorism prevails, stakeholders, including parents, teachers, and health care providers, have revealed an ongoing struggle to support adolescents in coping with the heightened fear and stress that accompanies 'feeling unsafe and threatened."

Coping with Stress and Anxiety Associated with Terrorist-based Traumatic Events Despite efforts at various levels, when an unfortunate incident like terrorism occurs, specific steps and strategies must be considered to ameliorate the effect of the malady on the individual level.

Professionals such as psychologists, counselors, and therapists have proven that evidence-based interventions can help people cope with traumatic experiences from such incidents.

One of the methods is the Psychological

First Aid (PFA), an intervention employed by experts in managing postdisaster or terrorist attacks. It was initially designed to help families, parents, children, and adolescents cope with specific stressors. However, its use has now expanded to the treatment of traumatic events.

The approach operates on providing support to the individual by sharing information to help them understand the stress and how to cope. It works on the premise that most survivors and secondary victims (others affected by such events) will have a broad range of early reactions that can cut across spiritual, behavioral, physical, and psychological symptoms. Some of which will cause enough distress to interfere with the person's ability to cope. The treatment helps individuals reduce the feelings of distress and acquire the ability to cope with the situation using various strategies, which improves their functionality over the short or long term. Professionals like mental health providers and disaster response workers administer the technique over days and weeks in various settings – face to face and online.

Another treatment method recognized by the World Health Organization is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which focuses on helping adults change their obstructive way of thinking and behavior patterns caused by traumatic stress. For children and adolescents, most treatment options take place in a family-based intervention involving the child's caregivers and parents during their therapy.

The Road Ahead As the years' pass, several approaches are initiated to reduce terrorists' chance at another attack. A comprehensive national security strategy has been created and implemented at several levels, involving the delicate act of balancing strict security measures against law-backed economic, social, and communities-driven policies.

The government at the federal level continues to manage countries with significant threats identified by the global terrorism index as Afghanistan and Iraq.

They also work with bilateral and multilateral agencies.

At the state and community level, more educative programs and projects are initiated toward building tolerance in communities.

As a community with diverse backgrounds, cultures, and countries, we will try to defy every form of hatred between us. Sometimes it is overwhelming with outbursts expressed as physical and verbal attacks toward other people based on perceived differences in race, religious belief/affiliation, ethnic or skin color.

As we reflect on the past years' lessons and continue to grieve with families that have lost family members due to terrorism, we celebrate their patriotism and bravery, which we will never forget. We must try to respect our differences as young and old, poor and rich, and whatever the classification might be, yet committed to promoting equity and inclusion expected of a great nation while working toward a future that is filled with less hate.l

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EDUCATION

Lessons From NYC’s Children of 9/11 Help the Kids of COVID as School Resumes

BY SAMANTHA MALDONADO THE CITY

S

carlet Taveras was 17 when she evacuated her high school, just south of the World Trade Center, on Sept. 11, 2001.

Now, 20 years later, after a career in fashion that took her to Europe and a stint in Atlanta, Taveras is back in her childhood home in Washington Heights — this time, as the mom of two sons in public school.

Her boys, ages 9 and 12, are preparing to go back to full-time, in-person school next week. Taveras is worried about how they’ll fare during the transition after more than a year of remote learning, in which they feared going outside, saw family members die of COVID-19 — and navigated the move to a new state.

The behaviors and feelings she’s noticed in her sons as they live through the pandemic are similar to — but not exactly the same as — what she and her friends experienced in their teenage years in the wake of the terrorist attacks.

She credits the robust mental health support and resources she received in high school as essential to helping her cope and rebound from the trauma of 9/11 — and hopes quality services will be available for her kids, too.

“We were pretty bad, but the kids now are 10 times worse,” Taveras said.

The terror attacks taught valuable lessons about how trauma manifests in students and how schools can offer mental health support in the era of COVID-19, service providers and experts interviewed by THE CITY said.

But because no two disasters are the same, the experts say, New York City faces new challenges to provide adequate care to its nearly 1.1 million students, whose lives have been forever upended by the pandemic.

‘Cry at Your Desk’ The importance of addressing mental health in New York City schools can in part be traced back to 9/11, which marked a major shift.

Kevin Dahill-Fuchel, the executive director of the nonprofit Counseling in Schools, who has been working with the New York City school system since 1993, said that before the attacks, officials thought of mental health in a narrow way, as something reserved only for those going through a particularly hard time.

“September 11 was a moment of awakening to the need for there to be a broad special availability for children and adults in a time of large-scale crisis,” he said.

There’s been “a huge evolution over these 20 years to the recognition of the impact of emotional needs not just on

Students are socially distanced at One World Middle School in The Bronx.

Michael Appleton/Mayor’s Office

children’s academic progress, but just their growth and development in general.”

After 9/11, FEMA funded Project Liberty, which allowed state and local agencies to create crisis counseling programs in schools, as well as conduct outreach to students and families. Money from the project helped schools expand their mental health programs.

Taveras remembered the approach from her school — the Leadership and Public Services High School — was, “We’re happy to see you, we’re here to help you, whatever you need, if you cry at your desk, it’s OK.” She said she visited a guidance counselor frequently, taking advantage of an “open-door policy.”

The therapists on hand helped too, as did the out-of-school mentors who assisted with college applications and consistently checked in with the students.

Hands-on activities like knitting and trust-building exercises helped her and her peers cope.

Such offerings have informed how local schools tackle mental health concerns now.

Back-to-School Concerns The Department of Education says it’s approaching this back-to-school season with students’ mental health at top of mind.

“After the trauma caused by the pandemic, we are opening healing-centered schools this fall where each child will have a caring adult they can go to when in need,” said Nathaniel Styer, a DOE spokesperson. “The mental health of our students is at the core of our reopening plan, and that is reflected in the significant investments we’ve made in hiring over 500 social workers and prioritizing social-emotional learning and screenings.”

Styer declined to disclose how many of the promised 500 social workers the DOE had hired at this point, only noting, “Schools are well on their way to hiring the social workers for those positions.”

The DOE also promised to add to the

system 100 new school psychologists.

Additionally, the DOE will train mental health workers to provide care to students in groups across 350 of the system’s more than 1,800 schools. The department also has trained over 75,000 school staff to recognize signs of trauma in students, respond as needed and foster community.

And schools in the 26 neighborhoods hardest hit by COVID are connecting with mental health clinics so that students can receive therapy and clinical services.

Even as the DOE strengthens and expands programs already in place, there’s significant concern as to whether the efforts will be sufficient.

A 2019 report from the city’s Independent Budget Office found that about 44% of schools lacked social workers during the 2018-2019 school year. Last school year, the city employed just under 4,480 full- and part-time social workers and guidance counselors to serve over a million students.

Taveras said the DOE’s plan to address mental health concerns has been unclear to her, despite regular emails from her kids’ schools that detail COVID protocols and logistics.

“What will the first day of school look like?” she said. “There’s a lot of emphasis on the vaccine, but nothing about, ‘We’re committed to making sure your kid is OK,’ no list of services.”

Styer said parents this week will receive communications about the city’s Bridge to School Plan 2.0, which is enhancing the plan from last school year that trained school leaders in how to foster healing in the classroom.

Fear Is Local Adequately responding to the mental health issues students may be facing will be a challenge for schools, given what’s known so far about how young people are coping, and remembering how 9/11 affected students, said Christina Hoven, a professor of clinical epidemiology in psychiatry at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.

In 2002, Hoven conducted a study of more than 8,000 public school children six months after 9/11.

She found that over 10% of the students experienced multiple symptoms consistent with post traumatic stress disorder and nearly 27% displayed mental health problems. Two-thirds of the students had previously been exposed to trauma, compounding the severity of their responses.

Hoven said she expects to see similar outcomes — including high rates of anxiety and depression — in children due to the pandemic, even though it’s different from 9/11.

There’s no “ground zero” from which the impact of the pandemic radiates, but young people are scared of losing a parent to COVID or getting sick themselves.

They’re affected if they knew family and friends who became sick or died.

And even for those whose families COVID spared, the isolation, uncertainty and disrupted routines have taken a toll.

“The orders of magnitude of traumatic effects of COVID are way far greater than was the case for 9/11,” said Dr. Pamela Cantor, founder and senior science advisor of Turnaround for Children, and an author of a study on the impact 9/11 had on New York City school children. “But nonetheless, the 9/11 message was that for children, what causes fear for them is local, it’s what’s immediately in their environment.”

Sleepless Nights Two decades ago, Taveras noticed she and her classmates often had angry outbursts.

She experienced sleepless nights, instead spending her time in the living room in front of the TV, waiting for responders to find people in the rubble. For years, if she heard a plane, she’d duck. To this day, her heart palpitates and hands sweat at the sound of sirens or clanging metal.

Now, she’s attuned to changes she’s observed in her sons since the beginning of the pandemic, largely from the isolation and disconnect that came with remote learning. They became stressed and struggled to focus, she said.

Her older son was depressed and unmoored. When she moved the family from Atlanta to Manhattan, she sought therapeutic care for him at Mount Sinai Hospital. Her younger son began to bite his nails, a habit that went away after he spent six weeks at summer camp.

So far, such effects seem widespread: a national poll from the University of Michigan released in March found that 46% of parents observed new or worsening mental health issues in their teens since the pandemic started.

Across the country, youth visits to emergency rooms for mental health issues increased, according to the U.S. continued on page 9

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EDUCATION

9

Lessons from Children of 9/11 continued from page 8 Centers for Disease Control.

‘No Script to This’ Experts point to parental involvement as the key to monitoring students’ mental health and behaviors — and noticing internalized and less apparent symptoms of trauma. Also crucial: a communitycentered approach to create stability in student’s lives as they go back to school.

The transition back to the classroom can be a relief to kids bogged down by the monotony and loneliness of online school, but it can be an added stressor.

What can make a difference, experts say, is a culture of safety and belonging.

“The beginning part of going is often the hardest,” said Dr. Linda Chokroverty, a child and adolescent psychiatrist who works in the ER at Montefiore Hospital and helped coordinate a mental health response to 9/11 after the attack.

“And then once they’re there, the familiarity of the activities, the people, the kids — that really helps ground them and engage them,” she added.

Dominick Nigro, the director of the Office of Student Services for public schools in Staten Island until 2003, said the most important aspect of his district’s response was the partnerships forged with community-based organizations.

They boasted local ties and helped enhance the schools’ efforts to engage and support families and students.

“There was no script to this. We had a

Desks were placed at a distance from each other in the cafeteria of a Bronx middle and high school that hosted summer school. Christina Veiga / Chalkbeat

crisis plan in place, and we used that as the fundamental framework, but the magnitude was something none of us expected,” said Nigro, now an advisor to the National Center for School Crisis and Bereavement at the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

‘What Is Normal?’

Helaina Hovitz, 32, a student at Lower Manhattan’s Intermediate School 89 during 9/11, thought her school’s mental health response to the attack was inadequate. She said her peers only sought treatment well into their 20s.

“I think the reason so many kids slipped by, and the reason that I could have slipped through the cracks, is because I continued to do well in school, I continued to want to hang out with my friends,” said Hovitz, now a writer and mental health advocate.

“I think there’s this belief that unless a kid is really acting out or really going into themselves and their grades are dropping, or they are antisocial,” they may not need help, she added.

The efforts, where they were concentrated, were largely successful, according to studies of how children fared.

“All of that intervention after 9/11 worked. Those children actually did better, in the short-term they did better than the children in the outlying areas who had nothing,” said Hoven, describing how resources poured into schools closer to Ground Zero compared to schools outside of Manhattan.

“The most important lesson of that is all the children, not just those who appear to be affected, but all children are affected by a cataclysmic event, like COVID, like 9/11, like Sandy, like any disaster,” she added.

Scarlet Taveras, a Lower Manhattan high school student during 9/11, is getting ready to send her sons to school as in-person classes resume. Courtesy of Scarlet Taveras

In the COVID era, Hoven emphasized the need for schools and officials to pay particular attention to poorer areas. She noted that Black, Asian and Hispanic students face a particularly high need and require culturally appropriate resources and services, including in other languages.

For her part, Taveras said she’s prepped her soon-to-be eighth and fifth graders to prioritize their wellbeing over grades as they go back to school.

“There’s this rush to go back to normal at this point, but what is normal?” she said. “There’s so much pressure to be all these things, but we’re just trying to make it through.”l This story was published on Sept.8, 2021

by THE CITY.

YOU ALWAYS KEEP THEM SAFE. WITH VACCINES, THEY’LL BE EVEN SAFER. CHILDREN AGES 12-17 CAN NOW BE VACCINATED AGAINST COVID-19.

Get your child vaccinated for a safe return to school. Children who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 are less likely to get and spread COVID-19.

LET’S KEEP OUR CHILDREN SAFE AND OUR SCHOOLS COVID-FREE. For more information about COVID-19 vaccines and where to get one, visit nyc.gov/covidvaccine.

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10

SPECIAL REPORT

Suicide Prevention Must Be Prioritized After 18 months of COVID-19 Pandemic, Says PAHO

W

ashington, DC: In the framework of World Suicide Prevention Day, which takes place on September 10 each year, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) warns that the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the risk factors associated with suicidal behaviors and calls for prioritizing its prevention.

Studies have shown that the pandemic has amplified risk factors associated with suicide, such as job or economic loss, trauma or abuse, mental health disorders, and barriers to accessing health care. Around 50% of people who participated in a World Economic Forum survey in Chile, Brazil, Peru and Canada one year after the start of the pandemic, reported that their mental health had declined.

"Suicide is an urgent public health problem and its prevention must be a national priority," said Renato Oliveira e Souza, head of the Mental Health Unit at PAHO. "We need concrete action from all elements of society to put an end to these deaths, and for govern-

Editorial credit: Art Babych / Shutterstock.com

ments to create and invest in a comprehensive national strategy to improve suicide prevention and care," he added.

Suicide remains one of the leading causes of death in the world, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), accounting for one in every 100 deaths. Each year, more people die from suicide than from HIV, malaria or breast cancer, or from war and homicide.

Suicide is also the fourth leading cause of death worldwide among young people aged between 15 to 29, after road traffic accidents, tuberculosis and interpersonal violence.

According to WHO's World Health Statistics 2019, 97,339 people died by suicide in the Americas in 2019 and it is estimated that suicide attempts may have been 20 times that number. Males

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accounted for around 77% of all deaths from suicide and, although progress has been made in the development of evidence-based interventions in suicide prevention, many countries continue to have increasing rates.

"Losing a loved one to suicide is heartbreaking and preventable," said Oliveira e Souza. WHO's recent LIVE LIFE guidance aims to support national efforts and help the world reach the goal of reducing the global suicide rate by one-third by 2030.

Key proven suicide prevention measures include limiting access to means of suicide (such as pesticides and firearms), early identification, assessment, management and follow-up of people affected by suicidal thoughts and behaviors, fostering adolescent socialemotional skills, and educating the media in responsible reporting on suicide.

Stigma, limited resources, and lack of awareness remain major barriers to help-seeking, highlighting the need for mental health literacy and anti-stigma campaigns.

"Creating Hope through Action" is the theme of this year's World Suicide Prevention Day, organized by the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) and endorsed by WHO, with the overall goal of raising awareness of suicide prevention worldwide.

Suicide warning signs Most suicides are preceded by verbal or behavioral warning signs such as talking about wanting to die, feeling great guilt or shame, or feeling a burden on others.

Other signs are feeling empty, hopeless, trapped, or with no reason to live; feeling extremely sad, anxious, agitated, or full of anger; or with unbearable pain, whether emotional or physical.

Behavioral changes such as making a plan or researching ways to die; staying away from friends, saying goodbye, giving away important items or making a will; doing very risky things like driving at extreme speed; showing extreme mood swings; eating or sleeping too much or too little; using drugs or alcohol more often can also be warning signs of suicide.

Effective interventions to prevent suicide are available. On a personal level, early detection and treatment of depression and alcohol use disorders are critical to suicide prevention, as well as follow-up contact with those who have tried suicide and psychosocial support in communities. If a person detects warning signs of suicide themselves or in someone they know, they should seek help from a health care professional as soon as possible.l

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HOME OWNERSHIP

11

How to Clean Your Home After a Flood

BY CONSUMER REPORTS

I

f your house has flooded, once your local police or fire department says you can return, you’re in a race against mold growth to clear out debris from your home. If you have flood insurance, the very first thing to do is file a claim—you have only 60 days to send in a proof of loss form documenting the contents of your home.

Though you may want to rush back to your home and start the cleanup process, take care because there can be unseen hazards.

“A home or area that has been flooded should first be determined to be safe, with no structural, electrical, or other hazards,” says Enesta Jones, a spokesperson for the Environmental Protection Agency.

Strong winds and flood waters can down power lines. And rushing water can erode the ground around buried utilities, potentially causing breaks in gas mains.

So be sure to check for the smell of gas outside your home, as well as any dangling electrical wires, and call the gas or electric company, or the police or fire department if you find evidence of either.

If you see any structural damage to the outside of the house, such as cracks or shifting of the foundation, or a tree on your house, bring in a building inspector

or structural engineer, the Federal Emergency Management Agency advises.

You’ll want to check for gas leaks and structural damage inside the home, too, says Don Huber, Consumer Reports’ director of product safety. If you smell gas once you’re inside, immediately turn off the main gas valve, open up all the windows, go outside, and call 911 and your gas company.

If you get to the point where you realize you’re in over your head, do yourself a favor and hire some professional help.

You can find a pro through a number of organizations that the EPA recommends: the Institute of Inspection Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC), the National Environmental Health Association, the American Council for Accredited Certification, and the American Industrial Hygiene Association.

Then, once you’re reasonably sure that your house is structurally sound and safe to enter, here are the steps to take to clean out your home.

es, and sewer lines. When they recede, they could very well leave mud and toxic substances behind in your home.

According to the EPA, coming into contact with sewage or mold can cause allergic reactions and other problems. “You have to assume that mold is growing after a flood,” says Kellogg Schwab, Ph.D., the Abel Wolman Professor in Water and Public Health at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore. “Mold can cause respiratory distress and can exacerbate asthma.”

To protect yourself, wear clothing that covers your arms and legs. To shield your hands and face—and to avoid breathing in mold spores and toxic fumes—the EPA recommends wearing an N95 respirator, goggles tight enough to keep dust and small particles out of your eyes, and long, tight-fitting gloves made of rubber or neoprene.

Keep anyone with a weak or compromised immune system out of the house because mold, cleaning chemicals, and sewage in storm runoff can make them even more sick.

1. Wear Protection When your home has been flooded, there’s more than just water to worry about. Flood waters ferry all the gross stuff at the bottom of storm drains, ditch-

2. Dry Out Your Home as Quickly as Possible “Mold starts growing in damp places within 24 hours, and within two days, you can have visible colonies if it’s warm,”

says Joan W. Bennett, Ph.D., a fungal geneticist and professor of plant biology and pathology at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J. The first step for getting rid of mold is to air out your house.

•If you have power, turn on your air conditioner, a dehumidifier, and/or every fan you own. Keep your windows closed if you have a dehumidifier and an air conditioner to help the air circulate inside and get rid of excess moisture. Keep your windows open if you have only fans and face the exhaust toward an open window.

•If you don’t have power but you own a portable generator, use it so that you can follow the strategy above. Just remember that generators emit deadly carbon monoxide; to avert carbon monoxide poisoning, never run a generator indoors.

And “make sure to place the generator at least 20 feet from your home, with the exhaust facing away from your house,” advises John Galeotafiore, associate director of product testing at Consumer Reports. If your generator isn’t connected to a transfer switch in your home, use a heavy-gauge extension cord (around 12-gauge), to keep the generator at a safe distance from your house.

•No power at all? If weather permits, continued on page 12

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HOME OWNERSHIP After a Flood/ continued from page 11

3. Monitor the Moisture While you’re airing out your home, use a humidity meter, around $15 at hardware stores, to keep tabs on the moisture level.

Aim for between 30 and 50 percent humidity to inhibit mold growth, the EPA advises.

Floors, walls, and furniture may be dry to the touch and still harbor mold and bacterial growth. A moisture meter, $50 at hardware stores, is another good tool to have, so you can detect dampness you can’t see.

Information Institute says some insurers may want to view your property remotely via video chat or even use drone footage to assess damage to your entire neighborhood.

If any household items, such as pieces of furniture or carpeting, have been damaged and you can’t clean and dry them within 24 to 48 hours of your house being flooded, discard them, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends. Chances are these items already harbor mold and can’t be saved.

If there’s any item of value that has to be discarded, take a photo of it for your insurance claim.

Ask your town’s sanitation department about how to dispose of household items from your cleanup.

4. Remove Debris Before you get rid of contaminated debris, be sure to put on your respirator and other protective gear.

Jeff Bishop, former director on the board of the IICRC, recommends using shovels or rakes to remove wet silt and debris from your home, and depositing it a safe distance away from your house.

Just make sure to thoroughly clean and sanitize your clothes and shoes and clean the tools with bleach after you use them.

If you have flood insurance, call your insurance company about the documentation you need to back up your claim. You may need to save pieces of carpet, flooring, and walls, and take photos of the extent of the damage. The Insurance

5. Remove Damaged Drywall If the drywall in your home has more than 10 square feet total of water damage, the EPA recommends hiring a contractor with experience handling water damage to remove it. Any area smaller than that, however, you can deal with yourself. You’ll want to cut the drywall 15 to 24 inches above the visible water line.

“Take a utility knife, score the drywall, then punch it in,” Bishop says. Check with your local sanitation department to see whether you need to take the drywall to a dump yourself, or if you can just pile it up on your curb for trash pickup.

Then, if the insulation behind the drywall is damp, you’ll need to remove that,

open all your windows and doors to create airflow.

too. Nonporous materials, such as metal and glass, can simply be cleaned thoroughly with water and detergent and sanitized with a bleach and water solution.

The CDC recommends 1 cup of bleach to 1 gallon of water to remove mold on hard surfaces.

Don’t seal any walls up with new insulation and drywall until everything is completely dry.

6. Remove Flooring Even if they appear dry, ceramic tile, sheet vinyl, laminate, and solid wood floors should be removed because moisture and silt collects underneath them— and cause bacteria or mold to grow.

Once you discard these, ensure that everything is clean and dry before installing new flooring. Maintain your home’s humidity at 30 to 50 percent, and use a moisture meter to check that subflooring is at or below 16 percent moisture content before installing new flooring (for wood floors, manufacturers advise that the subfloor’s moisture content should be 13 percent or less). Be patient—it might take a few weeks for your flooring to return to a reasonable moisture content, Bishop says.

7. Check Appliances and Countertops Thoroughly Whatever you do, don’t plug in or otherwise provide power to your appliances right away, because their components could be corroded or damaged by flood waters.

If an appliance, such as your washer or stove, has been submerged in flood water, Consumer Reports recommends discarding it to be safe. If you think an appliance can be saved, make sure to hire a professional repair person to inspect it before putting it back into service.

“Mold doesn’t do a great job of growing on metals or ceramics,” says Bennett, the professor of Plant Biology and Pathology at Rutgers University.

However, you still want to wipe down everything with bleach to sanitize and kill any possible mold.

If there’s no visible mold, the CDC recommends using a solution of 1 cup of bleach to 5 gallons of water for cleaning most nonporous surfaces, such as the metal on appliances. If you see mold growth, use 1 cup of bleach to 1 gallon of water. Be sure to rinse or wipe items and allow them to completely air-dry before you use them.

8. Vet the People You Hire Bishop, the former director on the board of the IICRC, emphasizes that there are a lot of scams involving restoring flooddamaged homes after disasters, so be sure that the restoration firm you hire is certified for mold and water damage remediation. (See the list of organizations recommended by the EPA, above.)

Check your local government’s website to see whether there’s a department that handles flood assistance.l

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FAMILY MATTERS

13

Do US Teens Have the Right to be Vaccinated Against Their Parents’ Will?

BY BRIAN DEAN ABRAMSON THE CONVERSATION

T

he Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends COVID-19 vaccines for everyone aged 12 and up. And yet, 12- to 15-year olds are the least vaccinated age group in the country, with 1 in 3 having received one dose and just 1 in 4 being fully vaccinated – about half the rate of the population as a whole.

In some states, minors can legally decide for themselves whether they would like to get vaccinated. In Tennessee, for example, state law allows teens 14 and older to make medical treatment decisions without parental consent.

But earlier this summer, state health officials fired their vaccination director after she wrote a memo explaining the law to state medical providers.

I teach vaccine law, so I know the principle that certain minors may be vaccinated without parental consent is woven into our country’s history.

It is also in line with the recommendations of the medical profession in general. In 2013, the Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine advocated “policies

and strategies that maximize opportunities for minors to receive vaccinations when parents are not physically present.”

However, there’s no federal law mandating this right in the United States.

Instead, there’s a state-by-state patchwork of widely varied regimes. In some, parental consent is always mandatory. In others, there are laws that establish the conditions under which minors can decide for themselves – although, as the Tennessee situation shows, even this right can cause controversy.

Parental consent is the norm Generally, parents or legal guardians have primary legal authority to make health decisions for their children, including vaccination decisions. When a state legally allows parents to request exemptions for legally mandated childhood vaccinations, these laws universally require that the parents are the ones to take steps to obtain it.

When minor children disagree with their parents’ opposition to vaccination, they must look to statutes or case law for

assistance, and may find it lacking.

As of 2021, roughly one-third of U.S. states have passed laws establishing the “mature minor doctrine”: a legal framework allowing minors to independently obtain health care without parental consent, within specified limitations. Some, but not all, specifically include vaccination.

In other states, minors may still be able to make their own medical decisions thanks to state court rulings establishing the mature minor doctrine.

The 1928 Mississippi case of Gulf & S.I.R. Co. v. Sullivan is one of the earliest of these rulings. In this case, the parents of a 17-year-old railroad employee sued his employer, alleging that a smallpox vaccination administered by the company physician had injured the teen.

The parents had neither consented nor objected to his employment by the railroad or the vaccination, but later claimed that their consent was needed for the smallpox shot.

The Mississippi Supreme Court disagreed, finding that in possessing the intellectual maturity to get the railroad job, the teen also “was of sufficient intelconitnued on page 14

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14

FAMILY MATTERS Teens Vaccination/ continued from page 13 ligence to understand and appreciate the consequences of the vaccination.”

In 1967’s Smith v. Selby, the Washington State Supreme Court similarly upheld a minor’s right to make their own medical decisions – in this case, of a married teen to consent to his own vasectomy due to a medical illness.

Since then, courts in a number of other states have established the mature minor doctrine as well – including Tennessee, where the state supreme court’s 1987 ruling in Cardwell v. Bechtol allows teenagers aged 14 to 18 to consent to medical treatment so long as the treating physician finds the minor to be “sufficiently mature to make his or her own health care decisions.”

Mature minor laws can vary considerably from state to state. Some examples: In Alaska, Arkansas and Idaho, minors of any age may choose their own medical care when their doctor deems them capable of meeting standards of informed consent.

In Alabama, minors may consent to health care at the age of 14, in Oregon at 15 and in Kansas and South Carolina at 16. Montana provides this right to minors who have graduated from high school.

Illinois, Maine, Massachusetts, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey and Pennsylvania have statutes permitting minors to make their own medical decisions based on a

against measles,” according to the CDC. Unvaccinated teens can also be vulnerable financially. Shortly after the publication of my book “Vaccine, Vaccination and Immunization Law” in 2018, I met a student at Florida International University with a similar experience. By the time the student had turned 18 and chose for themselves to be vaccinated, they were too old to be covered by the federally funded Vaccines For Children program. This student told me they were unable to afford the cost of the numerous recommended series of vaccines.

variety of factors, such as gaining legal emancipation from their parents, being married – or divorced or widowed – being pregnant or a parent, or enlisting in the military.

A smaller number of states have statutes specific to vaccination. In New York, for example, minors of any age may consent specifically to vaccinations related to sexually transmitted diseases. In California and Delaware, those over the age of 12 can receive such vaccinations.

In Minnesota, minors of any age may consent to the hepatitis B vaccination.

Not just an abstract legal question When a child disagrees with their parents’ opposition to vaccination, it can deeply strain family bonds.

In 2019, in testimony before the Senate

Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, an Ohio teenager named Ethan Lindenberger described how online misinformation about side effects frightened his mother to the point of refusing to let him get vaccinated.

“Her love and affection and care as a parent was used to push an agenda to create a false distress,” he said.

That left Lindenberger vulnerable to a number of preventable illnesses until he turned 18 and could decide for himself.

Lindenberger gave his testimony amid one of the worst measles outbreaks in the United States in decades. According to the CDC, 2019 saw 1,282 cases of measles in the U.S. – nearly four times higher than 2018 and the highest since 1992. The “majority of cases were among people who were not vaccinated

Minors’ medical rights in limbo Not all efforts by states to pass laws expanding the ability of minors to seek vaccination have succeeded. Recently, these measures have met strong opposition from the anti-vaccination movement, and history suggests that this will only increase in the face of COVID-19 vaccination hesitancy.

In 2020, a Maryland bill to permit minors over the age of 16 to consent to vaccination was withdrawn. New York lawmakers also proposed a bill that year to further expand the ability of minors over the age of 14 to consent to vaccination. So far, the bill appears to be stalled.l Brian Dean Abramson is an Adjunct Professor of Vaccine Law, Florida International University

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15

IMMIGRATION Trump’s Policy Virus/ continued from page 1 Just as Covid-19 mutates into increasingly contagious and difficult to control variants, the virus injected by Trump into politics and society at the national and state levels continues to spread with the possibility of terrible consequences.

On immigration, for example, while some of Trump's most onerous administrative measures have been reversed by President Joe Biden, others have remained. Last month a federal district judge in Texas, Matthew Kacsmaryk, a Trump appointee, forced the government to restore the Migrant Protection Protocol (MPP) program, also known as the "Stay in Mexico" rule, which forces asylum seekers to remain in the neighboring country until their claims are processed.

The case that led to the ruling was brought by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Trump ally accused of fraud.

Many asylum seekers have been subjected to assault, rape, kidnapping and some have even died. The judge ruled that ending the program was illegal and now the Biden administration is seeking a balance between respecting the court order and fulfilling a campaign promise, especially since the future of immigration reform in the current Congress is still unknown.

Trump, his lieutenants, such as the nefarious Stephen Miller, and his Republican minions in Congress must be celebrating the permanence of their hateful immigration policies.

Leading Economists Urge Pathway to Citizenship Editorial credit: Chad Zuber / Shutterstock.com

And to that must be added recent developments on other issues.

At the national level, measures that seek to restrict minority voting continue to proliferate, putting obstacles in the way of exercising the right to vote, and it all stems from Trump's Big Lie that he lost the 2020 election because there was "fraud." That lie degenerated into a riot on January 6 at the federal Capitol, where there were deaths and even months later some of the police officers attacked by Trump mobs ended up committing suicide. Since they did not win the general election, the Republican plan is to prevent minorities from voting. The Texas law is one of the most nefarious in that regard, although they have been watering down the country just like Covid.

And the most recent is the Texas law restricting abortion rights, a law that was endorsed by the majority on the nation's Supreme Court, thanks to Trump-nominated justices, whose tentacles continue to do damage despite not being in the White House.

Biden not only inherited a country in the midst of a pandemic mismanaged by Trump and with a battered economy. Add to that the debacle in Afghanistan due to a withdrawal agreement negotiated by Trump with the Taliban that Biden was tasked with implementing and, in doing so, gross miscalculations were made that have affected hundreds of thousands of Afghans who cooperated with the U.S. during wartime.

Now the Democrats also face laws that directly affect voters who traditionally support them, such as restricting voting, and a voting bloc, women, when it comes to their reproductive rights.

Not to mention that the promise of immigration reform remains elusive.

Just as we know that at some point Covid will be brought under control, but it will take time, the virus and poison of Trump and Republican policies will continue to infect the political process. The big question is for how long and whether this can be countered. For that there is no vaccine.l

M

ore than 60 leading economists and scholars in their related fields sent a letter to the White House, highlighting the significant economic and budgetary impact of immigration, and urging President Biden and leaders in congress, to continue to include a reforms to our immigration system, including a pathway to citizenship, in the reconciliation bill that is moving through Congress.

The economists continue, “A pathway to citizenship is a key component of a just, equitable, and robust recovery; and, as aforementioned, granting a pathway to citizenship for millions of aspiring Americans will bring expansive economic benefits to communities across the country—while having a significant impact on the federal budget—not only for the individuals directly affected, but for the larger systems—families, and the workforce—that they comprise.

As you finalize a budget reconciliation package, we hope you will consider including this as a sensible and long overdue policy intervention that can help to ensure that the country’s economic recovery is as big and equitable as it needs to be to meet the challenges we face.”l —FWD.us

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nHEALTH

nENTERTAINMENT

nRELATIONSHIPS

nRECIPES

Veronica Campbell Brown Honored with Lifetime Achievement Award

Editorial credit: Gustavo Fadel / Shutterstock.com

BY STEPHANIE KORNEY, JAMAICANS.COM

J

amaica’s champion sprinter Veronica Campbell Brown received a lifetime achievement award at the Sixth Annual People Profile Awards ceremony, held at the Sunrise Civic Center in Sunrise, Florida, on September 5, 2021. She was honored at the black-tie event for her exceptional career as a track and field athlete.

Campbell Brown is the most decorated athlete in Jamaica’s history. She has won more than 46 awards at international competitions. Upon being presented with the lifetime achievement award, she will

join an esteemed group of previous winners, including singer/actress Melba Moore, Oliver Samuels and Leonie Forbes of Jamaica, and scientist Pepe Ramnaught of Trinidad and Tobago.

Other honorees include the late Florida Congressman Alcee Hastings, basketball star Dwayne Wade, and motivational speaker Les Brown.

Veronica Campbell Brown, 39, was born in Clarke’s Town, Trelawny. A retired track and field sprinter who represented Jamaica, she specialized in the 100 and 200 meters. She won eight Olympic medals and is just the second woman in history to take home two consecutive medals in the 200-meter event.

She is also one of only nine athletes to win world championship titles at the youth, junior, and senior levels. The winner of a 100-meter gold medal at the 2007 World Championships and a 200meter gold medal at the 2011 World Championships, she ran personal best times of 10.76 seconds in the 100 and 21.74 in the 200. During her career at the World Championships, Campbell Brown also won seven silver medals and one bronze. She was twice the 60-meter champion at the IAAF World Indoor Championships.l This is an abbreviated version. Read the full article at www.cawnyc.com

nSPORTS

nHOROSCOPE

Kitchen Corner

Pork Chops with Apple Cider Glaze medium-high heat. Cook pork chops in the hot oil mixture until browned on both sides and pork is slightly pink in the center, 5 to 7 minutes per side. An instantread thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 145 degrees F (63 degrees C). Remove pan from the heat; transfer pork chops to a plate.

P

ork chops with a glossy apple cider glaze is really easy, and while there's no starch or extra butter involved, it reduces quickly to a thick, rich, sweet-tart apple syrup.

—Chef John, AllRecipes.com Ingredients 6 (6 ounce) boneless center-cut pork chops Salt and ground black pepper to taste 1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 tablespoon butter 3 cloves garlic, minced ¼ cup apple cider vinegar 2 cups apple cider 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard 1 teaspoon minced rosemary 1 pinch red pepper flakes Directions Step 1 Season pork chops with salt and black pepper.

Step 2 Heat oil and butter in a heavy skillet over

Step 3 Stir garlic into the pan and place over medium-high heat; cook and stir for 30 seconds. Pour in vinegar and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add apple cider and Dijon mustard, bring mixture to a boil, and cook until sauce is reduced and thick, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in rosemary and red pepper flakes; season with salt and black pepper to taste.

Step 4 Return pork chops to the pan to warm slightly, 1 to 2 minutes per side.

Nutrition Facts Per Serving: 237 calories; protein 21.7g; carbohydrates 11.8g; fat 10.6g; cholesterol 59.4mg; sodium 101.5mg.l

Prep:20 mins Cook:25 mins Total:45 mins Servings:6 Yield:6 pork chops

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18

TRAVEL & LIFESTYLE

Travel Safety Advice You Should Actually Listen To important documents you may need to travel. Save them to your cloud (and for the love of God, make sure you have a good password) and keep printouts with you in a secure place on your person in case you have issues getting home.

BY JESSICA SAGER, WRITER THE DISCOVERER

T

here is so much travel safety advice out there that you may wonder if it's even possible to have fun on vacation when you're constantly looking over your shoulder or waiting for an accident, crime or other disaster to happen. Alternatively, you might be tempted to throw caution to the wind entirely and dive headfirst into every adventure.

Neither of those approaches is healthy or realistic. Travelers need to find the line between exploring boldly and hiding in a tourist bubble. Instead of scaring you to death with horror stories or emboldening you to behave recklessly, we're here to simply provide the travel safety tips you should always follow.

Get Familiar with the State Department Before stepping out into a new land, do some research. You don't need to learn the entire history of your destination, but it helps to at least know some information in case of or to prevent an emergency situation, and a lot of that info is available

through the U.S. State Department.

Where is the nearest U.S. embassy? What phone number is used for emergency services? Are there any neighborhoods to avoid? Are there protests going on where you're headed? Write down or save that information on your phone and keep it on you at all times while traveling.

You should also register with the U.S. Embassy if you're traveling overseas using the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP).

Keep an Emergency Card Accessible Write down (on your phone and by hand,

ideally laminated) a list of emergency contacts, as well as any medical conditions, health issues, medications and allergies you may have. Keep the printed copy with your ID in case of an emergency. It's also not a bad idea to look up the translation of any medical considerations ahead of time, in case you need to quickly convey information to a foreign official.

Make Copies of Important Documents Make copies of your driver's license, passport, birth certificate and any other

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Have a Contact at Home Keep Tabs Before leaving for your trip, make arrangements with someone at home to check in daily. Also send this person a copy of your travel itinerary so they know where you'll be when in case of an emergency. Bonus: Having someone who knows where you are can also save your loved ones from scam callers who pretend to be you to get them to wire money overseas.

Lock Up Your Valuables (And Leave Them Home) First things first: Wearing a diamond chain does not mean you are asking to get robbed. It is never a victim's fault if someone else commits a crime. That said, most robberies, burglaries, muggings and thefts are crimes of opportunity. If you don't bring anything pricey with you, none of it can get stolen. If, for some reason, you do need to bring valuables with you on a trip, keep them locked in your hotel safe. For valuables you carry on your person, like your phone, laptop, passport, etc., keep a small slash-proof bag with lots of pockets and a lock with these items so they won't get lost amid all of your other stuff.

Keep Records of Your Rides Always double check your Uber driver's name and license plate before getting inside of a vehicle. If you take a taxi, text or take a photo of the taxi ID number.

These won't just keep you safe, they'll also come in handy if you leave something behind in the car.

Make Sure You're Insured Check with your health insurer before you leave for your trip to see if you'll be covered overseas. You may also want to spring for travel insurance in case of an emergency, be it medical, natural or national, while you're away.

Pay Attention and Don't Stand Out Finally, it seems obvious, but it's easy to be so distracted by your scenery or getting the perfect selfie angle that you may not necessarily notice pickpocket sweeping through the crowd. Further, if you stick out as an obvious tourist, you're more likely to become a mark for bad people. You don't need to stare strangers down, but you should carry yourself with both confidence and the necessary observation to make it clear that you've got your eye on your personal space.l

Jessica Sager is an experienced comedian, writer, editor, SEO wizard and Street

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19

HEALTH

Changing Minds: What Moves the Needle for the Unvaccinated?

BY KATHLEEN DOHENY WEBMD HEALTH NEWS

N

ot so long ago, Heather Simpson of Dallas was known as the antivaccine mom who dressed as "the measles" for Halloween. She painted red spots on her face and posted her photo on Facebook, joking: "Was trying to think of the least scary thing I could be for Halloween … so I became the measles." It went viral with the anti-vaccine crowd.

But between that Halloween and today, a series of “aha” moments transformed Simpson's attitudes toward vaccines.

In January 2021, one of those moments involved her daughter, now 4, who was scratched by a feral cat, raising concerns about tetanus. Her daughter had been bitten by a dog when she was just 1, and Simpson turned down advice then to get a tetanus shot. "I was convinced the tetanus shot would kill her faster than the tetanus."

After the cat incident, the anxiety was so exhausting, she listened to the nurse practitioner at the clinic, whom she trusted. The nurse gently reassured Simpson that the shot was less risky than the possibility of tetanus — but did not bombard

her with statistics—and that won over Simpson and triggered an overall rethinking of her vaccine stance.

Fast-forward to February, and that "aha" turned into action when Simpson launched a “Back to the Vax” effort with a fellow former vaccine opponent.

Through their website, Facebook page, and podcasts, they now encourage people to get the COVID vaccine, as well as other immunizations.

Challenge: Reaching the Rest With just over 52% of those eligible in the United States fully vaccinated as of September 1, health care providers and

others have a continuing challenge ahead: Trying to convince those who are eligible but still holding out to get vaccinated.

Recent data and a poll do show some movement in the right direction, as immunizations are increasing and hesitancy is declining among certain groups.

According to federal officials, about 14 million people in the U.S. got their first dose in August, an increase of 4 million, compared to the numbers who got it in July.

And a new poll from the Axios-IPSOS Coronavirus Index found only 1 in 5 Americans, or 20%, say they are not like-

ly to get the vaccine, while "hard opposition," those not at all likely, has dropped to 14% of those adults.

But there is still a lot of work to do. So, how do medical professionals or concerned citizens reach those who haven't gotten vaccinated yet, whatever their reason?

Many experts in communication and persuasion that WebMD/Medscape talked to agree that throwing statistics at people hesitant to get the COVID vaccine is generally useless and often backfires.

So what does work? According to these experts?

•Emphasizing the trends of more people getting vaccinated •Focusing on everyone's freedom of choice •Listening to concerns without judgment •Offering credible information •Correcting myths when necessary •Helping them fit vaccination into their "world view."

Stories Over Statistics Talking about the trends of vaccinations can definitely change minds about getting vaccinated, says Robert Cialdini, continued on page 20

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HEALTH Changing Minds/ continued from page 19 PhD, regents professor emeritus of psychology and marketing at Arizona State University, Tempe, and author of the recently updated book Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, which has sold over 5 million copies since first published in 1984.

Face-to-face with a hesitant patient, a doctor can say: "More and more people are being vaccinated every day," Cialdini says. "The reason you say more and more is [that] it conveys a trend. When people see a trend, they project it into the future that it is going to get even larger."

A focus on choice can also help people change their minds and accept the vaccine, he says. "A lot of conspiracy theorists claim they don't want to do it because they are being pushed or forced by the government, and they are resisting that."

If that's the case, presenting people with new information, such as the increased infectiousness of the Delta variant, and suggesting that a decision be made based on the new information, can work, Cialdini says, but be sure to end with: "It's completely up to you."

"This removes all their sense of being pushed. It says, 'Here is all the evidence.'" At this point, a doctor's personal recommendation with a patient who trusts them may sway them, Cialdini says. "I think you have to personalize the communication in both directions. That

is, to say, 'For someone in your situation, I would personally recommend that you get the vaccine.'" A health care professional's authority and expertise can carry the day, he says, although "not always."

This approach worked, Cialdini says, with a friend of the family hesitant about the COVID vaccine. "I told him: 'We have gotten it. You trust us, right?'" He waited for the person to say yes.

Then: "For someone in your position, my personal recommendation is to get vaccinated. There is new information about the vaccine, and more and more people are getting vaccinated. And of course, it is completely up to you."

The person decided to get the vaccine.

‘Live in That Space’ "People develop negative attitudes [about vaccines] by accessing alternative sources of information, anecdotes, and personal stories," says Matthew Seeger, PhD, dean of the College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts and

co-director of the Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases at Wayne State University in Detroit.

"If we are going to change their opinion, we need to live in that space." That means listening first, he says. Ask: "Where did you get that information?

How credible do you think the sources are? What do you mean about the vaccine changing DNA?" Then, you might respond, he says, by addressing that specific information, such as, "We have no cases of DNA being changed."

Seeger recalls that his mother would simply talk louder when she couldn't understand someone who wasn't a native English speaker. "That's what we are trying to do with the vaccine-hesitant," he says. "In some cases, we are yelling at them." Instead, he says, probe their sources of information.

For some who are vaccine-hesitant, Seeger says, it is not just about the vaccine. The attitude about vaccines is tied in, often, with a distrust of government and feelings about personal freedom.

"That's one reason it's so hard to change the attitude." For some, getting the vaccine in a family against the vaccine might also disrupt their social structure or even get them ostracized.

For these people, a health care provider might give opportunities to get the vaccine without affecting either what they see as their political stance or upsetting family harmony. "There are places you can go, make an appointment, get a vac-

cine, and nobody knows," Seeger says.

One Missouri doctor told CNN that some people calling for a vaccine appointment do request privacy, such as going through a drive-thru or having the shot as they sit in their cars. She says the hospital tries to accommodate them, reasoning that every additional vaccine shot is a win.

Seeger agrees. "Of course there are still public records," he says, "but you can still claim you are a vaccine denier. It's very difficult to persuade people to give up their whole world. Vaccine denial is part of that world. At this point, we need to do whatever we can to get people vaccinated."

From Peer to Peer A theme that runs through many of these persuasion techniques is peer pressure.

One example, while a bit more profane and confrontational than some groups, is COVIDAteMyFace, a subgroup, or "subreddit," of the popular online site Reddit, which hosts numerous forums inviting users to share news and comments on a variety of topics. The subreddit has over 20,000 members. Its purpose, says the sub's creator, "was to document the folks who denied COVID, then got bitten in the ass by it." Reports are of actual cases.

"It's interesting and powerful that Reddit users are taking this on," Seeger says. And this kind of peer pressure, or peer-to-peer information, can be persuacontinued on page 22

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21

GENERATIONS

How to Effectively Share Caregiving Duties with Siblings financial tasks to complete. Likewise, accidents or acute health events like strokes or cataract surgeries will consume more time during some months and less during others.

BY MARY CAMPBELL WILLSANDESTATES.NYC

A

nyone who has ever battled with a sibling about sharing toys, clothes, or living space knows that brothers and sisters can really mix it up. When adding the additional stress of caregiving for elderly parents or other relatives to sibling relationships, tensions can sometimes boil over.

But it doesn't have to be that way.

Members of the Gen X and Millennial generations are spending increasing amounts of time helping elderly relatives care for themselves and navigate evermore-complex healthcare systems. The 65-and-older population grew by over a third from 2010 to 2019. As this cohort continues to age, their demand for caregiving services will grow. Their adult children and other relatives will be tasked with providing that help.

The best methods to effectively share caregiving tasks among family members are similar to those that foster good relationships. Siblings need to understand shared responsibilities, sharing their goals, and set healthy boundaries.

Our relationships with our siblings can

be among the most enduring in our lives.

Siblings can know one another and their personalities (and their preferred communication styles) better than they know anyone else. They know who is introverted; who procrastinates; and who has a habit of not picking up the phone when they're too busy. But that knowledge can also cause conflict. We recommend first considering all the assumptions that go along with caregiving and questioning those assumptions, like who "always" helps and who "never" does. Here are some tips: When beginning to share duties, holding family meetings can be helpful.

Choose a time when everyone can meet

(even if they have to join the meeting virtually or on the phone). Set a brief agenda. Consider holding an initial meeting just for caregivers, as well as a follow-up meeting with the person who requires care. Make initial decisions for what needs most urgently to be done and who might be best able to help with cleaning, transportation and shopping, personal finance tasks, and doctor appointments.

Don't be afraid to make your preferences known! Everyone has different abilities and often caregiving tasks can be sorted among the most appropriate family members. Be aware that the time needs of different tasks will vary over the experience; at tax time, there are more

Family members must also agree on the level of time and resources that they can provide. This is a time for honest communication: if you are starting a business or a new job, or have a new baby, your ability to provide extras like outings or visits for your elderly relative might be curtailed. Try to outline what all family members consider the most important priorities (pillbox filling, meal providing, doctor visits), and meet those obligations first.

Setting boundaries within families can be challenging. Siblings will disagree on the extent of parents' needs and the best ways to meet them. Your opinions matter! State them clearly and often rather than keeping them to yourself and then becoming angry when you feel ignored.

One of the most contentious issues among families is members' differing abilities to "just say no"— some are comcontinued on page 22

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22

GENERATIONS Changing Minds/ continued from page 20 sive, he says. "We often seek consensual validation from peers about risk messages and risk behaviors."

For instance, hurricane evacuation notices are more effective, he says, when people learn their neighbors are leaving.

Peer information — "the number of others who are doing or believing or responding to something -- definitely persuades people," agrees Cialdini. "When a lot of others are responding in a particular way — for example, getting vaccinated — people follow for three reasons: The action seems more appropriate or correct, it appears more feasible to perform, and it avoids social disapproval from those others."

Let Them Talk, Give Them Time Gladys Jimenez is a contact tracer and "vaccine ambassador" for Tracing Health, a partnership between the Oregon Public Health Institute and the Public Health Institute that has nearly 300 bilingual contract tracers who serve the ethnic communities they're from. During a typical week, she talks to 50 people or more, and promoting the vaccine is top of mind.

The conversations, Jimenez says, are like a dance. She presents information, then steps back and lets them talk. "I want to hear the person talk, where they are coming from, where they are at." Depending on what they say, she gives them more information or corrects their misinforma-

tion. "They often will say, 'Oh, I didn't know that.'"

It's rarely one conversation that convinces hesitant people, she says. "I'm planting this seed in their brain. … people want someone to listen to them … they want to vent."

Once you let them do that, Jimenez says, "I can tell the person is in a different state of mind." She also knows that people "will make the decision in their own time."

With time, people can change their minds, as a Southern California woman who resisted at first (and asked to remain anonymous) can attest. "When the vaccine first came out, I remember thinking [that] it was a quick fix to a very big problem," she says. The lack of full FDA approval, which has since been granted, was also an issue. She doesn’t oppose vaccines, she says, but was leery just of the COVID vaccine.

When her longtime partner got his vaccine, he urged her to go right away for hers. She stalled. He got his second dose and grew impatient with her hesitancy. It began to wear on the relationship. Finally, the woman talked to two health care professionals she knew socially. They both follow the science, and "they both could explain vaccination to me in a way that resonated. The information was coming from sources I already trusted."

Those conversations are what convinced her to get vaccinated this summer.

Simpson's Transformation Simpson of Back to the Vax got her first

COVID immunization April 16. She had an allergic reaction, including severe itchiness and a bad headache, and needed emergency care, she says. Even so, she's scheduled her second shot appointment for next week.

Like many who turned against vaccines as adults, Simpson had all her childhood vaccines, but she developed a distrust after watching a lengthy documentary series that warned of vaccine dangers as an adult.

Looking back at that documentary, she thought about how it seems to blame everything — childhood cancer, ADHD, autism, allergies — on vaccinations. That suddenly seemed like sketchy science to her.

So did the claim from a family friend who said she knew someone who got the flu shot and began walking backward. She researched on her own, and with time, she decided to be pro-vaccines.

These days, she continues to find that stories, not statistics, are changing the minds of many who decide to get vaccinated. If the nurse practitioner urging the tetanus shot for her daughter had told her that the tetanus shot is linked with problems in one of a specific number of people who get it, no matter how large that second number was, Simpson says she would have thought: "What if she is that one?"

So she relies on stories that point out how universally vulnerable people are to COVID first, facts next.

"Facts help once you are already moved," Simpson says.l

Share Caregiving Duties/ continued from page 21

fortable stating their limits, while others will neglect their own lives to take on ever more caregiving jobs.

Setting boundaries means that all family members need to become more flexible with one another. You can decide what you are uncomfortable doing, and state that, but be prepared to offer to fill other roles instead to keep things fair. Remember that feeling guilt is normal. Acknowledge the feeling at times when competing demands mean you are stretched thin across all your responsibilities. Then move on. You will get more done if you are not explaining yourself to your guilty conscience or your siblings.

It is possible to provide generous and sustaining care to family members without damaging your relationships with your siblings. Remember to have conversations about the help required, work together to define shared goals, and recognize the boundaries set by your fellow family members. These strategies will help you minimize possible frustrations and to maximize the many instances of grace and love that often accompany caregiving.l

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