Bay Area High School Students Make Major Political Impact
Newswire Services
March 14, 2007
9 Cities Simultaneously Proclaim March 18-24, “Hepatitis B Awareness Week."
Stanford, California - The Jade Ribbon Youth Council are not your average high school students; the 13 members are addressing a major health crisis by establishing the first Hepatitis B Awareness Week in nine cities: Fremont, Milpitas, Palo Alto, San Ramon, Newark, Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Saratoga and Los Altos. Hepatitis B is a critical health issue that affects 1 in 10 Asians but has largely gone unnoticed. Realizing this, the JRYC is making a political impact by passing awareness proclamations in cities throughout the Bay Area to recognize the epidemic. Planned activities vary among each city, ranging from library case displays, tree decorations, mayor proclamations, and television and radio interviews. Each high school within the cities will also hold informational lunchtime activities to garner the interest of the youth and general population. The united mission across the Bay Area is to promote knowledge of the high prevalence and preventability of hepatitis B and the fight to eradicate the virus especially in Asian American communities.
Bravo! I am very impressed and commend our Asian American youth in breaking the common belief that success only comes by having your head buried in books,” states Dr. Samuel So, Director of the Asian Liver Center at Stanford University, “To be so proactive in maximizing outreach conveys a very important message for the public. It illustrates the potential a small group of people can have in pursuing any health cause… the public should come forward to support their efforts and applaud them for their action.”
Worldwide, as many as 400 million people are infected with HBV, a disease that is 10 times more prevalent than HIV/AIDS. Every 30 seconds, a person dies from HBV. Yet we have the power to prevent this disease. A completely safe and effective vaccine has been available for over 20 years. It is so effective in preventing liver cancer that the WHO and the CDC call it the first “anti-cancer vaccine.” Despite the availability of an “anti-cancer vaccine,” hepatitis B and liver cancer remain as the greatest health disparity in the United States. Hepatitis B Awareness Week is dedicated to educating the public, especially youths, about these staggering statistics and what can be done to prevent the spread of this epidemic. Considering that 30% of the Bay Area population is Asian, it is high time for the Bay Area to address this health issue.
The current Jade Ribbon Youth Council members are Charles Chen, Mindy Chu, and Alina Wong from Monta Vista High; Catherine Chiu and Daniel Kim from Harker High; Cindy Guan and Brandon P. Shih from Mission San Jose; Yuxin Liu, Lucy X. Yang and Lynn Xia from California High; Charles Liu from Homestead High; Michelle B. Kim from Foothill High and Dylan Y. Kim from Henry M. Gunn High School.
To conclude Hepatitis B Awareness Week, the Asian Liver Center at Stanford University, American Cancer Society-Northern California Chinese Unite will offer a free HBV and Liver Cancer education screening event in Fremont on Saturday March 24th. All members of the public are invited to come in for a free HBV prevention education presentation and a blood test for hepatitis B. The HBsAg test is the only method to detect chronic HBV infection and is recommended for all foreign-born persons by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The event is being held at Warm Springs Community Center from 1:30-4pm. Pre-registration is available through American Cancer Society, Northern California Chinese Unite at 1-888-566-6222. For more information about HBV visit http://liver.stanford.edu.
Stanford, California - The Jade Ribbon Youth Council are not your average high school students; the 13 members are addressing a major health crisis by establishing the first Hepatitis B Awareness Week in nine cities: Fremont, Milpitas, Palo Alto, San Ramon, Newark, Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Saratoga and Los Altos. Hepatitis B is a critical health issue that affects 1 in 10 Asians but has largely gone unnoticed. Realizing this, the JRYC is making a political impact by passing awareness proclamations in cities throughout the Bay Area to recognize the epidemic. Planned activities vary among each city, ranging from library case displays, tree decorations, mayor proclamations, and television and radio interviews. Each high school within the cities will also hold informational lunchtime activities to garner the interest of the youth and general population. The united mission across the Bay Area is to promote knowledge of the high prevalence and preventability of hepatitis B and the fight to eradicate the virus especially in Asian American communities.
Bravo! I am very impressed and commend our Asian American youth in breaking the common belief that success only comes by having your head buried in books,” states Dr. Samuel So, Director of the Asian Liver Center at Stanford University, “To be so proactive in maximizing outreach conveys a very important message for the public. It illustrates the potential a small group of people can have in pursuing any health cause… the public should come forward to support their efforts and applaud them for their action.”
Worldwide, as many as 400 million people are infected with HBV, a disease that is 10 times more prevalent than HIV/AIDS. Every 30 seconds, a person dies from HBV. Yet we have the power to prevent this disease. A completely safe and effective vaccine has been available for over 20 years. It is so effective in preventing liver cancer that the WHO and the CDC call it the first “anti-cancer vaccine.” Despite the availability of an “anti-cancer vaccine,” hepatitis B and liver cancer remain as the greatest health disparity in the United States. Hepatitis B Awareness Week is dedicated to educating the public, especially youths, about these staggering statistics and what can be done to prevent the spread of this epidemic. Considering that 30% of the Bay Area population is Asian, it is high time for the Bay Area to address this health issue.
The current Jade Ribbon Youth Council members are Charles Chen, Mindy Chu, and Alina Wong from Monta Vista High; Catherine Chiu and Daniel Kim from Harker High; Cindy Guan and Brandon P. Shih from Mission San Jose; Yuxin Liu, Lucy X. Yang and Lynn Xia from California High; Charles Liu from Homestead High; Michelle B. Kim from Foothill High and Dylan Y. Kim from Henry M. Gunn High School.
To conclude Hepatitis B Awareness Week, the Asian Liver Center at Stanford University, American Cancer Society-Northern California Chinese Unite will offer a free HBV and Liver Cancer education screening event in Fremont on Saturday March 24th. All members of the public are invited to come in for a free HBV prevention education presentation and a blood test for hepatitis B. The HBsAg test is the only method to detect chronic HBV infection and is recommended for all foreign-born persons by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The event is being held at Warm Springs Community Center from 1:30-4pm. Pre-registration is available through American Cancer Society, Northern California Chinese Unite at 1-888-566-6222. For more information about HBV visit http://liver.stanford.edu.
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