This letter claims there's a Coronavirus outbreak. It's fake.

Tell your relatives to stop spreading bullshit on Facebook.



Today in Coronavirus-related racism: a fake letter, purporting to be from an official with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, has been circulating on email and Facebook regarding a supposed Coronavirus outbreak in the South Bay region of Southern California. This is 100% not real.

Letter Claiming Coronavirus Outbreak in Carson is Fake, Officials Say

According to officials, there is no current threat to public health from the Coronavirus in Los Angeles County. But of course, this bullshit hoax letter names actual Asian-owned restaurants and markets in the Carson/Torrance area (including their addresses), declaring them "contaminated.

They could save their brother's life... if the U.S. would let them in the country.

Tu Le needs a bone marrow donor. His brothers in Vietnam are perfect matches, but their visas were denied.



Two Vietnamese brothers who petitioned to travel to the United States to donate bone marrow to their dying brother in San Jose were denied temporary visas by the U.S. government.

Tu Le is suffering form Myelodysplastic syndrome, an aggressive form of blood cancer. He is dying. Le is in desperate need of a bone marrow transplant to survive. His brothers are both matches. A perfect 100% genetic match. But they have been denied temporary visas by the U.S. government.

Le's brothers, Lam Le and Hiep Nguyen, applied for B-2 tourist visas at the end of May, citing a medical emergency. According the family, they were denied entry on June 3. These men have what is necessary to save their brother's life, and the United States government is like... nope.

More here: Vietnamese men denied visas for life-saving transplant for brother in San Jose

The Time is Ticking to Get Covered

By Kyle Pongan. Sponsored by Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF)


As the son of an an immigrant from the Philippines and growing up with both parents who are nurses, I get how important health care is. And I get how hard it is to afford health insurance coverage and how confusing it can be to even sign up.

The thing is, I've been a hair stylist and a musician since 2015, and neither profession offers health insurance coverage. All that changed with the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare). Thanks to the law, I've been able to apply for and enroll in coverage at www.healthcare.gov, whether living in New York or now Philadelphia. For the past three years, I've had coverage that I can afford and count on. So no more crossing my fingers that I don't get sick.

I followed these steps to get covered:

Surgeon General removed from post by Trump administration

Dr. Vivek Murthy was asked to resign, then dismissed.



The Trump Administration has dismissed U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy from his post as the nation's top doctor. He was temporarily replaced by his deputy, Rear Adm. Sylvia Trent-Adams.

Surgeon general is removed by Trump administration, replaced by deputy for now

Murthy, who was appointed by former President Obama, announced on Friday that he had been dismissed.

"While I had hoped to do more to help our nation tackle its biggest health challenges, I will be forever grateful for the opportunity to have served," Murthy wrote in the Facebook post announcing his departure.

"For the grandson of a poor farmer from India to be asked by the president to look out for the health of an entire nation was a humbling and uniquely American story," Murthy continued. "I will always be grateful to our country for welcoming my immigrant family nearly 40 years ago and giving me this opportunity to serve."

#AAPIHealth Week of Action, January 18-22

Join the White House Initiative on Asian American and Pacific Islanders to help our community #GetCovered.



Starting next Tuesday, January 19, join the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and community groups for a week of action to help Asian American and Pacific Islanders across the country get covered through the Health Insurance Marketplace.

Get involved in person and online to remind the AAPI community to take control of their #AAPIhealth and #GetCovered! The deadline to get covered is January 31, 2016. Visit HealthCare.gov, call 1-800-318-2596 for help in 150+ languages, and find help in your community through LocalHelp.HealthCare.gov.

Here are some more information on the week's events:

Ernie Reyes Jr. is fighting for his life

Veteran actor/martial artist is suffering from kidney failure and needs your help.



Ernie Reyes Jr. needs your help. I recently learned that the 43-year-old actor and martial artist, who you may remember as a kid in movies like The Last Dragon or the television show Sidekicks, or in more recent fare like The Rundown and NCIS: Los Angeles, is suffering from kidney failure and fighting for his life.

Ernie is currently undergoing dialysis treatment three times a week for four hours a day while waiting for a kidney transplant. As you can imagine, this has been challenging for him and his family. His sister Destiny Reyes has started a GoFundMe campaign for his kidney transplant fund.

Surgeon General and Elmo team up to talk vaccinations

Dropping knowledge... and throwing some shade at the haters.



The nation's head public health official (and former Angry Reader of the Week), Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, recently paid a visit to Sesame Street to chop it up with the one and only Elmo, who was a little nervous about getting a shot. Dr. Murthy explains how vaccines work, and why they're so important for children's health. They also manage throw in a little shade at anti-vaxxers.

Check it out:

AAPI Affordable Care Act Enrollment Week of Action

Get covered through the Health Insurance Marketplace.



This week, the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and U.S. Department of Health and Human Service launched the second Asian American and Pacific Islander Affordable Care Act Enrollment Week of Action, which aims to encourage AAPI individuals who have not enrolled for health insurance to learn more, get engaged and enroll in health coverage by February 15.

Throughout the week, Action for Health partners are holding enrollment events for AAPI families to learn about the Affordable Care Act and receive free, in-person assistance to enroll in health insurance through the Health Insurance Marketplace. This includes a Twitterstorm this Thursday, on National Youth Enrollment Day of Action, with special guest George Takei.

This family's homemade music video about healthy eating is the lovably dorkiest thing ever

"I LIKE GREEN SHAKES AND I CANNOT LIE."



All right, this is both lovably awesome and pretty much the dorkiest thing I've ever seen.

Meet the Ha family. You could say they are passionate about plant-based diets. So passionate, in fact that Benjamin, Nina, Ashley and Benjamin Jr. -- aka Flexitarian MD, Superha, and The Little Ha Dogs -- put together a super-silly and informative homemade music video parody about healthy eating, to the tune of "Anaconda" and "Baby Got Back." It takes a very special kind of dedication to vegetables to pull this off.

Take a look:

Family seeks answers in 6-year-old's mysterious death

Oklahoma kindergartner Jenny Yang died just hours after being sent home with a fever.



Over the weekend in Oklahoma, family and friends held a memorial service for a young girl who died suddenly of a mysterious illness last week just hours after she was sent home from school with a fever.

Oologah 6-Year-Old Laid To Rest Following Undetermined Death

6-year-old Jenny Yang, a kindergartner at Oologah-Talala Lower Elementary School, was sent home last Monday with fever. When she was found unresponsive after falling asleep, she was rushed to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Her family is still waiting on autopsy results for an official cause of death.

While the state health department has since determined there is no public health risk, confusion over the cause of Yang's death led the school district to cancel class last week.

Senate confirms Vivek Murthy as Surgeon General

Dr. Murthy is the first-ever U.S. Surgeon General of Indian descent



Finally, we have a surgeon general. On Monday, the Senate voted to confirm Dr. Vivek Murthy as the new Surgeon General of the United States -- more than a year after President Obama nominated him to the post.

The U.S. Has A Surgeon General, For The First Time In 17 Months

The job has been open for a while. Dr. Murthy was nominated back in November 2013, but his confirmation was stalled by partisan opposition, fueled by the gun lobby, particularly over his views criticizing gun violence. But with Congress now in a lame-duck session, Dr. Murthy's confirmation finally got the support it needed from more Democrats, with Monday's vote tally coming in at 51-43.

At 37 years old, Dr. Murthy is the youngest-ever surgeon general in the United States. He is also the first Indian American to serve as America's top doctor.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

Sponsored Post by Cathy Phan



October is Breast Cancer Prevention Month and, at the HOPE Clinic in Houston, this month is especially meaningful, because our recent $1.5 million grant from the Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT) allows us to provide cancer screenings and preventative care to thousands of low-income and medically underserved individuals in the Greater Houston area.

The Nurse Who Beat Ebola

Nina Pham officially declared virus-free, gets a hug from President Obama



Nina Pham is going to be okay. Two weeks after she tested positive for Ebola, the Dallas nurse was declared virus-free and discharged from the Maryland hospital were she had been receiving care for the past week.

Nina Pham, Nurse Infected With Ebola, Is Now Virus-Free

26-year-old Pham, the first person known to contract Ebola within the United States, was infected while caring for patient Thomas Eric Duncan, who later died of the virus at Pham's hospital, Texas Health Presbyterian.

The National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, where Pham was placed in a special isolation care ward for infectious disease cases, announced Friday that she no longer tested positive for Ebola and was being discharged from the hospital with a clean bill of health.

Dr. Vivek Murthy is the Surgeon General we need right now

Sign the petition to tell the Senate to stand up to the NRA and confirm Dr. Murthy.



As you might recall, President Obama nominated Dr. Vivek Murthy, a highly qualified and experienced medical professional, to the post of U.S. Surgeon General nearly a year ago. While his credentials make him a no-brainer for the job, Dr. Murthy's confirmation have been stalled by the usual partisan politics.

A Surgeon General nominee 'tied up in politics'

Dr. Murthy, a guy who probably knows many more things about health and medicine and stuff than you, has some thoughts about gun violence in this country: it is bad, and it is indeed a health care issue. This opinion put him in the sights (no pun intended) of Republicans and the NRA, who decided to block his nomination.

So now, in the midst of some serious public anxiety over the Ebola virus, America finds itself without a Surgeon General, whose job is to effectively and authoritatively communicate what the public needs to know in situations like this. Raise your hand if you would appreciate the leadership of someone like Dr. Murthy right now.

This online petition implores the Senate to stand up to the NRA and confirm Dr. Murthy as surgeon general now. As I write this, the petition has more than 70,000 signatures.

First known U.S. Ebola patient identified as Dallas nurse

26-year-old Nina Pham contracted the virus while treating 'patient zero.'



The first person known to contract Ebola within the United States has been identified as Nina Pham, a 26-year-old Texas nurse who was infected while caring for the first person to die of the virus.

Dallas Nurse With Ebola Identified

Pham, a critical care nurse at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital, is one of at least fifty people who treated Ebola patient Thomas Eric Duncan, who contracted the disease in Liberia and then traveled to the U.S., where he first started showing symptoms. He died last Wednesday.

Pham is reportedly in stable condition. It's possible that there may be additional cases among the health care workers who treated Duncan.

Epilepsy Does Not Define Me

Sponsored Post by Wendy Tang



Turning 30 is a milestone in anyone's life. And I was no different. By 30, I had purchased my first home and my career as a financial planner had taken off. Life doesn't always turn out the way you plan, however. That same year I was diagnosed with epilepsy.

My first seizure is a vivid memory. I was at work when I suddenly felt a bit dizzy. The next thing I knew, paramedics surrounded me. Only later did I learn that I had experienced a seizure. Next came a battery of medical tests, scary for someone like me who had always been in great health. Later, after a second seizure, doctors confirmed I had epilepsy.

Epilepsy was something I knew nothing about, let alone how to recognize or treat it.