​Native health professionals say vaccine is safe for American Indians and Alaska Natives
 
Seattle, WA—In a recent op-ed published in Indian Country Today, Dr. Bruce Davidson advised American Indians and Alaska Natives to avoid receiving the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. The following statement from Abigail Echo-Hawk and Dr. Mary Owen may be quoted in part or in full.
 
“As public health professionals who have a combined 40 years of experience working with and caring for American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) people, we are disappointed and concerned by claims by Dr. Bruce Davidson, advising AI/AN people to avoid the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine.
 
We believe his statements will lead to the deaths of American Indian and Alaska Native people by increasing hesitancy toward a COVID-19 vaccine.
 
Dr. Davidson’s narrow-minded claims—and irresponsible and reckless interpretation of data—further fuels vaccine distrust in Native communities. And this comes at a time when AI/AN people are dying of COVID-19 at the highest rates in the country, and when rapid vaccination of our community members is paramount to saving lives. 
 
During this time, we shouldn’t have to question the words of doctors, but in this case, we must. Misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines has been—and continues to be—dangerous and puts our elders and communities at risk. AI/AN communities need to have access to accurate information from trusted sources in order to make informed decisions about COVID-19 vaccines.
 
Indian Country has been leaders in the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines. We are starting to see some reservations and villages over 50% vaccinated, while cities look to urban Indian health programs for solutions. We are getting closer and closer to the finish line, but it will be claims like Dr. Davidson’s that will slow us down from crossing it.
 
Like the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is safe, effective, and necessary if Indian Country is going to win the fight against COVID-19.”
 

Written by The Denver Channel, Adi Guajardo, Jan. 8, 2021

DENVER — The Denver Indian Health and Family Services held their first clinic in Denver on Friday and gave the Moderna shot to 120 Native Americans.
The pandemic has taken a cruel toll on American Indians and Alaska Natives across the U.S. They make up 0.56% of the Colorado population and 0.65% of COVID-19 deaths in the state, according to the state health department website. A study by the Centers for Disease and Prevention (CDC) found that Native Americans are nearly twice as likely to die of COVID-19 than white people.

The pandemic has taken a cruel toll on American Indians and Alaska Natives across the U.S. They make up 0.56% of the Colorado population and 0.65% of COVID-19 deaths in the state, according to the state health department website. A study by the Centers for Disease and Prevention (CDC) found that Native Americans are nearly twice as likely to die of COVID-19 than white people.

Charlene Irani is a board member with the Denver Indian Health and Family Services. She received her vaccine on Wednesday. On Friday, she helped people fill out forms and prepared them for their inoculation.

Irani calls COVID-19 "the invisible virus." She says it’s taken the lives of her people.

“I’ve had friends die because they didn’t believe it was real,” Irani said. “This is real.” 

​Denver Indian Health and Family Services set up a clinic at the Denver Indian Center. Staff scheduled more than 100 of their patients who met the state vaccination phase system for an appointment to get the Moderna vaccine.

Karen Hoffman-Welch, the director of primary care for Denver Indian Health and Family Services, says their patients were nervous and concerned about the shot.

"(They had) a lot of questions. Are they going to get sick? Are we actually giving them the virus?" Hoffman-Welch recalled.

To help put them at ease, staff helped answer their questions and provided facts about the COVID-19 vaccine.

“We called about 200 patients and were able to get about 150 or so to say yes,” Hoffman-Welch said.

The history between the government and Native Americans fuels hesitation about getting the vaccine.

“There is a historical kind of trauma when it comes to the medical society because they have been tested without their permission,” Hoffman-Welch said.

She adds that American Indians are more likely to take advice from community leaders than medical experts. It's why advocates like Irani are also getting vaccinated. Irani says it's vital to share her story and assure her people the shot is safe.

“I’m feeling great, I have to tell you I didn’t get any of the side effects,” Irani said.

She’s pleading with her community to get the vaccine.

“This vaccine is here to help us, not to hinder or hurt us,” she said.

Delmar Hamilton got his shot on Friday. He says too many people are dying and he wants to help protect and preserve his history.

“The tribal thing is an oral tradition and if there isn’t anybody to pass that oral tradition — it’s lost forever,” Hamilton said.

The vaccines came from the Indian Health Service, a federal health program for American Indians and Alaskan Natives. University of Colorado pharmacy students volunteered to give the shots.

Hoffman-Welch says they were hoping to vaccinate 150 people but only reached 120. The process is targeted and each does must be tracked.

“Each vial has ten doses and once that vial has been opened I have to use it within 12 hours, so I have to make sure I have at least ten people every time we open a vial to give them the vaccine,” she said.

Any doses left over from Friday’s clinic will be frozen in storage. In four weeks, those who received their shots will return for their second dose.
Hoffman-Welch expects to set up more clinics in the coming weeks. Shots will only be administered by appointment.

If you are an American Indian or an Alaskan Native and want to get on the list to get vaccinated, you can sign up for free online by clicking here and registering as a new patient. The Denver Indian Health and Family Services will contact people by phone to schedule appointments if they meet the phase requirement. You can also call (303) 953-6600 to set up an appointment.

​For full article click here.

Written by: Denverite, Esteban L. Hernandez,  Dec. 01, 2020, 12:51 p.m.

​Loren Wilson calls having COVID-19 “the flu times two.”
Wilson lives in Sun Valley with his wife, Anita, and their two children. It was late October when he first felt a little sick. He started getting a bit of a cough on a Saturday night. It wasn’t bad enough to stop him and his family from their usual gathering on a Sunday to watch the Broncos. He remembers someone made nachos.

Then Monday rolled around. He could barely move. He would test positive for the coronavirus about five days later, after staying mostly in bed. Anita and their two daughters ended up testing positive as well. Wilson had more serious symptoms that led him to go to the emergency room about a week after, where he learned his oxygen was very low. Anita ended up hospitalized as well.

“I can get up and walk, but I gotta have this oxygen. It has to be with me,” Wilson said, looking toward a 3-foot oxygen tank.

Wilson, 60, is Sioux and was born and raised in Denver. He said his parents moved here from the Sisseton Wahpeton Oyate reservation in South Dakota roughly five years before he was born. He’s retired from a career in The Denver Post’s printing department.
His case is one of many in a recent spike among Native Americans and Native Alaskan residents in Denver. Census data shows 0.4 percent of Denver residents are Native American, but data from Denver Public Health shows they make up 0.9% percent of all COVID-19 cases as of Dec. 15.

Wilson started feeling symptoms on Oct. 24; he tested positive on Oct. 29. Wilson said he wasn’t aware of the spike.

The spike coincided with an increase of cases across the city and across most racial demographics, including white residents in Denver. Overall, the data shows Native American and Native Alaskans have accounted for 0.9 percent of all COVID-19 cases since the start of the pandemic. Hospitalizations have also increased statewide.
Nationwide, the Centers for Disease Control said in August that Native American and Native Alaskans are at higher risk of serious outcomes from COVID-19. And an article from Science magazine noted there have been issues with data collected on Native communities, which makes it harder to figure out the full impact of the pandemic on them.

Wilson got his positive test at the Denver Indian Health and Family Services clinic in Sun Valley.
Director of Primary Care at the clinic Karen Hoffman has been monitoring Wilson and his family since then. The clinic provides services including coronavirus testing and behavioral and dental care to Indigenous patients in the metro area.
The clinic is affiliated with the federal Indian Health Service. Hoffman, a nurse practitioner, said most services provided there are free, though patients must prove they have tribal blood or have a tribal card to show their affiliation.

“This is just the rapid one, so it’s a little bit inside of each nostril, OK?” Hoffman said as she administered the test to Anita Wilson while she was still inside her car last week. Hoffman then moved to test Lilly Flores Wilson, a 4-year-old sitting in the back seat. “Remember, this is just a little tickle, right, not anything scary.”

The Wilsons had stopped by on Nov. 24 to get a follow-up rapid COVID-19 test. Both Wilsons and three other family members tested negative.

Hoffman said the clinic gets patients from the metro area and sometimes from other nearby states or reservations. She said about 70 percent of its patients are from the Front Range. She said the spike in cases among Indigenous in Denver is split between people who are housed and those who are unhoused.

She noted Indigenous people who are experiencing homelessness may use things like public transportation or shelters or services that can lead to COVID-19 exposure.
“Those groups don’t have an opportunity to choose when they’re going to be quarantined or when they’re going to try and isolate themselves,” Hoffman said.

Residents who are uninsured or underinsured but who are housed are less likely to seek help until they’re very sick, though Hoffman said this is not unique to Indigenous people. However, she added that there are higher rates of hypertension and diabetes among this group, which can lead to additional complications if they get the coronavirus.

“Historically, Native Americans are hesitant to trust medical entities or any entities that they view as part of the government, just because of historical trauma,” Hoffman said.
Denver Public Health Director Dr. Bill Burman said the city isn’t entirely sure why there’s been an uptick in Native populations, but he did note that the cases seem to be tied to areas in Denver that have had high infection rates since the pandemic started. They include southwest and far northeast Denver, areas where the city has not hosted community testing sites.

Anita Wilson thinks her husband’s symptoms may have been more treatable if he was able to get to a hospital sooner.
Wilson contacted the family service clinic but was referred to the ER to make sure he would get the necessary treatment.

Both Anita and Loren spent time self-isolating in two different bedrooms when they got sick. Their daughters would cook and leave food outside their doors.
Wilson is still recovering from the virus. He still gets bad headaches and is trying to schedule an appointment with a pulmonologist to make sure there isn’t anything serious going on with his lungs.

“I’m stuck with this thing,” Wilson said, again looking at the oxygen tank. “It’s kind of an inconvenience … but it just seems so slow, the process here. I guess it affects people in different ways. The way it’s affected me is that oxygen will not stay up for anything.”

Wilson remains pretty upbeat in recovery. He tried tracing back where he was and what he did before the symptoms started. He blames himself for getting his family members sick.
He has a message for people who don’t think COVID-19 poses a threat to them or who think it’s a hoax.
​
“It is real,” Wilson said. “Do what they’re asking us to do. Wear that mask. It’s not that difficult.”
Editor’s note: Some of the figures in this story were updated after Denver Health notified us it had recorded some data incorrectly.


For full article Click here.

​The first case of COVID-19 in the United States was identified in Washington by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on January 20, 2020. Many Coloradans began watching the news each day, wondering when the virus would hit our state. It happened, the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Colorado was announced on March 5, 2020. As the numbers climbed higher and infected people began to overwhelm local hospitals and ICU beds, Colorado Governor Jared Polis announced a statewide stay-at-home order that began on Thursday, March 26, 2020. 

Besides washing our hands, wearing masks, and practicing social distancing, one of the most important things DIHFS can do to protect ourselves and the communities we serve is to contribute to the surveillance of COVID-19. What does that mean? In large part, it means identifying people who are positive carriers of the virus known as Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). There is still so much we DO NOT know about this disease. It is important to track, trace contacts of people infected, and follow their progression of the disease. This is surveillance in a nutshell. ​