TOP NEWS
Join Laura Dern and Walk to Defeat Lung Cancer
Support lifesaving lung cancer research by joining Laura Dern, Academy Award-winning actress and Advisor to the American Lung Association board of directors. She'll kick be kicking off the 2021 Nationwide LUNG FORCE Walk and Run/Walk season and hosting a virtual team of her own. You have the option of joining a local Walk event or joining Laura’s virtual Walk team. Sign up today to help raise funds for lifesaving lung cancer research.
You can also show your support by joining us outside for a one-of-a-kind adventure to support healthy lungs and clean air. Our famous Fight for Air Climb events are a critical way for people to help raise the funds needed for our lifesaving mission to continue. Register today.
‘State of the Air’ 2021: On April 21, we released our 22nd annual “State of the Air” report, our air quality “report card” that tracks Americans’ exposure to unhealthful levels of particle pollution and ozone. The report found that more than 4 out of 10 Americans were exposed to unhealthy air, and that climate change is creating conditions that make it increasingly difficult to clean up the air we breathe. It also finds that people of color are 3 times more likely to live in the most polluted areas, putting their health at even greater risk. Learn more and take action at Lung.org/sota.
Updated Vaccine Toolkit: Many Americans are still deciding if they will get the COVID-19 vaccine. We are proud to work with our partners to provide culturally relevant, science-based, factual guides about COVID-19 vaccination. Our “Better for It” COVID-19 vaccine toolkit has been updated with new resources to help diverse communities of color begin the conversation on how to make a well-informed decision about COVID-19 vaccination. Become a Vaccine Ambassador and use these materials to help start a conversation with your friends, family and community to make a well-informed decision about vaccination. Additional COVID-19 resources include:
- COVID-19 Vaccine FAQs answers your pressing questions such as why the Johnson & Johnson vaccine was paused and how the vaccine monitoring system is effectively working
- COVID-19 Vaccine Tracker which has information to help you stay informed about the safety and availability of a COVID-19 vaccine.
- Our new video - COVID-19 Vaccine and Making Informed Decisions: Dr. Khatri
- Take a Mask Wearing Survey - we’re promoting a nationwide COVID-19 survey to learn more about how people with lung disease perceive mask wearing during the pandemic.
- Our latest Blogs explore a wide range of COVID topics including 2020: The Year we Lost Our Breath and Pregnancy During a Pandemic.
Find the latest at Lung.org/covid19 and be sure to follow our Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram social channels and share these timely resources to your network.
Healthcare Enrollment Period Extended! The Biden Administration has reopened the enrollment period for individuals and family to enroll in quality and affordable health insurance through healthcare.gov to extend through August 15, 2021 in most states. This is an opportunity for the millions of Americans who have lost employed-sponsored coverage as a result of COVID-19 to enroll in coverage and to ensure everyone has coverage for vaccines, including the COVID-19 vaccine. The Lung Association has resources on open enrollment in both english and spanish available at Lung.org/openenrollment.
American Rescue Plan Benefits Lung Health: On March 11, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan into law. The American Lung Association released a statement thanking President Biden for wasting no time in signing this critical bill into law. The American Rescue Plan contains several key provisions beneficial to lung health, including:
- Additional investment in COVID-19 vaccine education, coverage, production and distribution.
- Funding for state and local public health infrastructure to respond to the pandemic.
- Incentives for the expansion of the Medicaid program which could increase access to quality healthcare for millions of people.
- Funding to address health outcome disparities from air pollution and the pandemic, such as monitoring air pollution and promoting environmental justice and more.
LUNG CANCER
Heroes Advocate for Lung Health:
On March 17, we held our annual LUNG FORCE Advocacy Day. LUNG FORCE Heroes — those personally affected by lung cancer — from across the country called to speak to their members of Congress about the urgent need to address lung cancer, including $46.1 billion in research funding for National Institutes of Health, $10 billion in funding for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and to ensure that everyone has affordable, adequate and accessible healthcare.
LUNG FORCE Expo Registration Now Open
Registration for our spring LUNG FORCE Expo, on June 24, for health professionals is now open. The virtual LUNG FORCE Expo is designed to help healthcare professionals learn about the latest trends in research, treatments and recommendations for lung cancer, COPD and other lung diseases.
Turquoise Takeover is Coming! Our annual LUNG FORCE Turquoise Takeover celebration on May 9-15 will unite America to raise critical awareness of lung cancer, the nation’s #1 cancer killer. Each year, we turn the nation our signature color – turquoise – and tell the stories of those impacted by lung cancer to change the public’s perception about the disease. Visit LUNGFORCE.org to learn how you can get involved during Turquoise Takeover and raise funds to support lifesaving research
ASTHMA
May is National Asthma Awareness Month: Learn More about asthma and find useful tools at Lung.org/asthma. Take Action today to improve asthma control for yourself or your loved ones.
- Learn More about Asthma through our Asthma Basics online course and the NEW 3-part asthma webcast series for patients and caregivers.
- Join the NEW Better Breathers Network: This nationwide, online patient support program provides management tools and virtual support groups for all lung disease (including asthma). Anyone can join and membership is free. This is a great opportunity filled with education, support and connections with like-minded patients and caregivers.
- Participate in the Asthma Healthcare Quiz (3 questions): Your voice is important and we want to hear from you about your experiences with asthma healthcare during the times of the pandemic.
- Participate in the My Asthma Control Assessment: Answer this short (7 questions) quiz to determine your asthma control and use the helpful summary guide as a conversation starter with your healthcare provider about treatment options and how to improve your control.
RESEARCH
Latest Published Research: A member of our Research Team, Lokesh Sharma, Ph.D., at Yale University was recently published in the Journal of Inflammation Research. His paper, “Association of Early Inflammation with Age and Asymptomatic Disease in COVID-19,” showed how early changes in host immune responses to COVID potentially play an important role in symptomatic disease development. Specifically, an impaired early inflammatory response was associated with older age, while robust early inflammation was associated with asymptomatic disease. Dr. Sharma is a recipient of our 2019-2020 Catalyst Award for his project, “Mechanisms of Paradoxical Anti-inflammatory Effects of Type I Interferons in the Lung.”
HEALTHY AIR
New Healthy Air Campaign Webpage: Check out the revamped online home of the Healthy Air Campaign at Lung.org/healthyair. The Healthy Air Campaign is the Lung Association’s advocacy initiative to secure strong federal policies to clean up air pollution and address climate change. The updated webpage has new info on the campaign and a wealth of resources, including fact sheets, opportunities to take action, webinar recordings and blog posts on key clean air and climate policy issues.
Protecting Lung Health During Wildfire Season
In 2020, there were over 57,000 wildfires in the United States that resulted in over 10.3 million acres burned, compared with 4.7 million acres in 2019. Smoke from wildfires can harm anyone nearby and can travel thousands of miles downwind. Wildfire smoke not only affects the air outside, but it can also easily travel into indoor living spaces, increasing the risk for smoke inhalation and difficulty breathing. In advance of wildfire season, the American Lung Association, in partnership with Dyson, is sharing ways for people to protect their lung health by creating a “clean room” to help keep our indoor air safe. Learn more through our Each Breath blog.
EACH BREATH BLOG
April is Sarcoidosis Awareness Month and to help bring light to this rare disease we sat down for our latest blog, to talk to with Rhonda Jenkins, a program manager at the Respiratory Institute within Cleveland Clinic, who told us about the important role she plays in connecting patients with resources and the community with understanding.
You make our mission possible!
Thank you for all you do to make our lifesaving mission possible! Your generous support makes it possible for the American Lung Association to be YOUR champion for lung health. Working together, we can fund valuable research, help keep kids off of tobacco, provide life-changing information and tools to lung disease patients and their caregivers, work for healthier air and so much more. Thank you for all you do to help us all breathe easier!
Blog last updated: August 29, 2023
