Cingles Info

NatureTEST FOR ALL, CURE FOR ALL - A RESPONSE TO CLINICAL TRIAL SEGREGATION
Please read and offer suggestions - if any - on how to make this more effective.
I apologize for the first post, as it was written in haste and not well worded.
If you have posted this, please do me the kindness of reposting it with this
revised copy.
And thank you for your patience.
Johanna Koskinen
10603 Blue Ridge Blvd. Kansas City, Missouri 64134
OFFICE- (816)767.8472 - 24-hour Toll-Free HEP C LINE (888).436.HEPC (4372)
Mailbox: P.O. Box 35033 Kansas City, Missouri 64134
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TO: THE HEP C COMMUNITY
FROM: JOHANNA KOSKINEN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF HEPATITIS C MULTICULTURAL
OUTREACH
RE: SHERING-PLOUGH'S HEPATITIS C TEST EXCLUSION
Many of you have read about Shering-Plough's decision to exclude African
Americans from one of their future clinical trials .To those who haven't, please
go to our website at: http://www.hepcmo.org and click on the link leading to the
full article, or go to our blog at: http://tfa-cfa.blogspot.com , where you can
read and respond to Shering-Plough's reasoning behind their decision.
Needless to say, our organization - along with other groups that focus
on services for the underserved and minorities - have expressed much concern
over their defense of their decision.
Myself , along with other "multicultural-based" organizations have been
asked to help spearhead the following initiative :
" TEST FOR ALL, CURE FOR ALL (TFA/CFA)" to respond to the practices of
scientific and medical exclusionary practices based on racial, financial and
cultural differences. Please go to: http://tfa-cfa.blogspot.com/ to read the
full article , which also explains the position of both the pharmaceutical
company and those of us who find their action irresponsible and self-serving.
It is important that you understand our intention is "not" to change or
influence the positive direction of any company or organization attempting to
find a vaccine and/or cure for Hepatitis C, but we do take exception to testing
and trials that are "altered" to serve - not the community - but the reputation
of any company or organization in need of a publicity image boost.
If you are an HCV, HIV or blood-borne pathogen-focused organization, whose
target audience is the African-American, Hispanic/Latino, Native American
population, we need to hear your voice on this issue;
If you are an African-American, Hispanic/Latino, Native American infected
with, or affected by the Hepatitis C virus, we need to hear you r voice on this
issue;
If you are someone who recognizes that this decision only reinforces the
idea that Health Disparities in multicultural communities is "okay", then we
need to hear your voice on this issue. Go to http://tfa-cfa.blogspot.com/, read
and respon d to this decision. If you are a health-oriented, community-based
organization, with special focus on the African American, Hispanic/Latino,
Native American populations, send an email to: TFA-CFA@... to discuss
ways to respond to Shering-Plough's decision.
Bottom line: Testing and trials for a select group only serve "a select
group." This virus infects and affects the lives of 5 million people in the U.S.
. This number has been used by many organizations to stress the need for
vaccines and cures to prolong live s. To use that number to gain support for
the purpose of finding a cure for hep C, only to "selectively" pick and
choose who will recieve that cure, is not only bad practice, but suggests it's
okay to not "care" about certain groups. Another way of putting it? Simply, it
borders on RACIALISM which is so defined:
ra·cial·ism
n.
1..
1.. An emphasis on race or racial considerations, as in determining
policy or interpreting events.
2.. Policy or practice based on racial considerations.
2.. Chiefly British. Variant of racism.
If you have any questions you'd like to ask privately, send them to:
TFA-CFA@...
Johanna
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