CWA Flash Newsletter - February 10, 2021 |
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Congressional Report on Heavy Metals in Infant Food |
The House Oversight and Reform Subcommittee on Economic and Consumer Policy released a report last week finding that commercial infant food companies sold products with dangerous levels of heavy metals. The Food and Drug Administration received reports of heavy metals in infant foods in 2019 and did not respond. The Subcommittee recommends increased regulation of infant foods – including mandatory testing by manufacturers, labeling, and maximum limits of heavy metals. The Subcommittee also cautions that parents should avoid certain infant foods high in heavy metals, such as rice products. WIC staff should be prepared to address these concerns with participants. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends several steps to reduce risk, including breastfeeding, serving a variety of healthy foods, and rotating the types of grains. Read NWA’s full here.
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COVID Stimulus Package Progresses |
Both the House and Senate have approved a budget resolution establishing rules for considering President Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan. Rules allow the bill to be voted on without a Senate filibuster, meaning that the bill could be passed without Republican support. President Biden’s proposal includes a multi-year $3 billion investment in WIC modernization and outreach. The investment in WIC was also part of the plan put forth by Republicans, demonstrating strong bipartisan support for WIC. Congressional Democrats have indicated that they intend to pass the bill through reconciliation rules by mid-March, especially as enhanced unemployment assistance expires on March 14. The legislative schedule is not yet clear, as the Senate is currently occupied with the impeachment trial of former President Trump.
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Biden Takes First Steps on Immigration |
President Biden has directed federal agencies to review the harmful expansion to public charge put in place by the Trump administration. The policy effectively closed the door to lawful immigration for many, and has coerced people to forgo benefits for which they are eligible because they’re concerned that if they receive help, they’ll lose their ability — or their family members’ ability — to remain in the United States. The Trump public charge regulations have also caused fear and confusion for many people who aren’t directly affected, but who are forgoing benefits as well.
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Speak Up for Paid Sick Days! |
A recent study proved that paid sick days helped lower the spread of #COVID19. Tell your legislators we need #paidsickdaysnow! We have to hold our lawmakers accountable and urge them to take action to protect workers! ACTION: Use this toolkit from the California Work and Family Coalition to help you with your social media messaging!
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State of WIC Report and Tweetchat |
This is a critical year for us to speak out about WIC to drive needed changes and show the longstanding impact. Here is an opportunity for you from NWA! We are in this together. NWA’s inaugural State of WIC report was released today on the WIC Hub! To premiere the report and uplift the WIC program, NWA will host a tweetchat on tomorrow February 11 at 3:00pm ET. We invite you and/or your agency to participate. Please click here to view the tweetchat toolkit with specific instructions, language, and graphics. The State of WIC report highlights the experiences of WIC providers and stakeholders, including during the COVID-19 pandemic, and will serve as a resource for WIC administrators, providers, and researchers. It comprehensively lays out the strong evidence base for WIC, the different facets of WIC’s nutrition and breastfeeding services, innovations in the clinic and shopping experiences, health equity priorities, and partnerships with farmers. Please reach out to Brittany Van Pelt, Policy Communications Associate, at bvanpelt@nwica.org with any questions about tomorrow’s tweetchat.
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WIC Watch - Submit Your WIC Story! |
Lots of great work is going on in the local agencies. New ways to provide services are becoming established and well-received by participants, WIC staff are learning how to support their coworkers in a whole new way. You see incredible examples of resilience and compassion. You or your colleagues are putting it all out there to stay healthy. Let's hear from you. We need our agency's stories! We are working on the next WIC Watch magazine for publication at the spring conference. Please contact Sarah by March 5th to send in your article or story.
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Resilience: Strengthening and Supporting California's Families |
We look forward to coming together this spring, to use lessons learned and innovations, to forge ahead to better times. We are a resilient community, WIC and partners, and our collective mission impacts young families. This work makes a difference. We hope you mark your calendars and join us from the comfort of your clinic, office, or home, for CWA’s 29th Annual Conference and Trade Show, May 3-7, 2021, with on-demand access through Aug. 31. Check the draft agenda for the daily theme, and hours- with some days being shorter and others longer, including preconference choices and some concurrent sessions. Check the agenda for updates as details are added. Thank you to our sponsors and exhibitors for supporting CWA.
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Americans Eating Some Fruit and Veg...Not Enough |
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Vaccines Have Saved 37 Million Lives Since 2000 |
A new report finds that vaccines against 10 major diseases prevented 37 million deaths between 2000 and 2019 in low- and middle-income countries worldwide, with young children benefiting most. Vaccinations are also projected to prevent a total of 69 million deaths between 2000 and 2030, researchers say. Their modeling study also shows that vaccination against the 10 diseases -- including measles, rotavirus, HPV and hepatitis B -- means that people born in 2019 will have a 72% lower risk of death from those diseases over their lifetime.
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Black Children More Likely to Have Some Food Allergies |
Black children in the U.S. have higher rates of certain food allergies than white children, a new study finds. The research team studied 664 children, aged 12 and under, who'd been diagnosed with a food allergy. Of those, 36% were Black and 64% were white. Compared to white kids, Black children were more likely to have shellfish and fin fish allergy, and to have a wheat allergy, the investigators found. The study also found that Black children with food allergies were more likely to have asthma than white children with food allergies, and that children with a shellfish allergy were more likely to have more severe asthma.
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Healthy Weight for Healthy Birth and Beyond |
Weight status prenatally, and gain during pregnancy, impacts not only the health of the birthing individual, but also a child’s long-term health and that of the next generation. Data from California indicate that over 53% of birth individuals were overweight or obese prenatally in 2018, up from 46% in 2009, also too high. Individuals who were overweight prenatally, were also more likely to gain excessive weight during pregnancy. Demographic data show an increased risk for Pacific Islanders, Hispanic, American Indian and Black individuals for maternal overweight and obesity. Check out this recent report from CDPH MCAH for more details.
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CA Health Disparities Website Updated |
The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) has re-designed and updated of the Health Disparities in the Medi-Cal Population website to more encompass all of the health disparities/equity work being done by DHCS. Previously the focus of the website was on the fact sheets that Office of the Medical Director (OMD) had published and an intervention page highlighting the obesity project (collaboration between OMD and UC Davis. Take some time to check out the changes!
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Brief on CA's Healthcare Workforce Crisis |
Beyond 12 and Children Now released Addressing the Health Care Workforce Crisis Begins with Diversifying the Student Pipeline, a policy brief that highlights the need to increase the number of health care professionals in California, reviews the benefits of diversifying student pipelines into health professions, and makes key recommendations for state policymakers to consider that would increase the number of first-generation, low-income and underrepresented students of color who enter health care professions.
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California WIC Association | www.calwic.org
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