The @CDCgov is listening! Today, @EthnicMediaSvc hosts a roundtable with Bhutanese, Burmese, and Uyghur refugees and how these communities have managed the pandemic. #refugees #COVID19 #healthequity #publichealth #RIM
Speakers include: Faustina Palmatier, Karen Society of Buffalo; Aung M. Naing, President and Co-founder, Network of Myanmar American Associations @netmaa Sudarshan Pyakurel, Executive Director, Bhutanese Community of Central Ohio
Also: Parshuram Chamlagai: Bhutanese Community Association of Pittsburgh; Omer Kanat, Founder and President, Uyghur Human Rights Project @Omerkanat1 @uyghurproject
And and Isok Kim, Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Associate Professor of Social Work, University at Buffalo @kim2rock @UBSSW @SocialWorks
Meaghan Keaveney of @CDCgov "We're working hard to ensure we meet the needs of all communities." Materials are translated into multiple languages. 
Meaghan Keaveney of @CDCgov: We engaged with community members to make materials hyperlocal.
Faustina Palmatier, Karen Society of Buffalo, saysher community is hesitant to take #CovidVaccine because of religious beliefs and mistrust of government.
Faustina got Covid. Her friends told her not to go to the doctor, but just to eat turmeric and garlic.
Aung, a new refugee from #Myanmar joined demonstrations in his country against the military coup. After the military raided his office, he and his wife fled the country.
Both got #Covid_19 They still have #postcovid symptoms
In Burma, Chinese vaccines were distributed by the military, making people distrustful, said Aung. "They don't trust the Chinese vaccine."
Omicron is spreading in Burma, but people are treating it like the flu, says Aung.
Kristen Nordlund of @CDCgov #CovidVaccination has gone through the most intense monitoring. "The safety of the vaccine is foremost in our mind."
People with co-morbidities are at highest risk for getting Covid, but this is a safe and effective vaccine for them, says Kristen Nordlund of @CDCgov
"We need on the ground support," says Isok Kim. "Many of these communities are strapped and cannot access resources." @kim2rock @UBSSW
@Omerkanat1 Uyghurs take @CDCgov recommendations very seriously. 99% vaccinated. #Covid has taken a heavy toll on Uyghur refugees in #Thailand and #Turkey
He hopes that legislation prioritizing Uyghurs for #P2 status will pass in Congress
Sudarshan Pyakurel, executive director of the Bhutanese Community of Central Ohio spent 17 years in a refugee camp in Nepal.
In 2008, 92,000 Bhutan Nepalis resettled in central Ohio. "People are receptive to getting vaccinated," says Pyakurel, who organized several #CovidVaccination clinics.
"Mental health is a taboo subject in the Bhutanese community," says Pyakurel. 8 percent of community suffers suicidal ideations. Stress due to Covid has heavily impacted Bhutanese children and elderly.
Elderly are suffering from #Covid fatigue, says Pyakurel.
"Human connections have been lost," says Lamin Tamang. The elderly are trapped at home.
Parshu Chamligai searched for rubbing alcohol and aloe vera to make hand sanitizer for his family and his community.
He helped distribute #PPE , food, and rental assistance to community members in need. "If Covid returns again, I won't survive."
"Our response to @Covid was long delayed," says Isok Kim @kim2rock It took a long time for refugee communities to get resources.
Beth Dawson-Hahn of @CDCgov speaks about the need of culturally and linguistically appropriate resources to address #MentalHealthAwareness in #refugee communities.
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