Allergies come in all shapes and sizes ...
Just like allergy sufferers. And they are on the rise. For many people allergies can range from sniffling and sneezing to skin rashes to gastrointestinal issues. A certain percentage, however, have more than these uncomfortable symptoms to deal with. Anaphylaxis, a serious life-threatening reaction, causes approximately 1,500 deaths a year in the United States alone. Clearly, allergies are nothing to sneeze at!
Articles for Advocacy
New Federal Law Helps Schools Prevent Asthma and Anaphylaxis Emergencies
A new federal law now provides grant preferences to states that take proactive steps in helping the millions of school age children impacted by allergies and asthma. In Spring 2020, the Allergy Advocacy Association lobbied lawmakers to pass the School-Based Allergies and Asthma Management Program Act. This new law may provide an opportunity to expand our educational/training, through our The Epi Near You NY program.
H.R. 2468 the School-Based Allergies and Asthma Management Program Act Becomes Law
By Patrick Morris
January 12th, 2020
This January the bi-partisan School-Based Allergies and Asthma Management Program Act H.R. 2468 was signed into law. This law will provide assistance to millions of school children dealing with allergies and asthma. It does so by providing preferences for grants, under the children's asthma treatment program, to states that require schools to establish allergy and asthma management programs.
These programs would include individual action plans for students diagnosed with allergies or asthma. The Allergy Advocacy Association actively pushed for this legislation when it met with law makers in Washington this past Spring.
Throughout 2020 the corona virus pandemic has been global in its impact. The arrival of a COVID-19 Vaccine has brought relief, hope and questions. Is the vaccine safe? In a very few cases individuals that received the vaccine had an anaphylactic reaction. Were these cases isolated incidents? Were there other types of reactions? Did these individuals have a history of anaphylactic reactions? The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recently published a study of anaphylactic reactions that occurred during December 14–23, 2020 showing that such reactions are exceedingly rare.
CDC Publishes Study on Allergic Reactions to COVID-19 Vaccine
By Dave Bloom
2021/01/07
Important note:This article is intended for those who understand vaccines as critical to maintaining their health and that of their families. It is NOT intended for those who are anti-vaccine and as such is NOT intended to foster a discussion on the merits of vaccines in this forum. It is also NOT intended to foster a discussion of the lethality of COVID-19 or the need for civic action to limit the spread of the disease.
In November 2020 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued its draft guidance regarding the voluntary disclosure of sesame as an allergen. The deadline for comments has now been extended to February 25, 2021. This 45 day extension gives the allergy advocacy community another opportunity to provide critical input on this important issue. Comments need to be sent prior to the deadline to ensure that the FDA can evaluate them prior to their starting work on the final guidance.
FDA Extends Comment Period on Sesame Labeling
By Staff of www.foodsafetymagazine.com
January 4th, 2021
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that it is extending the comment period on its draft guidance regarding voluntary disclosure of sesame as an allergen to February 25, 2021, an extension of 45 days. Comments should be submitted before February 25, 2021 to ensure that FDA considers them before beginning work on the final guidance.
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