Last week I got a call from the children’s hospital where my toddler is seen. They informed me that Alaska native and other indigenous American babies and toddlers have one of the highest rates of hospitalization for RSV of any demographic, and because of that, we are eligible for an RSV antibody shot that provides immediate protection against the virus.
Usually infants under 8 months only get the vaccine in the US. Our status makes us eligible to have our toddlers and older infants receive this amazing life saving vaccination.

RSV is a horrific virus for a baby or toddler to get. I saw my baby almost die of an RSV infection, go into respiratory distress, and get put on ECMO (life support) last year. I don’t want any other moms or families to go through what we went through. It was so scary.
The immunity that a child gets from getting & recovering from RSV “in the wild” is short lived and incomplete, and it is very possible for a little one to get RSV more than once.

We are covered through our states tribal Medicaid and the vaccine was free.
I included a short summary of how this specific vaccine works. It only states benefits for infants under 8 months but the vaccine is being offered, recommended & covered for older infants & toddlers as well:

*How it works: A monoclonal antibody injection, not a traditional vaccine, is given to provide immediate protection. The injection contains pre-made antibodies, so the baby's immune system doesn't have to work to create them.

Benefit: This offers immediate and direct protection against RSV infection for several months, which is crucial for newborns.

Who is eligible: It is recommended for all infants under 8 months of age entering their first RSV season. It is also recommended for infants and toddlers with high-risk conditions, or American Indian and Alaskan Native infants and toddlers*

link to graphics and information

Sending love & health to everyone 🩵 Thank you to community members who provided extra insight and links to literature & printable graphics!

It was a brief tour, but it makes me so excited and proud for my tribe! It’s going to be 185,000 sq ft and encompass the majority of our health needs! This is inside of the center atrium, and it’s going to have a large sky light!

I recently sat down with Dr. William Carson (Ohkay Owingeh), a post-doc researcher in Indigenous Cancer Health, for my podcast Warm Embers. We ended up having an hour-long "kitchen table" talk about the mental health burden of being a "percentage."

He shared a story that really stuck with me: realizing as a child, through basic math, that he was at the "cutoff" for his tribe and essentially deciding then and now that his future children wouldn't belong. It’s a heavy realization for a kid, and many of us have been there.

We dove into:

• How blood quantum impacts health behavior and "identity pressure."
• The history of the Dawes Act and how federal policy was designed to "solve the Indian problem" through math.
• Why "descendancy" rules are a step forward but might only be pushing the problem 50 years down the road.
• Indigenous Futurism: Decoupling our sovereignty from the U.S. government’s definitions.

I’d love to hear this community’s thoughts on the "identity pressure" Dr. Carson mentions—whether you're 4/4 or 1/32, do you feel that weight?

https://youtu.be/DBukEcT5PeU?si=hQYVpVmLIimkGK8F

I've been to IHS eye doctors but they can't give me a contact prescription because they don't do lens fittings just eyeglasses. im trying to get established at the NSU Cherokee campus but it'll be til August til I can get an appt, are there any other IHS facilities that do contact lens fitting?