SAN FRANCISCO, USA – In conjunction with the Hepatitis Awareness Month and Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month this May, the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco hosted a community event at the Consulate’s Kalayaan Hall on 18 May 2022, offering free Hepatitis B and Tuberculosis education and screenings to Filipinos in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The Consulate teamed up with Hep B Free San Francisco Bay Area, North East Medical Services (NEMS), and On Lok for the day-long community event, which mainly catered to the Consulate’s passport and other consular applicants. Free COVID-19 at-home test kits and N95 face masks were also given away to those who took their Hepatitis B and Tuberculosis screenings.
In his remarks during the community event’s opening program, Philippine Consul General in San Francisco Neil Ferrer acknowledged the prevalence of Hepatitis B and Tuberculosis among AAPIs, including Filipino Americans, and the need to “get tested and know one’s status to save lives.”
“Hepatitis B and Tuberculosis are both preventable and curable through early testing and detection. I wish to thank SF Hep B Free, North East Medical Services, and On Lok for offering their services to the Filipino Community in the Bay Area, free of charge,” Consul General Ferrer said.
SF Hep B Free Co-Founder and Chair Dr. Stuart Fong, SF Hep B Free Executive Director Richard So, and NEMS Government and Community Affairs Manager Jessica Ho represented their respective organizations during the community event.
According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or CDC, one in 12 AAPIs has chronic Hepatitis B, which causes liver cancer. While Asian Americans constitute only four percent of the population in the U.S., they comprise over half of the one to two million people in the country who are chronically infected with Hepatitis B. Meanwhile, according to the San Francisco and San Mateo Public Health Departments, AAPIs—particularly Filipino Americans—have the highest incidence of Tuberculosis in San Francisco and San Mateo Counties in 2020. END
