April 30, 2020

A message from PIVOT president Tung Nguyen for Vietnamese American Roundtable's 45th Black April Commemoration. We hope to (virtually) see you tonight at VAR’s event: https://www.facebook.com/events/232708514463225

April 30, 2020
Tung Nguyen, PIVOT president

On the occasion of the 45th anniversary of April 30th, 1975, the end of the Viet Nam war and the beginning of the Vietnamese refugee diaspora, I would like to share a few words about our resiliency as Vietnamese Americans, as refugees and children of refugees.

How does it feel to have the foundation of the world we live in so shaken that we no longer know where we stand or how to move forward? Before 2020, before the COVID-19 pandemic, only those who have suffered great tragedies could answer this question. Now we are all living it.

April 27, 2020
Thang Do, PIVOT board member

The U.S. has by now about 50,000 deaths from COVID19. The pandemic arrived on our shore later, but we quickly became the nation with the highest number of infected cases and deaths in the world.

Who is at fault? Was it because China concealed critical information that put the U.S. and the world in danger, as Trump has been loudly charging? Was it the weakness in the American response? Or both? We need to ask these questions when the number of deaths has reached this level and continues to rise.

Surveying the major developments of the pandemic in the past several months reveals the story.

April 26, 2020

Community clinics, serving the most disadvantaged members of our society, including low-income, minority populations, are overburdened by COVID-19 and often are without critical supplies and equipment, especially personal protective equipment (PPE), needed to protect health workers at the frontline serving patients.

connectNgive.org, built by volunteers who are PIVOT members, connect donors with resources to clinics and community organizations with needs. Since its launch last week, the site has connected donors with a number of clinics in Northern California. The connectNgive.org team welcomes health clinics across the US to register their needs, and donors to use the site to direct their resources to those they are most able to help. Instructions for how to use the site: https://youtu.be/Q4mgBjD6vTM.

VANGO Network, the Vietnamese American Non-Governmental Organization Network, a nonprofit organization, has been using the site to distribute PPE to those in need. We encourage other potential donors to leverage the platform to do the same. More information about connectNgive.org.

April 13, 2020
Thang Do, PIVOT board member

A friend asked me for help in responding in Vietnamese to an email being circulated among her Vietnamese acquaintance, which repeats false arguments often seen among Vietnamese Americans. I thought that I turned the response I wrote for my friend into an article, with the hope of helping others understand the issues better.

I want to avoid writing through partisan lens. No political party is completely right or good, and none is completely wrong or bad. Even so, facts are facts, and we must base all arguments on real data, rather than just on our own belief or what others tell us, without vetting the information.

The Vietnamese American community is victim to many faked news. I don’t truly understand all the reasons, but Vietnamese Americans often believe in wrong or even faked information, yet they remain unaware.

April 8, 2020

As of 4/8/20, there are currently over 1.4 million cases of COVID-19 and more than 83,000 deaths reported in 184 countries around the world. The US continues to lead the world in the total numbers of infections with over 400,000 cases reported and over 13,000 deaths. New York continues to be hardest hit, with over 140,000 cases and 5,400 deaths statewide.

March 29, 2020

The vast majority of Americans believe that women should receive equal pay when performing the same work as men. The idea of equality for women is given a lot of lip service, in that candidates say they support women, but once in office, not all candidates will actually take action to ensure that women are being treated fairly. When you go to the voting polls in November, remember to vote for candidates who value women's equality and will ensure fair treatment and that there are real consequences for unfair treatment. Vote for equality!

March 28, 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic makes it very clear that not all Americans have the proper healthcare coverage needed for testing and treatment. In this video, PIVOT president Dr. Tung Nguyen, talks about how Democratic candidates want more people on health insurance, while Donald Trump and the current administration want to reduce insurance coverage for Americans.

When you go to the voting polls this November, remember to vote for candidates that value human life and will fight for more healthcare coverage for Americans. Vote for a healthy America.

Tung Nguyen, MD
Professor of Medicine, University of California San Francisco (UCSF)
President, PIVOT-The Progressive Vietnamese American Association

What if you think you may be infected with COVID-19?

Remember that what makes COVID-19 so scary is that the number of people infected can be so large that it will overwhelm the healthcare system so that it cannot take care of the very sick, who then will die.

The most important thing to know is that many people who get infected with COVID-19 do not have any symptoms. This should be reassuring to you but also show why it is important that we follow the rules about staying at home. Right now, you do not need to be tested for COVID-19 if you do not have any symptoms. Testing for COVID-19 takes healthcare resources, from personnel to testing kits to protective equipment, so save it for when you absolutely need it.

Tung Nguyen, MD
Professor of Medicine, University of California San Francisco (UCSF)
President, PIVOT-The Progressive Vietnamese American Association

If you do not have COVID-19, what should you do?
The most important thing to do is to protect yourself and protect everyone you love. Click on the link to read more.