Vaccination Success

Vaccination Success

Since 1796, when the first successful vaccine for smallpox helped reduce its spread, vaccines have been successfully developed and employed to diminish or eliminate highly infectious diseases.1 The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that the number of children worldwide receiving essential vaccines has increased from 20 percent to 86 percent since 1980.2 These efforts have protected communities against the spread of many infectious diseases. Despite the long history of successful vaccine development and use, many people struggle to trust that the current COVID-19 vaccines, derived from more than 20 years of research, are safe and effective. Yet, as Dr. Anton C. Bizzell, CEO of the Bizzell Group, notes in this Psychology Today vaccine article, “Widespread inoculation against COVID-19 will not only slow and eventually stop the spread of this deadly disease. It will begin our mental healing, raising the spirits of our country and our world from more than a year of fear, uncertainty, grief, and isolation.”  Building trust in the COVID-19 vaccines and expanding vaccine access to the hardest hit areas and those with low vaccination rates are crucial strategies for stopping the spread.

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1https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/smallpox-vaccines#:~:text=The%20smallpox%20vaccine%2C%20introduced%20by,protected%20against%20inoculated%20variola%20virus

2https://www.who.int/news-room/feature-stories/detail/the-vaccines-success-story-gives-us-hope-for-the-future

Black History Month

Black History Month

Black History month is an opportunity to celebrate the achievements and contributions of African Americans that are so deeply woven into the history of the United States. African American leaders in mental health, government, civil right, the arts, entertainment and sports have influenced generations of Black Americans and taken unprecedented risks to initiate change. Yet, it is important to acknowledge the continued, rampant systemic racism and inequities in wealth, education, criminal justice, and mental health and health care and the impact on the lives of Black Americans.

 

Dr. Anton C. Bizzell, CEO of the Bizzell Group, touches on his own encounters with racism as a Black American physician in this Psychology Today article. He challenges the corporate world to take action to reverse the trauma that Black Americans experience by hiring more Black Americans, offering physical and mental health care resources, and providing supportive work environments that are free of microaggressions.

 

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2021 Predictions on Mental Health As We Continue to Work Remotely

Dr. Anton C. Bizzell addresses in a recent U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation (USCCF) blog post how mental health is being affected as we continue to work remotely well into 2021 and beyond. Working remotely can lead to feelings of loneliness, increased stress, and difficulty concentrating and adjusting to the new work style. Still, we must recognize that remote work is part of the “new normal” and is here to stay as we continue to social distance and control the spread of COVID-19 into 2021, Dr. Bizzell believes. Remote work will very likely remain in some form beyond the pandemic, he writes.

READ MORE: U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation (USCCF)

State of Mental Health, Part 2: Where we’re headed in 2021

In a recent Psychology Today article, Dr. Anton C. Bizzell shares how COVID-19 affected everyone’s mental health in 2020 and what the predictions and preparations are for 2021. Dr. Bizzell believes that mental health will gain a foothold in the overall healthcare conversation and will be recognized as a global health problem. We must couple hope with action to tackle the mental health effects of the pandemic, Dr. Bizzell writes. With so many around the world touched by COVID, the topic of mental health will finally begin to lose its stigma, he believes.

READ MORE: Psychology Today