What's New with AAFA

Welcome to your February advocacy update. I’m Jenna Riemenschneider, director of advocacy at the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA). I am pictured above with AAFA board member Renuka Babu Brown and Senator Ed Markey's (D-MA) policy advisor Adam Axler. Over-the-Counter Drug Access and Cleaner Cars Rollbacks AAFA and other members of the Healthy Choices Coalition met with Representative Judy Chu's office. We asked her to co-sponsor the Restoring Access to Medication Act of 2019...

U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.), top Democrat on the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, was joined by 32 Senators in introducing legislation that would put the United States on a path to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by no later than 2050.

On Jan. 22, 2020, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) released proposed rules on animals on planes. If they finalize these rules, airlines would no longer be forced to recognize emotional support animals as service animals and may treat them as pets.

If you’ve ever benefited from immunotherapy (allergy shots, SLIT or oral immunotherapy), you can thank Dr. Philip Sidney Norman. Dr. Norman put allergy research on the map. He is known as the “father of modern immunotherapy for allergic disease” and even coined the term “allergen immunotherapy.” As an allergist and researcher for more than 50 years, he published 237 research papers and more than 100 book chapters and reviews. And for many decades, he was an important part of AAFA.

Happy New Year! Welcome to your January advocacy update. I’m Jenna Riemenschneider, director of Advocacy at the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA).

On Jan. 8, 2020, Kenneth Mendez, CEO and president of the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA), spoke before members of the U.S. House of Representatives about the need for protections for school children with asthma and food allergies.

Share your thoughts on the future of asthma treatment. Take two short surveys by Jan. 12, 2020, 11:59 p.m. ET, and we'll submit your responses to be considered for updates to the Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of Asthma.

Dear Friends, One of the hardest things we do at the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America is have conversations with families who have lost loved ones to asthma. Our hearts break for them. We grieve along with them. After hearing these stories, we are determined to do even more for people with asthma and allergies. We understand that an asthma or allergy diagnosis can be a life-changing event. For those affected, we stand together, prepared not only to listen and to empathize, but also...

These are just a few things we were able to do this year for the asthma and allergy community because of you. But there is more for us to do to significantly reduce the burden of these diseases on people with asthma and allergies. And we can with your help.

Asthma can be scary and overwhelming. It is the leading chronic disease in children and the top reason for missed school days due to chronic illness. I’m sure if you’ve been touched by this disease, you might empathize with this experience from LaJoy and her daughter, Abria.

The Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA) has released a new tool for the asthma community – an asthma health chatbot. The chatbot is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week to help people get answers to their questions about asthma or health insurance. This can be a valuable tool for people shopping for health insurance during the final 10 days left in the federal open enrollment period.

Welcome to your November advocacy update. I’m Jenna Riemenschneider, Director of Advocacy at the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America (AAFA).