February, Black History Month, is on its way out, but that doesn’t mean the issues affecting Nevada’s Black community are, too. One such issue is the state’s HIV/AIDS rate, which disproportionately impacts the local Black community. Clark County has a 36% higher rate of HIV than the United States average. And in 2023, HIV/AIDS affected more than 1,200 African Americans in Southern Nevada.

Though Black History Month is winding down, experts examine why HIV/AIDS rates among Black Nevadans continue to climb disproportionately; how gaming regulations and more locals casinos might be playing into Strip tourism declines; and a look behind the curtain at UNLV Dance, as it marks its 50th anniversary. All that and more on the latest episode of KNPR's State of Nevada.

Research has shown that Black patients, especially women, have high hesitancy rates due to historical inequity and medical exploitation. Building trust in public health systems remains a challenge for many, yet research shows high mortality among Black patients. It’s worth reviewing what we know now about COVID boosters to see if there’s a way to bridge the gap between distrust and disease prevention.

What is considered a health disparity? UNLV Nursing professor Melva Thompson-Robinson explains how far-reaching disparities go in our society (pandemic and non-pandemic included) and how her role as a journal editor is vital to public health research.

A declining trend in booster vaccinations suggests that people in Clark County may be holding off on taking those extra shots.

Considering Las Vegas’ population is 61.88% white and 12.23% Black, the data shows proportionally Black women are more likely to die in pregnancy-related deaths. Nationally about 700 women die each year from pregnancy-related causes, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control, and Black women are 2 to 3 times as likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than white women.

Vaccine hesitancy has been prominent in the United States in response to COVID-19, but resistance to vaccination has been presenting public health challenges long before the start of the pandemic.

As COVID vaccination rates stall, and the Delta variant spreads across the U.S., the Biden administration announced in early July that it will implement several strategies to encourage more people to get vaccinated.