Healthcare

California sticks to strict mask mandate as nationwide deaths plummet

Published

2 years ago

May 17, 2021

The state of California will maintain its current mask mandate, requiring that all Californians, vaccinated or otherwise, wear masks indoors. This mandate will last until June 15, as planned. Vaccinated residents can remove their masks outdoors, unless at a sporting event or concert. This comes after the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention announced that vaccinated persons are no longer required to wear masks.

Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly explained the reasoning in a phone call with local media. “The delay is “in no way saying the science or the direction by the CDC is wrong or there’s a challenge to it,” Ghaly said. “It’s really just giving ourselves across the state some additional time to have it implemented with a high degree of integrity with a continued focus on protecting the public’s health.”

Last week, the coronavirus death toll reached a 10-month low and continues to plummet.

Read the full article here.

You can follow Jenny Goldsberry on Twitter @jennyjournalism

Healthcare

TN Republican introduces legislation to fight opioid shipments into U.S.

Published

1 day ago

January 30, 2023

Sara Carter Staff

Tennessee Republican Representative Diana Harshbarger is attempting to fight the opioid crisis and epidemic through new legislation. Introduced Friday, Harshbarger told the Daily Caller:

The Daily Caller first obtained a copy of the legislation, which addresses what Harshbarger calls a “loophole.” The legislation amends the Controlled Substances Act to specifically require registrants to investigate reports of suspicious orders of controlled substances and halt them if necessary. Under the version of the act currently in force, drug manufacturers and distributors are only required to report suspicious orders of opioids and other controlled substances to the DEA.

“Breaking the opioid epidemic’s stranglehold on our nation is one of my foremost priorities. In an effort to do so, my colleagues and I have identified a loophole that allows distributors to continue order fulfillment, even under suspicious circumstances.”

“My bill closes that loophole with the requirements and guardrails needed to ensure these addictive and potentially dangerous drugs do not fall into the wrong hands while the DEA investigates. The future of our nation depends on us solving the addiction crisis, and this is a step towards that outcome” Harshbarger continued.

The Daily Caller reports:

According to a congressional report released in September, the opioid crisis cost the U.S. $1.5 trillion during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The CDC says 93,331 people died from overdoses in the U.S. in 2020, the highest in 50 years. Opioid-related deaths made up nearly three-quarters of the total.

Pharmaceutical companies have been blamed for contributing to the opioid epidemic. The Department of Justice is currently suing the pharmaceutical company AmerisourceBergen over allegations the company failed to report suspicious orders of opioids to federal law enforcement.