Healthcare
Oregon Governor’s new mask mandate applies to outdoor venues and the vaccinated

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By Jenny Goldsberry
Oregon Governor Kate Brown announced a state-wide mask mandate Tuesday. Now, Brown expects all Oregonians, vaccinated or otherwise, to wear masks indoors and outdoors. The mandate will go into effect Friday.
“Today we have 1,000 COVID-19 patients in our hospitals,” Brown tweeted along the announcement. “I’m continuing to take actions to protect Oregonians and save lives.”
According to Brown, the high caseload of the COVID-19 Delta variant is overwhelming local hospitals. “In some cases, hospitals are having to put patients in hallways,” she said. This was a result that state Rep. Daniel Bonham (R) warned about over the weekend.
“With forced vaccination mandates – what will be the impact to our quality of health care, law enforcement & education when we are already short handed?” Bonham tweeted before the announcement. “Governor Brown must know that we will lose employees in these sectors. What’s the plan to backfill those positions?”
Meanwhile, Speaker of the House Tina Kotek (D) has remained silent on the issue, seemingly agreeing with the move. Oregon’s federal representatives, four of whom are Democrat with one Republican, haven’t made comments either. Their senators as well are silent.
You can follow Jenny Goldsberry on Twitter @jennyjournalism.

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

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.
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