By Kristen Hwang, CalMatters

CalMatters is a public interest journalism venture committed to explaining how California’s state Capitol works and why it matters

Photo:  an exam room at Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino Counties’ health center. Image courtesy of Planned Parenthood of Orange and San Bernardino Counties

September 28, 2022 (Sacramento) - California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a package of 12 bills Tuesday, establishing some of the strongest abortion protections in the nation — a direct reaction to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn federal abortion guarantees earlier this year.

By Henri Migala

September 23, 2022 (Lemon Grove) – At a press conference held at the new Wellgreens dispensary at 6859 Federal Boulevard yesterday, Wellgreens executives announced their partnership with Pacific Stone to eliminate $250,000 worth of medical debt for Californians through a donation to RIP Medical Debt in New York.

Lemon Grove Mayor Racquel Vasquez was present to help celebrate the announcement. “We have members of this community who are struggling with medical debt and I commend Wellgreens, RIP Medical Debt, and Pacific Stone, for not only recognizing this but also taking a bite out of the medical debt crisis right here in Lemon Grove,” said Vasquez.

East County News Service

September 22, 2022 (San Diego) – Governor Gavin Newsom has signed Assembly Bill 1636, the Patient Protection Act, into law. The measure was authored by Assemblymember Akila Weber, M.D.. (D-San Diego) whose 79th Assembly district includes portions of East County.

“AB 1636 will preserve confidence in the medical profession by ensuring physicians convicted of sexual misconduct with a patient would automatically have their license revoked and cannot acquire or have it reinstated,” said Assemblymember Weber.

“The heinous behavior of abusing patients goes against everything physicians stand for and should not be tolerated. This legislation is essential to protect patients and the sanctity of the physician-patient relationship.”

By David R. Shorey, East County Program Manager, Institute for Public Strategies

September 8, 2022 (San Diego) -- Methamphetamine use impacts every part of our society. While often viewed as a misuse disorder that affects younger adults, people over the age of 65 are increasingly using methamphetamine in San Diego County and it has definitely become an issue for the Aging and Independence Services Department, according to officials. The rise in meth use is among both chronic users with a history of drug abuse and new users who have been introduced to meth by caregivers in their home.

September 2, 2022 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• Why has polio been found in New York, London and Jerusalem? (CBS News)
• Firefighters told to wear protective gear less to limit exposure to 'forever chemicals' linked to cancer (NBC)
• EPA to Designate Toxic 'Forever Chemicals' as Hazardous Substances (Newsmax)
• Young adults are using marijuana and hallucinogens at the highest rates on record (NPR)
• Q&A: The new COVID vaccine booster is coming. Should you get it?  (San Jose Mercury News)
• Hearing loss is a direct link to dementia. Easier access to hearing aids could help( NPR)
• Dogs getting sick with parvo-like illness in northern Michigan, dying within 3 days(MSN)

SCIENCE AND TECH

• Soon electric vehicles could charge faster than your iPhone (Washington Post)
• Elon Musk's SpaceX and T-Mobile to link satellites to mobile phones, 'eliminating dead zones worldwide' (Business Insider)
• Nuclear Fusion Breakthrough Confirmed: California Team Achieved Ignition (Newsweek)
• The world's first hydrogen-powered passenger trains are here(CNN)

For excerpts or links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

Native health expert says stats are likely an undercount due to poor data collection

Source:  Urban Indian Health Institute

August 31, 2022 (Seattle) -- The National Center for Health Statistics, a federal agency under the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), released a report titled Provisional Life Expectancy Estimates for 2021, which found that the American Indian and Alaska Native population had the steepest decline in life expectancy from 2019 to 2020, dropping from 71.8 to 65.2 years of age. American Indians and Alaska Natives also had the steepest decline from 2020 to 2021, dropping from 67.1 to 65.2 years of age.

By Miriam Raftery

August 30, 2022 (San Diego) – San Diego County Supervisors voted 4-1 earlier this month for a resolution to support the “My Body, My Data Act” introduced by Congresswoman Sara Jacobs, a Democrat whose 53^rd district includes portions of San Diego and East County.  The bill, if enacted, would protect the privacy of reproductive health data nationwide.

By Miriam Raftery

August 27, 2022 (San Diego) -- On August 16, the San Diego County Sheriff's Department announced a series of changes aimed at keeping deadly fentanyl and other drugs out of jails to prevent inmate deaths. The action followed a unanimous vote by County Supervisors the same day to approve funds aimed at reducing jail deaths including purchasing body scanners, staff incentives, wellness teams and access to Naloxone to save inmates who overdosed.  

Facility trains therapy dogs for people with epilepsy, autism, hearing impairments, physical and mental disabilities

By Henri Migala

August 23, 2022 (Jamul) -- Little Angels Service Dogs, an Assistance Dogs International (A.D.I.) accredited organization based in East County, is entering into a creative and exciting two-year partnership with San Diego-based Neurelis to help people suffering from epileptic seizures obtain life-changing companionship and other benefits provided by service dogs specially trained to care for people suffering from epilepsy.

August 18, 2022 (San Diego's East County) -- Our Health and Science Highlights provide cutting edge news that could impact your health and our future.

HEALTH

• ​Over-the-counter hearing aids could be available as soon as October (NPR)
• Rainwater everywhere on Earth unsafe to drink due to ‘forever chemicals’, study finds (Euro News) 
• Dog tests positive for monkeypox in first suspected human-to-pet transmission (The Hill)
• FDA recommends 3 home tests if you're exposed to COVID (NPR)
•  The U.K. approved omicron-specific booster shots. They're coming to the U.S. soon (NPR)
• Myths and facts about how monkeypox spreads — and how to protect yourself (NPR) 
• New COVID boosters could get approved using a streamlined review process (NPR)
• CVS, Walmart and Walgreens ordered to pay $650.6 million to Ohio counties in opioid case (Reuters)

SCIENCE AND TECH

For excerpts and links to full stories, click “read more” and scroll down.

By José Eli Villanueva, County of San Diego Communications Office

August 17, 2022 (San Diego) - Officials from the County’s Health and Human Services Agency, local hospitals and healthcare agencies gathered Thursday to celebrate the county becoming the first in the nation to earn a regionwide “senior-friendly” emergency department accreditation for all 18 of its hospitals.

By Miriam Raftery

August 3, 2022 (San Diego’s East County) – Would you risk an action that increase your risk of dying 29-fold? 

New data from the Centers for Disease Control reveals that among people over age 50, those who are unvaccinated are:

• 29 times more likely to die of COVID-19 than people the same age who are vaccinated and have had two booster shots, and
• 4 times more likely to die than people the same age who are vaccinated with just one booster shot.

By Suzanne Potter, California News Service

July 22, 2022 (San Diego) -- Starting now, people contemplating suicide or families experiencing a mental health crisis can call 988 instead of 911, and get the help they need.

By Miriam Raftery

July 21, 2022 (Washington D.C.) – After the Supreme Court ruled that states can ban or restrict abortion access, overturning Roe v. Wade, the Biden administration has taken several actions to protect abortion access in certain circumstances. Specifically:

• The administration cited a law on the books since 1986, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA), which requires abortions be allowed in all states if a woman’s life or health is at stake; hospitals that refuse can lose Medicare and Medicaid funding.
• The Health and Human Services (HHS) Department warns that pharmacists must dispense medications used for miscarriages and early-term abortions, or face potential criminal penalties. Attorney General Merrick Garland similarly issued a statement that states cannot ban mifepristone, a drug approved by the FDA for early pregnancy termination among other uses.
• HHS launched a website to help people nationwide find reproductive care and understand their rights at https://reproductiverights.gov/
• President Joe Biden signed an executive order to protect patient privacy and access to emergency contraception and medication abortions.
• HHS has advised pharmacies not to discriminate based on types of contraception sold, if any birth control items are sold in their retail stores.