Ohio Lt. Gov. Says Residents Near Train Crash Can ‘Drink Bottled Water’
Ohio Lt. Gov. Jon Husted, a Republican, drank tap water to show it's safe, the Hill reported, but he said local residents could switch to bottled water if they remain concerned over health risks after the toxic train derailment. In New York, news on Mayor Eric Adams' new mental health plan.
The Hill:
Ohio Lieutenant Governor To East Palestine Residents: ‘If You Feel Unsafe, You Should Drink Bottled Water’
“If you feel unsafe, you should drink bottled water,” Husted said on “CNN This Morning.” “I was there, talked with the mayor, the fire chief, the police chief, all the first responders who are right there on the scene. The fire station is literally within within a stone’s throw of the railroad itself. And they were concerned about misinformation about their water.” (Sforza, 2/23)
Politico:
Overheated Wheels: Feds Release Preliminary Report On Toxic Train Crash
No one died in the wreck, and there were no serious injuries, but the fire and the Biden administration’s response have become a political flashpoint. More than a thousand people were evacuated; residents and local officials remain concerned about the long-term health effects of the chemicals that were spilled into a creek and released into the air during the fire. (Lee, 2/23)
On developments in New York —
Politico:
Adams’ Mental Health Agenda To Focus On Harm Reduction And Nontraditional Approaches
Mayor Eric Adams is poised to roll out a wide-ranging mental health plan that would triple the capacity of so-called clubhouses for people with severe mental illness, launch a virtual mental health care platform for teens and bolster harm reduction services in neighborhoods like the South Bronx and upper Manhattan. (Kaufman, 2/23)
Politico:
Only Half Of NYC Toddlers Received Timely Services For Developmental Delays, Report Says
Just half of New York City children under age three received timely early intervention services for developmental delays, according to a new analysis. (Touré, 2/23)
In other health-related news from across the country —
Reuters:
Ransomware Gang Leaked Los Angeles Student Health Records Online
Health records for about 2,000 current and former Los Angeles school students have been published to the dark web following a ransomware attack last year, the school district said in a statement on Wednesday.vThe "assessment records," which could include mental health, attendance, disciplinary and academic results, were stolen in a September 2022 cyber attack, Jack Kelanic, a senior IT administrator for the district, told Reuters after an education news site posted redacted copies of purported student mental health records online. (Smalley, 2/23)
Reuters:
First Zantac Cancer Risk Trial In California Postponed By Months
The first scheduled trial over claims that GSK Plc's (GSK.L) heartburn drug Zantac caused cancer, which had been set to begin Monday, has been postponed, likely by several months. (Pierson, 2/23)
The Texas Tribune:
Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan Releases First 2023 Legislative Priorities
House Speaker Dade Phelan on Thursday unveiled four of his priority bills for the legislative session, which included Democratic goals like the expansion of Medicaid eligibility for new mothers to one year and the exemption of feminine hygiene products and diapers from sales taxes, in a nod to the bipartisan tone he has set for the chamber. (Barragan, 2/23)
North Carolina Health News:
Medicaid Expansion Could Help Uninsured Former Inmates
The memory of a patient who visited Prospect Hill Community Health Center in 2015 for a medical appointment has stayed with family medicine doctor Evan Ashkin all these years. He was a Black man, in his mid-30s, who’d been brought to see Ashkin by a concerned aunt. The patient had been incarcerated for several years, and the visit was his first connection to health care since his release — two years earlier. (Crumpler, 2/24)
Politico:
Air Quality Worries Spur Push To Freeze N.M. Oil, Gas Permits
A Western environmental group is seeking a freeze on new oil and gas production and processing permits in New Mexico after EPA recently objected to the use of one common feature in the state's handling of emission limits. Should state regulators grant the group's request, it could at least temporarily chill booming energy development in the state, which ranks near the top nationally in both oil and gas production. (Reilly, 2/23)
Kansas City Star:
KS Senate Passes Bill Limiting Power Of Public Health Officials
The Kansas Senate Thursday voted to pass a bill which would restrict the power of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment to enforce and adopt rules and regulations to prevent the spread of disease. The KDHE secretary would only be able to recommend rules and regulations. (Barackman, 2/23)
Connecticut Public:
CT Emergency Rooms Are Overcrowded. Lawmakers Want To Study It
A temporary structure set up to manage overcrowding at emergency departments remains in place nearly two years later at Yale New Haven Hospital and Yale New Haven Children’s Hospital. It’s a result of an overcrowding problem, and it’s affecting hospitals across Connecticut, physicians say. (Srinivasan, 2/23)
Reuters:
Tennessee Takes Lead In Republican Effort To Restrict Drag Shows
The lawmakers also voted to send a bill to the governor that bans doctors from providing gender-affirming medical treatment such as puberty blockers, hormone therapy and surgery, for transgender minors. Tennessee, like other states, already has public indecency and obscenity laws that ban excessively violent or sexual performances in front of minors, regardless of the performer's gender. Drag performances typically do not involve nudity or stripping. (Allen, 2/23)
AP:
Indiana House Advances Bill That Could Out Trans Students
Indiana House Republicans advanced a bill Thursday that would require public school teachers to tell parents about students’ social transitions and pronoun changes — a bill that some worry would erode student-teacher trust and force children to come out to their parents prematurely. Republicans — who say the bill expands parents’ ability to decide how their children are raised — pushed ahead with the bill while all Democrats voted against it. (Rodgers, 2/23)
AP:
Utah Lawmakers Punt On Magic Mushroom Therapy Proposal
A pilot program in Utah that would have allowed thousands of patients to consume psychedelic mushrooms for therapeutic use failed to advance in the state Senate on Wednesday, effectively ending its chances of passage as lawmakers prepare to adjourn for the year next week. The Senate’s health and human services committee neither advanced nor rejected the measure, with Republican leaders proposing more time to examine the issue. (Metz, 2/23)
The Baltimore Sun:
Maryland Department Of Health To Close State Center COVID-19 Testing And Vaccination Site
The COVID-19 testing and vaccination site at Baltimore’s State Center complex will close after Saturday as the Maryland Department of Health scales back services offered throughout the nearly three years of the pandemic. The site in Madison Park, the only state-run testing and vaccination site in Baltimore, has completed more than 40,000 COVID tests and more than 12,000 vaccinations over the past 16 months, according to a news release from MDH announcing the close. (Belson, 2/22)
