Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Oklahoma Seeks To Set Temperature Standards For Shipped Medications
NBC News: Oklahoma Proposes Landmark Rule To Keep Mailed Medications Safe From Extreme Temperatures
Patients who get their prescription medications by mail in Oklahoma may soon have better protections for the safety of those drugs than any other state. On Wednesday, Oklahoma regulators proposed the nation’s first detailed rule to control temperatures during shipping, according to pharmacy experts. (Kaplan, 11/17)
CNN: As Measles Outbreak Sickens Children In Ohio, Local Health Officials Seek Help From CDC
A growing measles outbreak in Columbus, Ohio, has sickened dozens of unvaccinated children and hospitalized nine of them, and local public health officials are seeking assistance from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “We asked the CDC for assistance and they will be sending two epidemiologists at the end of the month to assist with our local investigation,” Kelli Newman, a spokesperson for Columbus Public Health, told CNN in an email Thursday. (Howard, 11/17)
AP: Maine Backtracks On Guidance For Medical Marijuana Sales
Maine is backing down from some of its guidance for the medical marijuana industry by allowing the sale of pre-rolled products to resume. The Maine Office of Cannabis Policy last month banned medical marijuana caregivers without a storefront from providing pre-rolled products, and increased the age limit for pre-rolled products sold in stores from 18 to 21, the same as the age limit for recreational marijuana purchase. The guidance at the time suggested that a tobacco license was needed. (11/17)
The Boston Globe: $130 Million Made Available For Health Worker Loan Repayment
According to a release from the Baker administration, the Executive Office of Health and Human Services has contracted with the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers to distribute the funds. The money was allocated from American Rescue Plan Act funding and from the Opioid Recovery and Remediation Trust Fund, which was established with proceeds from settlements with drugmakers that helped fuel the opioid epidemic. (Bartlett, 11/17)
The Boston Globe: ‘Our Emergency Food System Shouldn’t Have To Serve 40 Percent Of Massachusetts Families’: Food Aid Programs Showing Few Signs Of Diminishing
Although COVID-19 has eased, the heightened need for food assistance that it spawned is showing few signs of abating, according to leaders of some local and regional food aid programs and area organizations. (Laidler, 11/17)
Detroit Free Press: Ex-Michigan Health Chief Asks Court To End Flint Water Saga
Lawyers for Michigan's former health director are urging an appeals court to quickly stop an effort to revive criminal charges related to the Flint water crisis of 2014-15. (White, 11/17)
