Perspectives: Why Did Hawley Vote No On Hate Crimes Act?; After Covid, Our Health Will Depend On Germs

Vanity Fair: Josh Hawley Proudly Declares Himself Pro-Hate Crimes 
Fleeing to Cancún in the middle of a state of emergency and then blaming it on a 10-year-old and 12-year-old. Blocking a Supreme Court nominee because of a fake rule about needing to wait until a new president is installed, and then going against said rule on an even shorter timeline. Voting to overturn the results of a free and fair election. Publicly declaring someone “practically and morally responsible for provoking” an attack on the U.S. Capitol but voting to acquit him anyway. ... There are some things that most of the human race would never do, and then you have Republicans, who were born without the gene for shame. That shamelessness was on full display on Thursday when Senator Josh Hawley, late of pushing the voter-fraud lies that led to the storming of the Capitol, decided for some reason to vote against the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act, making him the only senator to do so. (Bess Levin, 4/23)

The New York Times: After Covid, Your Health May Depend On Living With Germs 
The video is intended to comfort and reassure, but it feels undeniably dystopian. A person clad in goggles, a mask and a reflective vest dusts a plane’s cabin with a fine mist of disinfectant. The chemical spray is charged with “breakthrough” electrostatic technology that helps it coat every surface and lay waste to any microscopic threats that may be lurking, specifically the coronavirus. United Airlines produced and uploaded this particular video last April, but the sanitization regimen is not unique. Mass transportation authorities and countless businesses have gone to similar lengths in an effort to abide by guidelines and to mollify a rightly fearful public. And for the most part, the efforts have been welcome. One of the top comments posted to the United video reads, “Even after this pandemic you guys should keep this up.” (Markham Heid, 4/23)

Modern Healthcare: Healthcare Leaders: Help Your People Get Comfortable With Uncomfortable Conversations
The jury rendered a guilty verdict this week on all counts in the murder of George Floyd, a killing that stirred international outrage and the most significant civil rights protests in America since the 1960s. We understand the deep-seated frustration of many Americans and I share in their pain because of the horrific murder of Mr. Floyd. Hopefully, the verdict can help start the healing process for the Floyd family, the community and the nation. (Robert C. Garrett, 4/22)

The Baltimore Sun: There Is No Vaccine For The Opioid Epidemic
For the past year, our nation has been focused on fighting the coronavirus. Rightly so. Today, hope in the form of a vaccine vial is reaching individuals and communities across the country. But no vaccine for the opioid epidemic is coming. It’s the crisis raging in the background, with opioid deaths surging over the past year as economic opportunities, isolation and mental health declined amid COVID-19. More than half a million people have died from opioid overdose since 1999, and more than 800,000 from drug overdoses of any kind. Fighting this crisis requires emergency services to prevent the loss of life, treatment, education and prevention so people do not become addicted in the first place. With bold leadership from states, including states’ attorneys general and urgent funding from Congress, we can do it. (Mike Moore and David Trone, 4/22)

Stat: Congress Needs To Abolish Prescription Paper Labeling For Clinicians 
There’s no place in health care for practices that fail to serve the best interests of patients and their clinicians. One such obsolete and harmful practice is providing outdated and wasteful paper prescribing information to pharmacists and prescribers when they can — and do — obtain the most up-to-date prescribing information online. FDA-approved information for prescribers includes detailed technical information about a drug’s molecular structure, along with its approved uses, dosing, expected side effects, warnings, contraindications, and precautions. The prescribing information is different than patient labeling, which is written in non-technical language and contains practical information about how to take a drug and what side effects to watch out for. (Jane A. Axelrad, 4/23)