Report: Life Expectancy Is Better In Blue States With Stringent Regulations
"States that have invested in their populations’ social and economic well-being by enacting more liberal policies over time tend to be the same states that have made considerable gains in life expectancy,” the study’s authors wrote. Other public health news on vaccinations, HIV and homelessness.
Los Angeles Times:
People Live Longer In Blue States Than Red; New Study Points To Impact Of State Policies
Weak environmental protections, safety rules and labor and civil rights protections may be cutting lives short in conservative states and deepening the divide between red and blue states, according to a new study on links between life expectancy and state policy. The report, published Tuesday in the health policy journal Milbank Quarterly, finds that states where residents live longest, including California, tend to have much more stringent environmental laws, tougher tobacco and firearms regulations and more protections for workers, minorities and LGBTQ residents. (Levey, 8/3)
ABC News:
Childhood Vaccinations Beginning To Rebound, But Still Below Normal Levels As School Resumes
Childhood vaccination rates are still down in at least 20 states, public health officials in those areas told ABC News, a worrying trend that has continued in the days and weeks before children are set to head back to school in parts of the country. The continued decline in pediatric visits comes as parents are fearful about possible infection amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. (8/4)
NPR:
'They Know What A Pandemic Is': HIV Survivors See Similarities To AIDS Epidemic
In January, two weeks after Rick Solomon joined the YMCA near his home, he fell ill. The 65-year-old Bay Area resident hoped to spend the month working out, instead he lay in bed wheezing, with crippling muscle aches. He missed several days of work at a small publishing house. "I was sick for most of the month of February with a horrible cough like I've never had before," said Solomon as he ran his fingers through his thick salt and pepper hair. "It went into my chest. I used inhalers for the first time in my life." (McClurg, 8/3)
Kaiser Health News:
Readers And Tweeters Defend Human — And Animal — Rights
Many aspects of your story on homeless camps being “swept,” moved or cleared during this pandemic (“Sweeps of Homeless Camps Run Counter to COVID Guidance and Pile On Health Risks,” June 26) seemed tone-deaf or smacked of a skewed viewpoint by those who blame the homeless for poverty or other circumstances that lead them to camp on the street. (8/4)
CIDRAP:
Longhorned Tick Identified In Ohio
The Ohio Department of Agriculture (ODA) late last week announced that the Asian longhorned tick, a rapidly spreading invasive species, has been found on a stray dog from Gallia County. In a statement, the ODA said the tick was identified on May 28 by The Ohio State University, with findings confirmed by the US Department of Agriculture National Veterinary Services Laboratory in Ames, Iowa. (8/3)
Los Angeles Times:
Former UCLA Gynecologist Faces 17 Additional Felony Charges
Los Angeles County prosecutors dramatically expanded their case against a former UCLA gynecologist on Monday, charging him with 17 additional felonies related to his alleged sexual abuse of five former patients. Dr. James M. Heaps, 67, who was already facing three similar charges of alleged abuse against two other former patients, was handcuffed and taken into custody. His bond was set at $650,000. (Cosgrove, 8/3)
In news about health and racism —
Dallas Morning News:
On The Border, Tears And Promises That The El Paso Massacre Will Never Be Forgotten Or Repeated
U.S. and Mexican officials stood united Monday as they condemned white supremacy, hatred and xenophobia while vowing to provide justice as the borderlands marked a somber first remembrance of the largest massacre by a gunman targeting Mexicans in U.S. history. The day was marked with a series of memorials, plaque dedications and a groundbreaking for a healing garden to honor the 23 victims of last year’s August 3 massacre. (Corchado, 8/3)
Stateline:
Tear Gas Bans: A Policing Change Not Gaining Traction
As legislators across the United States propose policing changes, one issue has been a sticking point: bans on police using tear gas against protesters. Dozens of law enforcement agencies have used forms of tear gas on protesters marching against police brutality since the killing of George Floyd, a Black man, under the knee of a Minneapolis police officer. Over that time, many police chiefs and law enforcement leaders have supported legislation to improve their work. But bans on tear gas to quell crowds of protesters? From a police perspective, that’s not going to fly. (Van Ness, 8/4)
Sacramento Bee:
Sacramento Family: Racism, Not COVID-19, Caused Life Support
Keona Hankson was about six months pregnant when she arrived at the hospital, and doctors told her they would have to perform a cesarean section to prematurely deliver her daughter, Melody, her family said. Gadlin, who works as an operating assistant at another local hospital, said she called her sister every two hours and since she understood the language of hospitals, their mother, Karina McDaniels, asked her to be the family member to check in regularly with hospital staff. (Anderson, 8/3)
Kaiser Health News:
Listen: NPR Interview About Less Lethal Weapons That Can Maim Or Kill
The streets in many U.S. cities have erupted with protests recently and police and federal officers have fired rubber bullets and other projectiles into crowds, injuring or even blinding some of the participants. This has been going on for decades, yet efforts to crack down on less-lethal ammo have failed locally and nationally. KHN senior correspondent Jay Hancock spoke with NPR’s Ailsa Chang on “All Things Considered” about why efforts to curb their use have failed. (8/3)
