Stay Well

May 15, 2024

Countries Struggle To Draft "Pandemic Treaty" To Avoid Mistakes Made During COVID

After the coronavirus pandemic triggered once-unthinkable lockdowns, upended economies and killed millions, leaders at the World Health Organization and worldwide vowed to do better in the future. Years later, countries are still struggling to come up with an agreed-upon plan for how the world might respond to the next global outbreak. A ninth and final round of talks involving governments, advocacy groups and others to finalize a “pandemic treaty” is scheduled to end Friday. The accord’s aim: guidelines for how the WHO’s 194 member countries might stop future pandemics and better share scarce resources. But experts warn there are virtually no consequences for countries that don’t comply. AP Read more

Cue Health’s COVID-19 Tests Could Give False Results, FDA Warns

The Food and Drug Administration warned consumers Monday to not use Cue Health’s at-home COVID-19 tests. This follows an FDA warning letter to the company last week that said Cue was not following the conditions stipulated in the emergency use authorizations for its tests. The FDA letters said the tests could give false results. Specifically, the agency said that the company had changed how the electrochemical signals within the test device were generated, received, and interpreted — changes the FDA has not authorized. These changes decreased the stability of the tests and might lead to false results, the agency said. STAT Read more

Paid Sick Leave Sticks After Many Pandemic Protections Vanish

Bill Thompson’s wife had never seen him smile with confidence. For the first 20 years of their relationship, an infection in his mouth robbed him of teeth, one by one. “I didn’t have any teeth to smile with,” the 53-year-old of Independence, Missouri, said. Thompson said he dealt with throbbing toothaches and painful swelling in his face from abscesses for years working as a cook at Burger King. He desperately needed to see a dentist but said he couldn’t afford to take time off without pay. Missouri is one of many states that do not require employers to provide paid sick leave. So, Thompson would swallow Tylenol and push through the pain as he worked over the hot grill. In a nation that was sharply divided about government health mandates during the COVID-19 pandemic, the public has been warming to the idea of government rules providing for paid sick leave. KFF Health News Read more

Impact Of Pandemic On Wellbeing Of The Young And The Economy Must Not Be Trivialised

From the outset it was obvious the coronavirus pandemic would be brutal on the UK’s young people. Just how brutal has only become apparent over time. Children, teenagers and adults in their early 20s were the least likely to have adverse physical consequences but suffered most from the restrictions put in place to prevent the virus spreading. Children were deprived of education. Teenagers were stuck in their homes and unable to see their friends in person. The concentration of young adults working in hospitality meant they were most vulnerable to being furloughed or losing their jobs. It was a recipe for an increase in unhappiness and mental illness – and so it has proved. People in their early 20s are more likely to be out of work because of ill health than those in their early 40s. All this would be bad enough had young people gone into the pandemic in good shape. But as a new academic paper shows, the mental health of young people has been deteriorating for a decade and a half. This is not just a UK phenomenon. The same has been found to be happening in more than 30 other countries. The Guardian

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Oakland’s Jack London Inn Is Becoming A Homeless Shelter

The city of Oakland is closing one of its largest homeless shelters and opening another in its place. On May 7, the City Council approved a nearly $7 million grant for a nonprofit to lease the Jack London Inn and run a shelter for seniors and medically vulnerable residents there. The first occupants of the 110-room building on Embarcadero West will be the current residents of the Lake Merritt Lodge. The city’s lease at the grand yellow building on Harrison Street is ending June 30. Oaklandside Read more

S.F. Program Gives Homeless People Free Booze. Here’s Why The City Says It’s Helpful

For a small slice of San Francisco’s homeless population that struggles with severe alcohol addiction, nurses offer treatment not in a pill, but in a shot of vodka or a glass of beer. It may sound counterintuitive, experts say, but it helps keep people off the streets and out of emergency rooms, jails — or the morgue. San Francisco set up a “managed alcohol program” four years ago as a way to care for vulnerable homeless people who drank excessive amounts of alcohol and were among the city’s highest users of emergency services. Since its creation, the program, which started out with 10 beds, has served 55 clients, according to officials from the Department of Public Health. The now 20-bed program, which costs about $5 million per year, operates out of a former hotel in the heart of the Tenderloin. Nurses dispense regimented doses of vodka and beer to participants at certain times of day based on care plans. SF Chronicle Read more



Gavin Newsom Wants California Cities To Plan Housing For Homeless — Without Enough Money To Fund It

California Gov. Gavin Newsom is sponsoring a bill that would push cities to take homeless residents into account when crafting their housing goals. But would this legislation actually result in more affordable housing? There are concerns the state is not providing enough money to get it built. Cities have struggled to meet their state-mandated goalposts when it comes to permitting low-income units. Some advocates say planning is an empty promise without more money to build the housing. “Gov. Newsom continues to ignore the elephant in the room — that local jurisdictions cannot meet their housing goals at lower income levels without significant additional public funding,” said Amy Schur of Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment in a statement. Sacramento Bee Read more

California Speeds Up Mental Health Landscape Transformation

Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Tuesday that the state is accelerating the first round of funding, made available by Prop 1, to transform the mental health landscape, focusing on the most seriously ill and unhoused people. Speaking at a behavioral health center in Redwood City, Newsom said the state is speeding up the distribution of billions of dollars to counties to build outpatient, inpatient, and residential behavioral health facilities. The Redwood City location is using money from the Behavioral Health Bridge Housing program, which has provided funding to short-term "bridge" housing settings since 2022 to address the housing needs of people experiencing homelessness who have serious behavioral health conditions. KTVU Read more

Two Studies Find An Increase In Mental Health Portrayals On TV, And They’re More Positive

We know that TV has the power to change minds on political and social issues. But what if it can change minds about mental health? Two studies, both published Thursday, looked at depictions of mental health on TV. They were commissioned by MTV Entertainment Studios as part of its Mental Health Storytelling Initiative and Mental Health Media Guide, which lists resources and advocates that are available to teach creators about best practices for talking about mental health in their works. The first study, conducted as part of the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, looked at the prevalence of mental health conditions depicted within television shows and the context surrounding those portrayals. LA Times Read more

How To Talk To Kids When Violent Events Happen

When caregivers can’t shield kids from incidents of extreme violence around the world or near home, a Boston Medical Center psychiatrist explains to patients, talking openly about it may actually help. “A lot of parents feel they have to have all of the answers prepared before they have a conversation with a kid about violence that may be happening in their community, as well as in other communities they may be hearing about in the news,” said Dr. Christine Crawford, an adult, child, and adolescent psychiatrist at BMC. “But really, it’s not about providing the answers and being a problem solver. It’s really about connecting with your kid, to understand how they understand the events that have been taking place around them and in the world.” Information about extreme violence in the world — with wars in Ukraine and Gaza and record-high gun violence closer to home in the U.S. — is becoming more accessible than ever to children and teens. Events like these can cause “vicarious trauma” within families no matter where you are, Crawford said. Mercury News Read more



San Francisco Tries Tough Love By Tying Welfare To Drug Rehab

Raymond Llano carries a plastic bag with everything he owns in one hand, a cup of coffee in the other, and the flattened cardboard box he uses as a bed under his arm as he waits in line for lunch at Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco. At 55, he hasn’t had a home for 15 years, since he lost a job at Target. Llano once tried to get on public assistance but couldn’t — something, he said, looking perplexed, about owing the state money — and he’d like to apply again. But beginning next year, if he does, he’ll face a new city requirement that single adults with no dependents who receive cash benefits be screened for illegal drug use and, if deemed necessary, enter treatment. San Francisco’s voters approved the new mandate in March. California Healthline Read more

Seattle To Open Short-Term Recovery Center For People After A Fentanyl Overdose

Seattle will open a new space for people to recover and receive treatment for nearly 24 hours after they have overdosed on fentanyl or other drugs, Mayor Bruce Harrell announced last Thursday. The center is slated to open near the Pioneer Square neighborhood in mid-2025 and will be run by a homelessness and substance abuse nonprofit organization called the Downtown Emergency Services Center. In the first four months of this year, emergency services treated nearly 2,500 opioid overdoses across King County, which includes Seattle, KUOW reported. Over 200 deaths caused by opioid-related overdoses were recorded in that same period. Opioid overdose deaths, which are caused by heroin, fentanyl and oxycodone, have increased dramatically in the city, state and across the U.S. In Portland, Oregon, elected leaders declared a state of emergency earlier this year over the public health and public safety crisis fueled by fentanyl. ABC News Read more

Counterfeit Fentanyl Pills Are Becoming A Lot More Common In Law Enforcement Seizures

A new study shows a dramatic spike in the number of counterfeit fentanyl pills being seized by law enforcement, an indication of the growing illicit drug supply driving the country's historic opioid crisis. Last year, more than 115 million pills containing illicit fentanyl were seized by law enforcement, compared to over 71 million in 2022, according to the study published Monday in the International Journal of Drug Policy. The study found that the number of pills seized last year was 2,300 times greater than the roughly 50,000 seized in 2017. The counterfeit pills are made to look like legit prescription opioid medications — like oxycodone or benzodiazepines — but

are often far deadlier. Public health officials have been warning about the presence of fentanyl,

a potent synthetic opioid, in the illicit drug supply for more than a decade. The new report highlights the rising threat of cheap and highly potent counterfeit pills, especially in the western U.S. NPR Read more



Boost Your Health: The Benefits Of Having A Pet

After a stressful morning, Gab Klotz crawls into bed with her chihuahua and cats. Then she

rests and destresses — petting and snuggling with the animals while listening to the loud

purring from Monster, her always-content orange tabby. “It relaxes me,” says the insurance property underwriter who works from home. “When I’m in bed with them, I can breathe and my heart rate slows. Afterward, I’m much calmer and ready to tackle the remainder of my day.” Klotz’s experience hints at some of the ways pets contribute to improved well-being.

Mayo Clinic Read more