While the COVID crisis rages on across America, this massive epidemic and the coverage surrounding it -- while vitally important -- has effectively pushed another epidemic out of the media spotlight. Dr. Josh Bloom, ACSH's Director of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Science, and Dr. Jeffrey Singer, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, co-authored an Op-Ed in the Philadelphia Inquirer on the current state of the opioid crisis, to remind us that, among other things, pain patients are hurting and they must not be forgotten.
In their Inquirer Op-Ed, titled Misplaced Blame for Opioid Epidemic Harms Pain Patients, these experts write that opioid-related overdoses were "responsible for more than 50,000 of a total of 71,327 drug-overdose deaths in 2019," with expectations that the total will be eclipsed when 2020 fatalities are compiled. Moreover, they write that there is "strong evidence that the stress and isolation of the pandemic and its stay-at-home orders are exacerbating the problem."
Going After Scapegoats Is Easier Than Confronting The Truth -- The Inquirer Op-Ed was referenced in Dr. Singer's article on Dec. 23 that appeared on the CATO Institute's website.
Your Immune System Needs Balance, Not a Boost -- Written by nutritionist and ACSH contributor Angela Dowden, this article was included in a special health and wellness supplement distributed in USA Today's print edition on New Year's Day, reaching millions of newspaper's readers across the country. Click the link and go to page 13 to read Dowden's piece.
Hydrogen Peroxide Kills Most Viruses and Bacteria - Here's How to Use it Effectively -- Dr. Alex Berezow is cited so often in India media these days, he could someday consider running for office there. Our microbiologist and ACSH's VP for Scientific Affairs, Dr. Berezow was quoted again on Dec. 19 in Business Insider India about the chemical's effectiveness in cleaning inanimate surfaces.
On Dec. 28, Dr. Berezow was a guest on the John Carlson Radio Show, a Seattle-based talk show on station KVI. With Kirby Wilbur sitting in for Carlson, he discussed a recent report on the relatively few COVID infections that were connected to Seattle homeless encampments. Other topics included a proposal to require a so-called "COVID passport" for international travel in 2021, and whether such a passport raises privacy questions. (Conversation begins at 18:30).
Kirby Wilbur Radio Show –– On Dec. 1, Dr. Berezow appeared on the Seattle-based talk show Kirby Nation on KVI, discussing the latest on COVID-19 vaccines and CDC data suggesting that more than 50% of COVID transmissions are from those who are asymptomatic and pre-symptomatic (beginning at 23:45).
COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Plan Outlined -- This periodical from Snohomish County, WA, just north of Seattle, referenced ACSH's coverage of COVID-19 and mRNA vaccine technology.
