COMMUNITY CALENDAR

August

U.S Suicide Rates Hit Record High In 2022

(Atlanta, GA) -- The number of suicides in the United States is at an all-time high. According to a new report from the CDC, roughly 49-thousand Americans committed suicide in 2022, nearly a three-percent increase over the prior year. Over half of those suicides involved firearms. U.S. Health Secretary Xavier Becerra released a statement with the report, saying “too many people still believe asking for help is a sign of weakness...We must continue to eliminate the stigmatization of mental health and make care available to all Americans.”

SCOTUS Blocks Purdue Pharma Bankruptcy Deal

(Stamford, CT) -- The Supreme Court is blocking opioid maker Purdue Pharma from moving forward with a six-billion-dollar bankruptcy deal. The decision comes after the Biden administration raised objections about the settlement that would have shielded the Sackler family from future lawsuits related to the opioid epidemic. A spokesperson for Purdue Pharma said the company is confident in the legality of its plan of reorganization, and “optimistic that the Supreme Court will agree.” The high court is set to hear oral arguments in December and likely issue a ruling early next year.

Nearly All Pharmacists Are Experiencing Drug Shortages

(Bethesda, MD) -- Almost all pharmacists say they’re experiencing drug shortages, and nearly a third say the impacts are “critical.” That’s according to a survey from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. The shortages have led to rationing medications and delaying or canceling treatments and procedures. Chemotherapy drugs are in the top five categories of drugs with active shortages. Lawmakers say reliance on China for the drugs makes the problem worse and they are pushing the Biden Administration to bring production back to the U.S.

Signs Point To A COVID-19 Summer Surge

(New York, NY) -- COVID-19 hospital admissions were up by 12-percent last month and emergency room visits up by 17-percent. The CDC says COVID deaths are the lowest they have been since the government started keeping track, but, still, between 300 and 400 Americans are dying each week. Epidemiologists think human behavior is behind uptick. They point to things like record heat driving more people indoors for air conditioning, and summer travel sending people outside their normal social circles. There’s also a new coronavirus variant topping the leaderboard in the US: E.G.-FIVE. It’s causing about 17-percent of new Covid cases.