Red Bluff Daily News

ByAndrewTaylor TheAssociatedPress WASHINGTON The White House and Democrats are pressuring congressional Republicans to act on Pres- ident Barack Obama's de- mands for money to combat Zika, but even the onset of mosquito season that prob- ably will spread the virus has failed to create a sense of urgency. Republicans from states at greatest risk, such as Florida, Texas, Louisiana and Georgia, have been slow to endorse Obama's more than 2-month-old re- quest for $1.9 billion to bat- tle the virus, which causes grave birth defects. The Centers for Disease Con- trol and Prevention cur- rently reports more than 470 cases in the continen- tal U.S., all so far associated with travel to Zika-affected areas. Polls show that the pub- lic isn't anywhere nearly as scared of Zika as it was about the Ebola outbreak in West Africa and the hand- ful of cases in the U.S. in 2014. Aides to GOP lawmak- ers, even those representing Southern areas most vul- nerable to Zika, say they've yet to hear from many anx- ious constituents, though they said this could change. "Very few calls/letters," emailed a spokeswoman for Rep. Ander Crenshaw, R-Fla. On Monday, the Na- tional Governors Associ- ated weighed in, urging the administration and lawmakers returning to Washington "to work to- gether to reach agreement on the appropriate fund- ing levels needed to pre- pare for and combat the Zika virus." The congressional re- sponse to Zika contrasts sharply with the rush last year to pass legislation to curb the admission of Syr- ian refugees, which passed the House less than a week after terrorist attacks in Paris. Syrian refugees were erroneously linked to the attack. "Any time there's a pub- lic health issue, bordering on crisis, there's obviously some urgency," said Rep. David Jolly, R-Fla., who's running to replace Repub- lican Sen. Marco Rubio. Jolly added, however, that "I don't know that it has become a political issue in Florida as much as it has in- side the Beltway." One voice for immedi- ate action, however, is Ru- bio, who's leaving the Sen- ate after his unsuccessful presidential bid. "It is just a matter of days, weeks, hours before you open up a newspaper or turn on the news, and it will say that someone in the con- tinental United States was bitten by a mosquito and they contracted Zika," Ru- bio said in an April 28 floor speech. "When that hap- pens, everyone is going to be freaked out ....This is go- ing to happen." Rubio also has appealed for congressional action to aid debt-ridden Puerto Rico, another unresolved issue as lawmakers return to Washington on Monday for a brief, three-week May congressional session. The House may act on legisla- tion to combat opioid abuse and perhaps belatedly pass a budget while the Senate struggles to make head- way on the annual spend- ing bills after a dispute over last year's Iran nuclear deal enveloped a popular energy and water projects mea- sure. Thus far, Rubio's ur- gency on Zika is not widely shared, though Sen. John Cornyn of Texas, the No. 2 Republican, drew atten- tion when he told reporters in Houston last month that "the risk of underreacting is really too high to take any chances." "Sometimes the wheels of Congress move very slowly," Cornyn said. "But we want to make sure we're not writ- ing blank checks." One reason for the slow pace may be Ebola, which affected far fewer peo- ple but created more pub- lic fear than Zika has. The Ebola panic proved to be unjustified and was con- tained to just a handful of U.S. cases. A poll in March by the Kaiser Family Founda- tion found by a more t han 2-to-1 margin that respon- dents said the government is doing enough to fight Zika. But an October 2014 Kaiser poll on Ebola found that only about half of re- spondents thought the gov- ernment was doing enough. Just 34 percent of those polled on Zika were wor- ried that someone in their family would be affected by the virus, versus 65 percent who were not worried; the comparable figures on Eb- ola showed 45 percent wor- ried someone in their fam- ily would get sick from Eb- ola, versus 54 percent who were not worried. In addition, Congress ap- proved $5 billion to battle Ebola in 2014 and perhaps half of that money is un- spent, though the adminis- tration has designs to use it to help other lesser de- veloped countries build up their health care systems. The threat of Ebola has not been wholly snuffed out. In April, the adminis- tration bowed to pressure from Republicans and di- verted almost $600 mil- lion in previously approved funds, including more than $500 million in re- maining Ebola money, to- ward fighting Zika. That has bought time for Re- publicans to seek greater details and potentially re- spond to Obama's request by including Zika funds in an upcoming spending bill that could be delivered to the president before Con- gress recesses in mid-July for seven weeks. One op- tion is adding the money to a popular measure funding politically sacrosanct veter- ans programs. VIRUS MosquitoseasonbringsnourgencyformoneytofightZika The Associated Press VAN NUYS About 180,000 pacifiers have been recalled due to a choking hazard. The federal Consumer Product Safety Commis- sion says the recall in- volves Munchkin-brand Latch lightweight pacifiers and clips, which are sold as a set. The commission says the clip cover can detach from the clip itself, creat- ing a choking hazard. Commission spokes- woman Patty Davis says Munchkin is conducting a voluntary recall in cooper- ation with the government. There have been 10 re- ports of the clip cover com- ing off in the U.S. and Can- ada, but no injuries have been reported. The sets were sold be- tween March 2014 and March of this year at re- tailers nationwide, includ- ing Babies 'R' Us, Target, Wal-Mart and Amazon. Company recalls 180,000 pacifiers COURTESYOFUNITEDSTATES CONSUMER PRODUCT SAFETY COMMISSION VIA AP Munchkin-brand Latch lightweight pacifiers and clips are being recalled. ASSOCIATED PRESS FILE PHOTO Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are seen in a mosquito cage at a laboratory in Cucuta, Colombia. BABY SAFETY By David Klepper The Associated Press Across the United States, heroin users have died in alleys behind convenience stores, on city sidewalks and in the bathrooms of fast-food joints — because no one was around to save them when they overdosed. An alarming 47,000 American overdose deaths in 2014 — 60 percent from heroin and related pain- killers like fentanyl — has pushed elected leaders from coast to coast to con- sider what was once un- thinkable: government- sanctioned sites where us- ers can shoot up under the supervision of a doctor or nurse who can administer an antidote if necessary. "Things are getting out of control. We have to find things we can do for peo- ple who are addicted now," said New York state Assem- blywoman Linda Rosen- thal, who is working on legislation to allow super- vised injection sites that would also include space for treatment services. "The idea shouldn't be dis- missed out of hand. I don't see anyone else coming up with anything new and in- novative." Critics of the war on drugs have long talked about the need for a new approach to addiction, but the idea of allowing super- vised injection sites is now coming from state lawmak- ers in New York, Maryland and California, along with city officials in Seattle, San Francisco and Ithaca, New York, who note that syringe exchanges were once con- troversial but now operate in 33 states. While such sites have operated for years in places such as Canada, the Neth- erlands and Australia, they face significant legal and political challenges in the U.S., including criticism that they are tantamount to waving a white flag at an epidemic that should be fought with prevention and treatment. "It's a dangerous idea," said John Walters, drug czar under President George W. Bush. "It's advo- cated by people who seem to think that the way we should help sick people is by keeping them sick, but comfortably sick." But proponents argue such sites are not so radi- cal outside the U.S., point- ing to examples where they offer not only a place to shoot up, but also health care, counseling and even treatment beds. In many cases, the users are there to shoot up heroin or dan- gerous opioids like fen- tanyl, though some take painkillers in pill form. At Sydney's Medically Supervised Injecting Cen- tre, more than 5,900 peo- ple have overdosed since it opened in 2001. No one has died. It's the same at Insite in Vancouver, British Columbia. About 20 over- doses happen there ev- ery week, but the facility, which is jointly operated by a local nonprofit and the Vancouver Coastal Health Authority, has yet to record a death. "A big fat zero," said In- site site coordinator Dar- win Fisher. Sydney'sfacilityistucked between a hostel and a Chi- nese restaurant in Kings Cross, the city's red-light district. Aside from the se- curity guard posted just in- side the front door, it looks like a typical health clinic. At least two staffers, including a registered nurse, monitor the injec- tion room. They are not al- lowed to administer drugs, though sterile needles are provided. If a patient over- doses, the nurse delivers the antidote Narcan, which quickly reverses the over- dose. After users get their fix, they head to a second room with a decidedly warmer feel. Colored Christmas lights hang from the ceil- ing; books and magazines line the shelves. Clients can relax with a cup of coffee or tea or talk to staff. Some stay for 15 minutes; oth- ers spend hours. They exit through a back door to pro- tect their privacy. The center opened on an 18-month trial basis follow- ing a sharp increase in her- oin use in Sydney. The trial was repeatedly extended by government officials until 2010, when it was granted permanent status. It's run by the social services arm of the Uniting Church and is funded by police-seized proceeds of various crimes. A clinic in Amsterdam — one of three injection sites in the Dutch capital — goes even further, distributing free heroin to long-term addicts as part of a gov- ernment program created for hardened addicts who might otherwise commit a crime to pay for their fix. About 80 users visit up to three times a day. Most are men, and the average age is 60. Many began us- ing in the 1970s and 1980s. "We would ideally like them to cut back their use," said Fleur Clarijs, a doctor at the facility. But, she said, the main objective of the facility is to reduce risk to users — and their effects on the com- munity. In Vancouver's seedy Downtown Eastside neigh- borhood, Insite offers pa- tients treatment services just up the stairs from where they shoot up. About a third of Insite's visitors request referral to a detox program, the clinic said. A woman who gave her name as Rhea Jean spoke to The Associated Press af- ter recently injecting her- self there. She felt nauseous and ran outside to the curb to vomit. Her face covered with scabs, the longtime heroin user looks far older than her 33 years. "It's a great place for ac- tive users in full-blown ad- diction. It links you up to other programs," said Jean, who herself hasn't sought treatment through Insite. A 65-year-old man who gave his name only as James because he's in a 12-step program that re- quires anonymity said he has been using heroin since age 22. He was clean for 17 years before relaps- ing; he said he was sexually abused as a child and spent 23 years in prison. He keeps returning to heroin, he said, because it provides release from his problems. Insite is the one place he can go and be treated if he reacts badly to the drug, he said. "They saved my life three times," he said, adding that addiction shouldn't be de- monized. "There's a large section of society that still refuses to accept it as a disease," he said. The three clinics visited by the AP initially faced opposition from politicians and members of the public but gradually won support, in part because of stud- ies showing reductions in overdose deaths and open- air drug use in the sur- rounding community. HEROIN ADDICTS Once unthinkable, drug shoot-up rooms get look THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Marianne Jauncey, medical director at Sydney's Medically Supervised Injecting Centre, lays out syringes and other equipment provided to clients using the center in Sydney, Australia. redbluff.mercy.org CommunityBLS 6:00pm-10:00pm 5/10 2nd Tuesday Columba 888-628-1948 Lupus/Fibromyalgia Support Group 5:30pm-8:00pm 5/17 Tuesday Columba Jackie Kitchell 529-3029 Lupus/Fibromyalgia Support Group 5:30pm-8:00pm 5/17 Tuesday Columba Jackie Kitchell 529-3029 Childbirth Preparation 6:00pm-10:00pm 5/19 & 5/26 Thursday Columba 888-628-1948 Newpatientsalwayswelcome! Dr.AuroraBarriga,Optometrist 715 Jackson St., Suite A, Red Bluff (530) 527-9242 Red Bluff Vision Center An Optometric Practice YourFullServiceEyeCareProfessionals Quality Eye Care, Quality Eyewear Come see us for your vision exams and treatment of medical eye problems such as dry eye, allergies, blurred vision and eye injuries. Ocular eye evaluations for diabetes, glaucoma, hypertension (high blood pressure), cataracts, and high risk medications as well. Call to schedule an appointment for you and your family members today! www.redbluffvision.com Please visit our web site at Sponsoredby TheSaturday Market SlowFood Shasta Cascade ® Your community YEAR-ROUND Certified Farmers & Artisan Market 8-12:30, every Saturday Home Depot parking lot SPRING VEGGIES ARE HERE! (530) 529-1220 100 Jackson St. Red Bluff UnlimitedTanning $ 25 .00 only April Tanning Special! HEALTH » redbluffdailynews.com Tuesday, May 10, 2016 MORE ATFACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS A4

• Cover