Important CMA House of Delegates Update Important CMA House of Delegates Update Delegates and Colleagues: Once again, the leadership of the California Medical Association (CMA) met to discuss how to best handle this year's annual session of the House of Delegates (HOD) considering the continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic and emergence of the delta variant. While we greatly desired to have HOD meet in-person in a safe way, it is with a sense of responsibility and disappointment that we have moved to cancel our in-person meeting and replace it with a virtual session of the House. We have directed staff to ... August 24, 2021 CMA CMA, House of Delegates 0 0 Comment Read More »
COVID-19 Vaccinations: Third Doses Now Available for Immunocompromised in Santa Clara County Santa Clara County, CA – County officials announced on August 14, 2021 that a third dose of COVID-19 vaccination is now available for people who have a compromised immune system, effective immediately. Eligible individuals are encouraged to contact their primary healthcare provider for consideration of the additional dose. Appointments can also be scheduled now through the County’s website sccfreevax.org, which also includes information about numerous drop-in vaccination sites throughout the county, including local pharmacies. This expansion of eligibility follows the decision by the Food and Drug Administration to extend emergency use authorization ... August 23, 2021 COVID19, Public Health COVID-19, ThirdDose, Vaccination, Vaccine 0 0 Comment Read More »
Mental Health–Related Emergency Department Visits Among Children Aged <18 Years During the COVID-19 Pandemic — United States, January 1–October 17, 2020 Rebecca T. Leeb, PhD1; Rebecca H. Bitsko, PhD1; Lakshmi Radhakrishnan, MPH2; Pedro Martinez, MPH3; Rashid Njai, PhD4; Kristin M. Holland, PhD5 Published reports suggest that the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a negative effect on children’s mental health (1,2). Emergency departments (EDs) are often the first point of care for children experiencing mental health emergencies, particularly when other services are inaccessible or unavailable (3). During March 29–April 25, 2020, when widespread shelter-in-place orders were in effect, ED visits for persons of all ages declined 42% compared with the ... August 17, 2021 COVID19, Mental Health Children, COVID-19, Mental Health, Pandemic 0 0 Comment Read More »
The Pandemic of Loneliness In this extraordinary era of pandemic isolation, social distancing, and masking, it makes perfect sense that loneliness and its impact on mental and physical health would garner literary attention. Vivek Murthy, MD, MBA, the US surgeon general, released a book early in the pandemic saying America is experiencing a loneliness epidemic. Murthy reported that chronic loneliness works this way: Persistent stress increases inflammation that damages tissues and blood vessels, increasing risk of cardiovascular illness and death. It can interfere with the function of the immune system and make high blood ... August 12, 2021 Mental Health COVID-19, Isolation, Loneliness, Pandemic 0 0 Comment Read More »
Effect of Graphic Warning Labels on Cigarette Packs on US Smokers’ Cognitions and Smoking Behavior After 3 Months, A Randomized Clinical Trial Abstract Importance The US Food and Drug Administration’s implementation of graphic warning labels (GWLs) on cigarette packs is under challenge in US courts. Objective To determine whether GWLs can affect US smokers’ perceptions about their cigarettes or health consequences and changes in smoking behavior. Design, Setting, and Participants This study was a randomized clinical trial of the effect of a 3-month, real-world experience of cigarettes with GWL packaging. Community recruitment was done from September 2016 through December 2019 of daily smokers from San Diego, California, aged 21 to 65 years, who were not ready to ... August 10, 2021 General, Public Health Cigarette, FDA, Warning Labels 0 0 Comment Read More »
