Letter to the editor: Senate Bill 1269 puts patients at risk because it allows the wrong medical personnel to administer fillers and Botox.

The Arizona Senate will consider a bill that could put Arizona patients at risk for complications from filler and Botox injections, Senate Bill 1269, which would allow dental hygienists to administer neurotoxins and dermal fillers for therapeutic or cosmetic purposes.

The medical procedures that dental hygienists want to perform use FDA-regulated devices, which, if misused, could cause complications, possibly leading to visual impairment, blindness or stroke.

These should only be performed by a physician or appropriately trained non-physician personnel under a trained physician’s direct, on-site supervision. This legislation jeopardizes patient safety.

With the growing demand for facial fillers and neuromodulators, providing patients with properly trained and supervised medical personnel is a safeguard Arizona should have for its citizenry.

Neil Fernandes, Chandler

Don’t buy the Kroger merger spin

Despite the growing opposition to the Kroger-Albertsons merger, Kroger continues to “vigorously defend” the merger, saying that it is great for employees and consumers.

Surely they are not pushing so hard to benefit us all. They obviously stand to gain a lot by merging.

The more they try to spin it, the more we are against it. This merger needs to be blocked.

Rusty Duplessis, Casa Grande

Blame parents before social media

It is amusing to me how much politicians and parents blame technology companies for their children becoming addicted to, and adversely impacted by, social media usage and content.

Nowadays, it is easier to blame others rather than take responsibility.

Why do I say this? Observational learning is one of the most powerful ways children learn. And what are our children observing?

They are seeing adults looking at their phones when driving, walking, going to the bathroom, dining (including when with their partners and/or family), and even when walking with their children. They are learning that watching videos or texting is the most important thing in an adults’ life and must not be disturbed.

If we want our children to be less dependent on social media for their happiness, a good first step is for parents to model interaction with significant others rather than looking at what is on their cellphones. (Parents might also set limits on phone usage, but I’m doubtful the majority of parents are willing to do this).

Mark Loeser, Mesa

Rule change won’t kill research

Doug Hockstad’s recent column inveighs against a proposed federal rule change that would grant greater flexibility in re-licensing of patents from federally sponsored research when the price of a product based on it is excessive.

He predicts the loss of “$4.7 billion in economic output and more than $172 million in tax revenues” over the next decade as government operatives trample out the last spark of innovation at Arizona universities.

Nothing could be further from the truth. The proposal has stringent guidelines of what inventions are even subject to consideration.

And it’s reasonable to consider whether the public benefit from making products of a taxpayer-funded invention available to and usable by the intended end-users — on whose behalf the initial funding was granted — should weigh against the profits of private individuals and corporations. (Nowhere in the rule do I see it applying to patents from privately funded research.)

Thanks, Doug, for bringing this to our attention. This rule reform is indeed an important issue. I’ll be contacting the White House to support its rapid adoption. 

Robert Altizer, Phoenix

Measles case is a wake-up call

The report of measles in public spaces in Maricopa Country (“Traveler with measles visited public spots in Phoenix and Chandler. Were you exposed?” Feb. 13) is a reminder that infectious diseases are a present threat, whether we think about them or not.

This highly contagious disease stays airborne more than two hours after an infected person leaves the area, and vaccination is the only way to protect children and families from its spread.

Measles vaccination rates still haven’t bounced back from the COVID-19 pandemic, especially in low- and middle-income countries with limited access to essential health services. We need continued funding support from Congress to fight measles and other infectious diseases because children’s lives are at risk.

I ask Sens. Mark Kelly and Kyrsten Sinema to protect foreign assistance in this year’s appropriations process and support the highest possible levels of funding for global vaccines programs for next year.

Cynthia Levin, St. Louis, Mo.

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