California
California cancels $54 million Walgreens contract over abortion pill fight
Making good on a menace he made Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom stated Wednesday that California will cancel a $54 million contract with Walgreens as punishment for the pharmacy’s resolution to not distribute abortion drugs in states the place attorneys common have warned it will be unlawful.
Newsom on social media Monday stated California “gained’t be doing enterprise with Walgreens — or any firm that cowers to the extremists and places girls’s lives in danger” after the corporate indicated final week that it will not dispense abortion drugs in at the very least 20 states the place attorneys common threatened authorized motion.
However Newsom didn’t elaborate and his workplace on the time couldn’t say what precisely that will imply.
On Wednesday, the governor’s workplace stated the state gained’t renew a contract between Walgreens and the California Division of Normal Providers that gives “specialty pharmacy pharmaceuticals” largely utilized by the state’s correctional well being care system.
The state has paid Walgreens $54 million beneath the contract that was set for renewal Could 1 however will probably be canceled as a part of an ongoing “assessment of all contracts between the state and Walgreens,” Newsom’s workplace stated. Newsom stated the state will “will discover different choices for furnishing the identical providers.”
“California is not going to stand by as firms cave to extremists and minimize off crucial entry to reproductive care and freedom,” Newsom stated in a press release. “California is on monitor to be the fourth largest economic system on the earth and we are going to leverage our market energy to defend the suitable to decide on.”
At challenge is mifepristone, a part of a two-drug cocktail that has been prescribed for early-term abortions within the U.S. for the reason that Meals and Drug Administration authorized its use in 2000. It’s utilized in greater than half of U.S. abortions.
The Biden administration has sought to make the drug extra accessible for the reason that U.S. Supreme Courtroom final yr overturned the Roe v. Wade resolution 50 years in the past that established a proper to abortion. Although historically solely accessible in particular person by means of docs for security causes, the FDA this yr expanded guidelines to let retail pharmacies dispense the drugs after finishing a certification course of, which might make them accessible not solely on the pharmacies however on-line by mail. Walgreens was amongst pharmacies going by means of that course of.
However after receiving a letter final month signed by attorneys common in 20 states, Walgreens stated in response it will not dispense the drugs in these states, and Newsom cited information of that call in his remark Monday.
Walgreens had no quick response to Newsom’s announcement Wednesday. In a press release Monday, the Illinois-based pharmacy stated “we need to be very clear about what our place has all the time been: Walgreens plans to dispense Mifepristone in any jurisdiction the place it’s legally permissible to take action. As soon as we’re licensed by the FDA, we are going to dispense this remedy per federal and state legal guidelines.”
Abortion foes have criticized Newsom — usually talked about as a possible presidential Democratic presidential candidate ought to Joe Biden bow out of his re-election bid — for going after Walgreens.
“Gavin Newsom’s try and bully Walgreens into offering abortion medication in jurisdictions the place it could be unlawful highlights his prioritization of delivering lifeless youngsters over reside ones,” stated Mary Rose Quick, director of
California Proper to Life.
“In California, Newsom has championed legal guidelines that power companies to fund and facilitate abortion,” Quick stated. “Now he’s trying to bludgeon a enterprise into violating states’ legal guidelines that prohibit abortion and defend unborn youngsters and their moms. Newsom expects the pharmacy to offer abortion medication even the place it’s unlawful, the place there is no such thing as a demand for the routine, and the place there are not any pharmacists keen to fill the deadly prescription.”
Newsom stated Wednesday that in among the states the place the attorneys common threatened authorized motion, abortion stays authorized.
Abortion rights supporters have criticized Walgreens over final weeks resolution and applauded Newsom for punishing the pharmacy over it.
Abortion rights are common in California, the place Newsom final yr pushed a poll measure, Proposition 1, authorized by two out of three voters that amended the state structure to ban interference with abortion rights.
The FDA initially authorized mifepristone in 2000 by means of seven weeks of gestation, then prolonged that in 2016 to 10 weeks. The company says the drug is “protected when used as indicated” and was authorized after “a radical and complete assessment of the scientific proof.” The FDA stated that there have been 28 stories of deaths in sufferers related to mifepristone because it was authorized.
The Feb. 1 warning letter to Walgreens was signed by attorneys common in Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and West Virginia. The lawyer common in Kansas despatched an analogous letter individually. They argued that federal and plenty of state legal guidelines prohibit utilizing the mail to distribute abortion medication, and to present them outdoors a health care provider workplace.
Different nationwide pharmacies have been cautious to not get caught up within the abortion debate. In a press release this week, Ceremony Help stated it “is monitoring the newest federal, state, authorized and regulatory developments concerning mifepristone shelling out and we are going to proceed to guage the corporate’s means to dispense mifepristone in accordance with these developments.”
CVS, which additionally acquired a warning letter from the attorneys common, has not commented.
California
What California city has the best weather for you? Take our quiz
California has plenty of options when it comes to finding a place with your preferred weather. If you like cool weather, some cities spend nearly the entire year below 70 degrees. If you hate the rain, there are locations that average just a few inches per year.
The Chronicle gathered data about temperature, precipitation, air quality and extreme weather for 61 places across California, including the 20 most populous cities with data available. In total, 53 of the state’s 58 counties are represented in the analysis.
While there may not be a perfect match with everything you’re looking for, this quiz will help pinpoint a place that gets close.
California
California woman dies from Fresno County's first human case of rabies in more than 30 years
A California woman died of rabies after allegedly being bitten by a bat in her classroom, according to Fresno County health officials.
The woman, later identified as Leah Seneng, 60, marks the first human case of rabies in Fresno County since 1992.
“In general, rabies is a disease that affects the brain, and it is very rare. But when it develops, it can cause very serious consequences,” said Dr. Trnidad Solis, Fresno County Health Department’s deputy health officer. “It’s transmitted through saliva; it is not airborne.”
RABIES PATIENT BECOMES FIRST FATAL CASE IN US AFTER POST-EXPOSURE TREATMENT, REPORT SAYS
Seneng, who was an art teacher at Bryant Middle School in Dos Palos, was bitten by the bat when she was attempting to rescue it in her classroom, local outlet ABC30 reported.
She first came into contact with the bat in October, but did not display symptoms until approximately a month later, according to Fresno County health officials. She was admitted to the hospital and died four days later.
PEANUT THE SQUIRREL EARMARKED FOR EUTHANASIA BEFORE BEING CONFISCATED AND WAS RABIES-FREE: REPORT
“The most frequent route of transmission is through the bite of an animal that has rabies. With rabies, unfortunately, there is no cure. So, when symptoms develop, there is no treatment, and often when it develops, it is often fatal. So we want the public to know that prevention is key to preventing rabies infection,” Solis said.
Fresno County officials do not believe there is a threat to public health at this time, but are working with the Merced County Health Department to identify any other possible exposures and administer vaccines.
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Seneng’s coworkers have set up a GoFundMe account to assist her family during this time.
California
Another batch of raw milk from a trendy California brand just tested positive for bird flu
- Two batches of raw milk from a trendy California brand have tested positive for bird flu this week.
- Bird flu has been spreading rapidly among cattle in the US.
- Experts say drinking raw milk is dangerous, and can cause food poisoning.
Another batch of raw milk just tested positive for bird flu in California.
Last Sunday, Fresno-based Raw Farm voluntarily recalled a first batch of cream top whole raw milk with a “best by” date of November 27. By Wednesday, the California Department of Public Health announced that a second batch of Raw Farm cream top, with a “best by” date of December 7 had also tested positive for bird flu, based on retail sampling.
“We’re not making a big deal about it, because it’s not a big deal,” Kaleigh Stanziani, Raw Farm’s vice president of marketing, said in a short video posted on YouTube after the farm’s first voluntary recall was announced earlier this week.
She said there had only been an indication that there might be a “trace element of something possible,” emphasizing that there had been no reported illnesses of Raw Farms cows or positive tests from the cattle.
Raw Farm owner Mark McAfee later told the LA Times that the California Department of Food and Agriculture had requested that his company “hold delivery of further products” until Friday, after conducting thorough testing of two Raw Farms and one creamery on Wednesday. (McAfee could not immediately be reached for comment by Business Insider during the Thanksgiving holiday.)
Raw milk may be helping bird flu spread — but not in the way you might think
Scientists suspect that cross-contamination of raw milk between animals may be one reason the H5N1 virus is spreading rapidly among cows in the US — and could even contribute to the human spread of the virus. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention cautions that dairy workers might be able to contract bird flu by infected raw milk splashed into their eyes.
There is no definitive evidence yet that humans can get bird flu from drinking contaminated raw milk. Instead, health authorities generally recommend avoiding raw milk because of other serious health risks, including food poisoning with bacteria like Salmonella, E.coli, or Listeria.
There are no known health benefits of drinking raw milk. Instead, all evidence suggests that pasteurized milk is just as nutritious, and is safer to consume.
Still, raw milk has become a trendy product among some influencers. Gwenyth Paltrow says she has it in her coffee in the morning.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President-elect Trump’s pick for Health and Human Services secretary, says he wants the US Food and Drug Administration to stop its “war” against raw milk.
Over the summer, “Carnivore MD” Paul Saladino released a raw milk smoothie in partnership with the elite Los Angeles health foods store Erewhon featuring unpasteurized (raw) kefir from Raw Farms, and powdered beef organs.
California has some of the loosest rules around raw milk in the country; it’s generally fine for California retailers like health foods stores and grocers to sell it, raw milk products just can’t be transported across state lines, per FDA rules.
Michael Payne, a researcher at the Western Institute of Food Safety and Security, told The Guardian that people consuming Dr. Paul’s $19 smoothie were “playing Russian roulette with their health,” and ignoring pasteurization, “the single most important food safety firewall in history.”
California dairy farms have been seeing an uptick in bird flu cases since August. The state has reported 29 confirmed human cases of bird flu, and all but one of those was sourced back to cows.
Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported the first confirmed case of bird flu in a California child from Alameda County. The child had no known contact with infected farm animals, but may have been exposed to wild birds, the California health department said in a statement.
The child had mild symptoms and is recovering well after receiving antiviral drugs.
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