pandemic

COUNTY OFFICIALS WARN OF RISE IN FENTANYL FATALITIES, USE OF COUNTERFEIT DRUGS AMID PANDEMIC

By Miriam Raftery

August 12, 2020 (San Diego) – District Attorney Summer Stephan is warning of an “alarming uptick” in overdose deaths caused by fentanyl.  Stephan says dealers are lacing various illegal drugs with fentanyl in what she calls “a recipe for death.”

At least 119 deaths so far this year are confirmed to be related to fentanyl in San Diego County, with another 84 deaths in which the drug is suspected to be a factor.  Isolation during the pandemic is believed to be a key factor contributing to the increase in addiction and fatalities.

According to a joint statement issued by state and federal prosecutors, law enforcement and county health officials, the number of deaths in 2020 is expected to exceed last year’s total of 152. 


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READER’S EDITORIAL: SMALLPOX SURVIVOR RECALLS THE SCOURGE

As COVID-19 quarantines cause disruptions worldwide, a survivor of a prior pandemic speaks out

By  Roger Coppock

Photo: A case of smallpox in 1886; public domain image via Wikipedia

June 10, 2020 (San Diego’s East County) -- It fell off me in the shower this morning.  I felt the brief pinch and saw it before it went down the drain.  The little piece of thin  plastic suture used to hold together a former pustule on my skin, hiding it. It has been more than a decade since I saw the last of its kind.  This may, finally, be the last of them all.

As a preschooler, I followed my late father to a research station in New Mexico along the border.  My father was an experimental psychologist who was trying to measure learning in bats.  It was a great adventure, until I caught one of the last cases of Smallpox in North America.


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HEALTH AND SCIENCE HIGHLIGHTS


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FOOD INSECURITY, LACK OF RESOURCES TOP ISSUES FOR IMMIGRANTS DURING PANDEMIC

By Kendra Sitton for East County Magazine

Photo: Syrian refugee children in El Cajon, by Rachel Williams

April 22, 2020 (San Diego’s East County) -- While it may be true that a virus cannot discriminate, the structural inequalities already in place are exacerbated in a crisis. Groups already in a precarious position are more vulnerable than ever. Among these at-risk groups are immigrants and refugees. According to advocates working with immigrant and refugee communities, some of the top concerns they are hearing involve food insecurity and a lack of resources.


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WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION DECLARES GLOBAL PANDEMIC; STOCK MARKET DROPS TO BEAR TERRITORY

By Miriam Raftery

March 11, 2020 (San Diego) – The World Health Organization today declared a global pandemic.  More than 115,000 cases of COVID-19, the novel coronavirus, have been confirmed worldwide, with more than 4,200 deaths.

In the U.S., 1,237 people have tested positive for the virus and 37 have died.  The fast-spreading virus has reached 41 states and the district of Columbia, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

The COVID-19 crisis has contributed to a stock market crash.The Dow Junes plunged over 1,400 points today, officially into bear territory. The Standard & Poors index has fallen over 600 points in the past three weeks, erasing more than half the gains since Trump became president.


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SECOND FLU DEATH REPORTED IN COUNTY; CASES UP 77%

January 11, 2013 (San Diego)--A 92-year-old woman died from influenza, the County Health and Human Services Agency announced Wednesday   It was the second death this flu season. The first was an 89-year-old woman who died Nov. 15. 

County health officials are encouraging everyone to be immunized to help protect themselves and their loved ones against the flu, especially now that influenza activity is increasing nationwide. A total of 143 cases were reported the week ending Jan. 5, a 77 percent increase from the prior week, when 81 cases were reported.


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COUNTY REPORTS FOUR MORE DEATHS FROM H1N1 (SWINE) FLU; SUMMER FLU HERE “VERY UNUSUAL”

July 30, 2009 (San Diego) – Four women, all with underlying health conditions, have died from the panedemic H1N1 influenza virus (formerly called swine flu), the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency reported yesterday.  To date, San Diego County has had 735 confirmed cases, including 12 deaths.

 

 


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