A new opioid overdose-reversing drug called Opvee is expected to be available over the counter later this year. Santa Cruz County health officer Dr. David Ghilarducci sees the addition of a new drug to the arsenal of tools to combat the opioid crisis as a positive development. But some are concerned about how much the treatment will cost and whether insurance will cover it.
Health & Wellness
Posted inHealth & Wellness
Three decades, 10,000 babies and one pandemic later, county health officer Gail Newel announces retirement
Dr. Gail Newel is officially making her four-year stint as Santa Cruz County health officer the final chapter of her 30-plus-year career in the health care sector. Though the COVID pandemic made the role more challenging than she could have ever thought, she says she’s grateful that she could finish her career serving the community through hardship: “I was the right person, at the right place, at the right time.”
Posted inHealth & Wellness
CDC warns of an mpox rebound outbreak this summer
A sudden cluster of new cases of the virus formerly known as monkeypox is leading health officials to call for renewed vaccinations, warning of a 2023 rebound outbreak.
Posted inHealth & Wellness
AI might be on its way to your doctor’s office, but it’s not ready to see patients
Giant corporations like Microsoft and Google, plus many startups, are eyeing health care profits from programs based on artificial intelligence.
Posted inOpinion from Community Voices
I’m a health care worker in Watsonville with four kids to feed: We need a $25/hour minimum wage
Nathaly Rodriguez is a lactation consultant in Watsonville and is tired of seeing her colleagues leave for better jobs and higher pay. People in our community need more services, she says. The answer is simple: higher wages. She advocates for the passage of state Senate Bill 525.
Posted inLatest News
Gun rights advocates renew legal fight over California’s 10-day wait for firearm buyers
Gun rights advocates are challenging California’s 10-day waiting period for gun buyers, saying it is not legally justifiable after the Supreme Court’s Bruen decision.
Posted inHealth & Wellness
Loneliness is an epidemic, and the health risks are ‘profound,’ U.S. surgeon general warns
Isolation and loneliness are an epidemic as damaging to Americans’ individual and public health as smoking and obesity, the surgeon general said in an advisory.
Posted inHealth & Wellness
Millions of Californians are willing to donate organs, but relatively few do. Here’s why
About half the U.S. population, including 18 million Californians, are registered organ donors. But whether you can actually donate organs depends on how you die, among other limiting factors.
Posted inPolitics & Policy
SafeRx brings professionals, youth together to distribute Narcan, break down stigma
“There is absolutely a risk that is lessened by having Narcan,” one student told Lookout at a drive-thru Narcan distribution event put on by substance-use safety coalition SafeRx as the risk of fentanyl and other opioids continues to stalk Santa Cruz County. “You know, a lot of students in general use drugs and I think having that resource is definitely necessary. I think it’s inevitable that someone my age is going to at least encounter it, so knowing what to do is really important.”
Posted inLatest News
COVID-19 emptied California’s downtowns: S.F. still reeling but San Diego rebounds
California’s downtowns have had varying levels of success in rebounding from pandemic shutdowns — while San Diego has almost fully recovered, San Francisco is concerned about a potential “doom loop.”