In this Nov. 14, 2019 photo, Jon Combes holds his bottle of buprenorphine, a medicine that prevents withdrawal sickness in people trying to stop using opiates, as he prepares to take a dose in a clinic in Olympia, Wash. The clinic is working to spread a philosophy called "medication first," which scraps requirements for counseling, abstinence or even a commitment to recovery in the battle against addictions to heroin and other opioids.
In this Nov. 14, 2019 photo, Jon Combes holds his bottle of buprenorphine, a medicine that prevents withdrawal sickness in people trying to stop using opiates, as he prepares to take a dose in a clinic in Olympia, Wash. The clinic is working to spread a philosophy called "medication first," which scraps requirements for counseling, abstinence or even a commitment to recovery in the battle against addictions to heroin and other opioids.
Listen to Smart Talk every weekday at 9am and 7pm on WITF 89.5 & 93.3. You can also stream WITF radio live on our website or ask your smart speaker to “Play WITF Radio.”
Airdate: Monday, July 19, 2021
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, an average of 128 Americans died each day from opioid overdoses. That number marked a decrease in deaths after several years of intense efforts to slow the trend.
Also on Monday’s program, in June, more than 99 percent of the people who died from COVID were not vaccinated. Vaccinations have slowed down considerably. A sizable portion of the population is hesitant or even downright hostile to getting vaccinated. Misinformation and disinformation have contributed to the hesitancy.
This while the Delta deviant of the virus is spreading quicker and is more transmissible.
So, what has to happen to get more people vaccinated and head off another surge of the virus?
Appearing on Monday’s Smart Talk is Pennsylvania’s Acting Physician General, Dr. Denise Johnson.
For more on public health issues plus a deeper look at the changing tide of healthcare, check out WITF’s Transforming Health, a partnership of WITF, WellSpan Health and Capital Blue Cross.