People with Empathy Blog

Accounting for its population density and size, California has done relatively well in fending off the novel coronavirus disease, thanks to the commitment of the people of the state to stay home and take precautions. But California’s success is due, in no small part, to local and state health care authorities working together in response, and to the leadership of Gov. Gavin Newsom. Newsom’s 83% approval rating for his COVID 19 response even outstrips the 79% approval rating of Gov. Andrew Cuomo of New York. On Thursday, Gov. Newsom signed an executive order aimed at limiting administrative pain and cutting red tape while a statewide stay-at-home order is in effect. The governor’s order extends the expiration of drivers licenses by 60 days, allows businesses to meet the state’s environmental quality regulations through electronic filing, and suspends California’s 10-cent mandatory charge for paper or plastic bags provided by grocery stores since many local health departments ...

In response to appeals by People with Empathy and advocates statewide, California State authorities are now monitoring the stockpiling and shortage of certain medications in light of the COVID 19 pandemic keeping them from patients who need them for critical maintenance care, especially hydrochloroquine and chloroquine (brand name: Plaquenil), anti-malarial drugs used to treat lupus patients. Because of the advocacy we helped spur and the leadership provided by Assemblymember Evan Low, Assemblymember Kansen Chu, and Sen. Jim Beall, the California State Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) has informed state legislative staff and constituents that "patients who legitimately need hydroxychloroquine but are not being dispensed it should file a complaint for delay of therapy." Complaints can be filed with the California State Board of Pharmacy here . We encourage any patients who have been denied a refill or who have otherwise been unable to The full statement from the DCA...

People with Empathy has released an urgent appeal from our founders Christine Von Raesfeld and Spandan Chakrabarti to California Governor Gavin Newsom and state legislators to protect access to lifesaving treatments for chronic illness patients light of the COVID 19 outbreak, particularly hydrochloroquine (brand: Plaquenil) for lupus patients. We wrote , in part: We received particularly alarming news ... that Kaiser Permanente had sent notice to its members suffering from lupus that their treatment with hydroxychloroquine (brand name: Plaquenil) will be discontinued in order to preserve supplies for COVID 19 patients. Further, Kaiser noted in their notice to members that their prescriptions would not be filled even if their physician prescribed it. Patients were then “thanked” for their “sacrifice... that might save lives.” While in response to media reports Kaiser noted that it will make hydroxychloroquine available to both COVID 19 patients and lupus patients in critical cond...