Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

Eugene

(61,595 posts)
Sat Aug 8, 2020, 11:29 PM Aug 2020

After hundreds of covid-19 deaths in state-run veterans homes, lawmakers press VA to adhere to scien

Source: Washington Post

After hundreds of covid-19 deaths in state-run veterans homes, lawmakers press VA to adhere to science

By Alexa Mikhail, Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff and Joel Jacobs
8/8/2020, 4:43:22 p.m.

A U.S. congresswoman from Pennsylvania, riled by the experimental use of hydroxychloroquine in a nursing home for veterans in her home district, is among several lawmakers calling on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to adhere to science when providing recommendations on future coronavirus treatments or vaccines.

Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (D-Pa.) sent a letter late last month to the Veterans Health Administration, demanding more information about the use of anti-malarial drugs including hydroxychloroquine at veterans homes and whether VA was actively involved in the unproven treatment. She cited the beleaguered Southeastern Veterans’ Center in the suburbs of Philadelphia, which treated about 30 veterans and their spouses with hydroxychloroquine in April.

“I urge you to learn from this experience to ensure that our veterans, whether they are in VA’s care or in state veterans homes, get the best possible care based on sound science,” Houlahan, an Air Force veteran, wrote in the July 28 letter.

The push comes as lawmakers continue to probe patient care at state-run homes for veterans, which receive about $1 billion in federal funding annually.

More than 700 residents in state veterans homes have died from covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, according to a tally of state data by The Washington Post. Homes in Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Maryland, New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts have been hit particularly hard, reporting outbreaks in some facilities of 30 deaths or more.

-snip-

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/08/08/after-hundreds-covid-19-deaths-state-run-veterans-homes-lawmakers-press-va-adhere-science/

Latest Discussions»Issue Forums»Editorials & Other Articles»After hundreds of covid-1...