COVID-19 and Its Impacts on Substance Use and Overdose
Provisional Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) data show that U.S. drug overdose deaths increased by 30% in 2020 from the prior year, reaching an all-time high. Increases in overdose deaths were reported for synthetic opioids (primarily fentanyl), natural or semi-synthetic opioids (e.g., prescription pain medications), psychostimulants (e.g., methamphetamine), and cocaine. In many ways,…
Current Status of COVID-19 Vaccines Rollout Nationwide: August 2021 Update for the Attorney General Community
On August 25, the U.S. reached over 363.9 million total COVID-19 vaccine doses administered with 202 million persons (60.9% of the total U.S. population) having received at least one dose and 171.2 million persons (51.6% of the total U.S. population) being fully vaccinated. Among those individuals aged 65 years and older, 91.5% have received at…
Consumer Protection During COVID-19: What We’ve Learned So Far
Protecting people from scams is a challenging mission even without the overlay of a global pandemic. But as the past 18 months have demonstrated, con artists view every breaking news story about COVID-19 as an opportunity for a new fraud or flimflam. Consumer protection agencies – including the Federal Trade Commission and state attorneys general…
Current Status of COVID-19 Vaccines Rollout Nationwide: July 2021 Update for the Attorney General Community
On July 27, the U.S. reached over 342.2 million total COVID-19 vaccine doses administered with 188.7 million persons (56.8% of the total U.S. population) having received at least one dose and 163.2 million persons (49.1% of the total U.S. population) being fully vaccinated. Among those individuals aged 65 years and older, 89.5% have received at…
COVID-19 Credentials May Present Legal, Ethical, and Public Health Issues
On July 15, the U.S. reached over 336.1 million total doses administered with 185.1 million persons (55.8% of the total U.S. population) having received at least one dose and 160.4 million persons (48.3% of the total U.S. population) being fully vaccinated. Twenty states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Guam have reached 70% or…
Current Status of COVID-19 Vaccines Rollout Nationwide: June 2021 Update for the Attorney General Community
In the U.S., the average daily rate of COVID-19 vaccines administered has decreased from a peak of 3.3 million on April 11 to around 1 million in June. On June 27, the U.S. reached over 323.3 million total doses administered with 179.3 million persons (54% of the total U.S. population) having received at least one…
Determining Synthetic Nicotine’s Place in the Tobacco and Nicotine Regulation Landscape
Synthetic nicotine, sometimes referred to as “tobacco-free nicotine,” is a man-made chemical version of nicotine that is not derived from tobacco. Recently, several synthetic nicotine products have entered the market and, with them, questions on how they will be regulated. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates all products that are “made or derived…
Current Status of COVID-19 Vaccines Rollout Nationwide: May 2021 Update for the Attorney General Community
Here in the U.S., average daily rates of COVID-19 vaccines administered has decreased from a peak of 3.3 million on April 11 to 1.8 million in May. Approximately 1.3 million people per day are achieving fully vaccinated status (i.e., having received either both doses of Pfizer/BioNTech or Moderna vaccine or one dose of the Johnson…
Current Status of COVID-19 Vaccines Rollout Nationwide: April 2021 Update for the Attorney General Community
Here in the U.S., average daily rates of COVID-19 vaccines administered has increased from 2.5 million in March to a peak of 3+ million in April. On April 28, the U.S. reached over 234.6 million total doses administered with 98 million persons (29.5% of the total U.S. population) fully vaccinated (i.e., having received either both…
