NCL statement: Thank you, quarantine workers

/in , , , , , , , , /by

March 18, 2020

Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832 

Washington, DC—The National Consumers League joins with our fellow Americans, friends, colleagues, and families in as we adapt our lives to address the health crisis caused by COVID-19. NCL has long been a consumer and patient advocate and we strongly support research, scientific programs, and policy solutions to address diseases across the board.

We want to take this moment to say “thank you” to the thousands of public health servants going into the hospitals, doctors offices and clinics and working on the frontlines to save millions of lives. We rely and depend on their vast knowledge, dedication and commitment to treating sick patients, and we want to specially thank them during this unprecedented national health crisis.

We also thank so many other workers – those in drug stores, grocery stores, Post Offices, the food delivery drivers, taxi, bus and subway drivers, utility workers keeping our electricity, gas, and water systems intact. We owe all of them a debt of gratitude as so many of us are able to work from home; we depend on all of you and thank you for your service to the nation.

We also join with colleagues in the healthcare advocacy community to thank infectious disease specialist Dr. Anthony Fauci for his extraordinary and selfless leadership in this battle against the spread of the coronavirus.

Join us on social to say #ThankYouDrFauci.

###

About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneering consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

 

NCL applauds crackdown on sham coronavirus cures

/in , , , , , , , , /by

March 17, 2020

Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC—The National Consumers League (NCL), America’s pioneering consumer and worker advocacy organization, today applauded the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for cracking down on vendors selling purported “cures” for the deadly coronavirus. In letters sent to seven companies, the agencies rightly warned that companies seeking to profit off of the “high level of anxiety” consumers are experiencing due to the coronavirus outbreak may be violating federal consumer protection statutes.

The following statement is attributable to Sally Greenberg, Executive Director of the National Consumers League:

“Americans are right to be concerned about the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. Unfortunately, there are charlatans out there seeking to make a buck selling snake oil ‘cures’ for this deadly virus. These scammers are defrauding consumers of money they will need to weather the coming economic storm. Even worse, consumers who believe these fake cures will ward off or cure the coronavirus may delay obtaining needed medical care with potentially deadly results for themselves and those around them. That is why we are so grateful to the leadership shown by FTC Chairman Simons and FDA Commissioner Hahn in putting these purveyors of false hope on notice.”

###

About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneering consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.

COVID-19 is here and thriving, and ‘flattening the curve’ is the only way forward

/in , , , /by

Nissa Shaffi

Like most Americans, you probably feel besieged by the rapidly evolving developments surrounding COVID-19. The spread of this novel illness has led to drastic measures to contain the virus and protect public health, and the question on everyone’s mind is how bad is this going to get? The short answer: we don’t know. The long answer: COVID-19 is going to disrupt our lives in the coming weeks, if not days, and its overall impact will be realized for months to come.

A lot has happened since I last wrote on COVID-19, so let’s unpack the most recent events:

On March 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially designated COVID-19 as a pandemic, which is defined as the worldwide spread of a new disease.

On March 13, President Trump declared a national emergency in order to release $50 billion of funding to fortify efforts to combat the spread of COVID-19. With more than 4,100 (and counting) active cases of COVID-19 in the United States, more than 40 states have declared states of emergency.

On March 14, the House passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R. 6201), with sweeping bipartisan support. H.R. 6201 aims to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak by expanding access to free testing, extending the Family Medical Leave Act, allocating $1 billion in food aid, and extending sick leave benefits to vulnerable Americans.

On March 15, the White House Coronavirus Task Force announced that the nation is entering a new phase in testing for COVID-19, which will increase the capacity and throughput of testing across the country.

So, why exactly has the disease spread so quickly? The issue lies with the fact that the government has grossly mismanaged critical response efforts for COVID-19. This is in part due to initial faulty tests distributed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which contained technical manufacturing issues, yielding incorrect results.

Once the CDC identified the error, it promised prompt redistribution of new tests – a process that unfortunately took six-weeks to rectify, catalyzing the silent and effective spread of the virus. Amid these series of planning failures, the Trump administration has falsely claimed that anyone who wants a test can obtain one. Yet, concerned patients across the country have complained that they have been denied tests, due to either unavailability or shifting guidance from the CDC regarding who should be diagnosed, treated, and tested.

We now face the reality that we are catastrophically behind in terms of testing and identifying individuals carrying COVID-19. To put this in perspective, South Korea conducts more tests in one day (10,000), than the United States has in the past two months (5,000-8,000).

We must now accept the sobering truth that these delays have enabled patients with an unknown COVID-19 status to serve as vectors to the disease in their communities. Johns Hopkins Professor, Marty Makary, estimates that for every person that has tested positive for COVID-19, there are 25-50 potential new cases. Makary speculates that, at present, there are potentially 50,000 to 500,000 active (undetected) cases of COVID-19 in the United States.

The promising news is that we’ve entered a new phase in COVID-19 response efforts. The CDC traditionally reserved the right to develop new diagnostic tests. However, in the time of COVID-19, this has severely limited the potential to capture the full impact of the outbreak. On Sunday, the White House Coronavirus Taskforce announced that newly forged public and private partnerships would expand testing for COVID-19 significantly.

To aid in critical response efforts, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved high throughput testing, which will significantly increase capacity for testing to hundreds of thousands of individuals per day. We can expect 2 million tests to be available across 2,000 labs nationwide, starting this week.

There are currently labs in every state that have been approved to conduct COVID-19 testing. In order to ebb further contamination, drive-through testing centers have been established in seven states, with more expected to pop up in the coming weeks.

The CDC has released very specific guidance regarding how to pursue testing for COVID-19, should you suspect that you have the illness. Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure, and they may include fever, cough, and shortness of breath. If you have these symptoms and suspect that you may be infected, the most important thing to do is to first call your doctor or local health care facility. This will assist your health care provider in properly triaging you without risk of contaminating others.

Over the past few days, you’ve probably heard the words “social distancing,” “self-quarantine,” and, most importantly, “flattening the curve.” In the coming days, we will witness increased cancellations of sporting events, public gatherings, and closures of entire school systems until the spread of the virus tapers off or declines.

It’s all part of a nationwide effort to curb the spread of the pandemic. These measures are extreme – something we haven’t experienced in our lifetimes – but they serve to prevent huge cohorts of people from getting sick all at once, which will wreak havoc on the healthcare system. Now that we have ramped up testing efforts, the number of active cases will arise. Flattening the curve will help delay the spread of disease, as we identify the true incidence of the illness.

We are in a critical time in our nation’s history, and we must all do our part in protecting our communities from further spread of COVID-19. If you have COVID-19, please click here to learn about how you can ensure its containment.

Lastly, if we had a vaccine against the Coronavirus, none of these dire steps would be needed because we’d all get vaccinated. NCL has long championed the effectiveness and safety of vaccines, often in the face of anti-vaxx zealots – we can’t help but be struck by the irony. Everyone wants a vaccine! We are heartened to know that many companies are working to develop antiviral therapies to help combat the spread of COVID-19. Pfizer, for example, has issued a five-point plan to aid scientists in developing treatments to help address this crisis.

The National Consumers League commends the efforts of the CDC, FDA, and other public health agencies in containing and mitigating the impact of COVID-19. Whether its 4 weeks or weeks, we all must make social sacrifices – whatever we must do to contain the virus. These are short windows in the scheme of things, and they will head us in the right direction. Stay healthy and follow CDC guidance on how to protect yourself and your community from COVID-19.

McKinley Tech High School Wins 2019 National Consumers League’s Washington, DC LifeSmarts Competition

/in , , /by

March 3, 2020

Students will represent the District in the 26th Annual National LifeSmarts Championship in April

Contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832

Washington, DC— LifeSmarts announced today that McKinley Tech High School’s Phoenixes Team was named the winner of the 2020 Washington, DC LifeSmarts Competition. The competition, hosted by the University of the District of Columbia David A Clarke School of Law, and the National Consumers League (NCL), tested local high school teams, comprised of teens in grades 9-12, about personal finance, health and safety, the environment, technology and consumer rights and responsibilities. McKinley Tech Phoenixes will represent Washington, DC at the 26th annual National LifeSmarts Championship in April in Crystal City, VA. Comcast, a sponsor of the competition, awarded the team a $5,000 scholarship for travel expenses. 

“We were very excited to host the competition for DC once again this year. Students learn valuable skills and become savvy consumers by showcasing their knowledge in LifeSmarts competitions,” said Sally Greenberg, NCL Executive Director.

During the competition held Friday, February 21, local high school teams from Columbia Heights Educational Campus; McKinley Technical High School; and the UPO Power Program competed individually and in buzzer-style matches, answering questions about consumer issues that impact everyday life.

“LifeSmarts asks relevant, tough questions. Many adults don’t know the answers. LifeSmarts prepares young people to be stronger, more assertive participants in our economy. I’m proud of our DC LifeSmarts students,” said Bill Cocke, the Washington DC LifeSmarts Coordinator.

### 

About LifeSmarts

LifeSmarts is a program of the National Consumers League. State coordinators implement the program locally. For more information and to register a team, visit: LifeSmarts.org, email lifesmarts@nclnet.org, or call the National Consumers League’s communications department at (202) 835-3323. The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneer consumer organization. NCL’s mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information about NCL, visit nclnet.org.

 

NCL commends House passage of anti-tobacco bill

/in , , , , /by

March 3, 2020

Media contact: National Consumers League – Carol McKay, carolm@nclnet.org, (412) 945-3242 or Taun Sterling, tauns@nclnet.org, (202) 207-2832 

Washington, DC—The National Consumers League (NCL) applauds the passage by the House of Representatives of the Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act of 2019 (H.R. 2339), legislation that aims to address youth smoking and e-cigarette crisis. NCL supports the work of the Association of Black Cardiologists, Black Women’s Health Imperative, National Medical Association, National Black Nurses Association, and the National African American Tobacco Prevention Network—among others—all of whom have helped advance this bill.  

According to the National Youth Tobacco Survey, 5 million youth reported having used e-cigarettes, 1 million of which reported daily use. There has been a 78 percent increase in consumption of e-cigarettes among high school students and a 48 percent growth in consumption among middle school students. The proliferation of e-cigarettes in the marketplace has jeopardized decades of progress made by smoking cessation advocates.

For generations, tobacco companies have disproportionately targeted the African American community with advertisements for tobacco products that appear on average, 10 times more in African American neighborhoods than anywhere else. The most staggering example of this is highly addictive and harder-to-quit menthol cigarettes, which have long been marketed to the African American community. Even more concerning is that seven out of ten African American youth smokers ages 12 to 17 smoke menthol cigarettes. 

H.R. 2339 aims to revise requirements related to the safety, sale, and advertisement of tobacco products, including electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS), such as e-cigarettes and similar devices. The bill will address the deceptive marketing practices deployed by e-cigarette companies that lure and entice young people with their packaging. The legislation views e-cigarettes as on par with traditional tobacco products under the law and makes it clear that selling tobacco products to children, in any modality is illegal.

“The National Consumers League applauds Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Rep. Donna Shalala (D-FL) for their leadership on this legislation,” said NCL Executive Director Sally Greenberg. “We urge the Senate to join in this fight to help end efforts by tobacco and e-cigarette companies to target vulnerable communities nationwide with biased marketing tactics.”

###

About the National Consumers League

The National Consumers League, founded in 1899, is America’s pioneering consumer organization. Our mission is to protect and promote social and economic justice for consumers and workers in the United States and abroad. For more information, visit www.nclnet.org.