OVERVIEW OF LEGISLATUREThe Virginia Legislature consists of the Governor, the House of Delegates and the Senate. The House of Delegates has 100 elected officials and the Senate has 40 elected officials. The district boundaries for the delegates are different than those for the senate.  Currently the democratic party holds the majority in all areas of the Virginia legislature. In the last election cycle approximately 30% of all of the elected representatives ran unopposed. The House of Delegates are elected every two years while the Senate and Governor are elected every four years. Session and special sessions The Virginia legislature is a part time legislature which meets yearly from January until March. In the event of pertinent issues arising, a special session can be called where they meet to address specific issues predetermined by the Governor. Recently in both regular and special sessions the number of bills each elected official can bring forth has been limited. How a Bill becomes a Law New bills can originate from many sources. These bills typically include paid lobbyists, special interest groups, local governments, constituents and various individuals or stakeholders.
Once a Bill is drafted it is assigned to a committee. There are fourteen committees in the house and eleven committees in the senate. These committees are all headed by the “Chair” who is appointed to lead the committee. The Chair determines which bills are heard and sets the decorum of the committee. In committee a bill can be tabled, which means it is “paused’ and will not move forward. If it is not tabled, it may be voted on. Iif the vote favors the bill, the bill moves to the full floor for a vote from all the members in that division of the legislature. If the bill is passed it will wait until crossover when it will be assigned to a committee on the side of the legislature. Crossover is when all the bills that have been passed on one side of the legislature (House or Senate) move to the other side, where the committee and voting process starts again. All bills move over on the same date. If the Bill is amended in any way, it is sent back to the originating side to be voted on again. The bill must pass by vote in both the Senate and the House written and amended in the exact same manner. If the bill were to be tabled or fail in committee, the patron can discharge the bill and bring it to the full floor for a vote. Once the Bill has passed both houses it goes to the Governor. The Governor can do one of three things - 1) sign and it will become law, 2) veto and it dies, or 3) amend it. If the bill is amended it is sent back to the legislature to be passed again in both houses with the amendments.
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 27. That’s how many years it took for the United States government to ban DDT for agricultural use.
27 years is how long the American people were exposed to a chemical that was later found to cause a wide variety of health problems including cancer, infertility, miscarriages, nervous system damage, liver damage, and more.  Outlined on the list of things to avoid when pregnant are things such as alcohol, changing cat litter, certain teas, raw fish, and taking ibuprofen.
One thing that should be considered by both healthcare providers and pregnant mothers is the list of cautions and adverse reactions presented on the manufacturer insert for the TDAP vaccine. Here's an overview of what the TDAP vaccine is and some of the reactions the manufacturers have listed:  The FDA is responsible for advancing the public health by helping to speed innovations that make medical products more effective, safer, and more affordable and by helping the public get the accurate, science-based information they need to use medical products and foods to maintain and improve their health.
Recently, the FDA just recalled several hand sanitizers due to the "reasonable probability of acute toxicity from ingestion which can cause central nervous system depression, which could result in death, permanent impairment, or necessitate medical or surgical intervention." Interestingly, similar reactions are listed on the manufacturer insert for the Rotavirus shot, however it has not been recalled. Here's an overview of some of the adverse reactions from the manufacturer.  The CDC states on its website that, "before vaccines were available, nearly everyone was infected with measles, mumps, and rubella viruses during childhood. The majority of people born before 1957 are likely to have been infected naturally and therefore are presumed to be protected against measles, mumps, and rubella." In other words, if I'm currently 63 years old, then I'm not at risk for a measles outbreak because I was exposed to the wild virus as a child. This begs the question, why can't that be the case for today's children?
 The short answer is "yes," but let's look deeper. Here is an overview of adverse reactions listed on the insert.
 Take a second and think back to when you or your child received a medical treatment or product at the doctor's office. For drugs, you most likely received a multiple-paged sheet with all the directions, contraindications, and possible side effects. For surgery, you've had to sign some kind of disclosure that you're aware of possible negative outcomes. But what about immunizations? Did you receive anything?
 The CDC estimates that during the 2018-2019 season, influenza (the flu) resulted in 34k deaths. Common symptom for the flu according to the CDC may include: - Fever or feeling feverish/chills - Cough - Sore throat - Runny or stuffy nose - Muscle or body aches - Headaches - Fatigue (tiredness) - Some people may have vomiting and diarrhea, though this is more common in children than adults. More serious complications that arise from the flu such as pneumonia, bronchitis, sinus infections, ear infections and aggregation of chronic health conditions can be fatal for those with pre-existing conditions. |
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