Capital Wired

Keeps You Updated

Friday, April 16, 2021
Log in
  • Headlines
  • Business
  • Health
  • Tech & Science
  • Sports
  • World
  • US
  • Latest News
    • How To Make Your Own Home-Brewed Morphine
    • Using Mouthwash Too Often Puts You at Risk of Obesity and Diabetes
    • Walmart to Solve its Supply Chain Issues and Further Cut Down on Costs
    • The World’s Most Expensive Christmas Decorations
    • Netflix Hopes to Balance Data Limit With Great Video Quality
    • Joji Morishita says Japan Will Resume Whaling
    • The Most Beloved Plastic Surgeries Among Americans
    • Skype for Web Allows Non-Users to Take Part In Its Online Chats

Pages

  • About Capital Wired
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy GDPR
  • Reprint & Licensing
  • Staff
  • Terms of Use

Recent Posts

  • Here’s Why Your Brain Keeps Worrying about Everything June 29, 2018
  • Don’t Throw That Sunscreen after Summer Is Up June 29, 2018
  • Analysts: Currency War between U.S. and China Might Be Looming June 28, 2018
  • Starbucks Rival The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Opening 100 Shops June 27, 2018
  • Study Finds We Are Alone in the Universe June 26, 2018
  • Restaurant Owner Not Sorry for Booting Sarah Sanders June 26, 2018
  • Beware of the Hidden Salt in Your Food! June 25, 2018

Amid Severe HIV Outbreak, Indiana OKs Needle-Exchange Program

April 30, 2015 By Deborah Nielsen Leave a Comment

Email, RSS Follow

A woman shows her clean syringes at the Aids Center of Queens County needle exchange outreach center in New York, November 28, 2006.     REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton

Indiana lawmakers proposed Wednesday a new bill that would allow the state’s counties adopt needled-exchange programs whenever they are facing a serious HIV outbreak among injecting drug users. The move is a response to a recent HIV epidemic of more than 140 cases which sweeps a couple of Indiana’s southern counties.

Needle exchange programs allow injecting drug addicts to get free or buy at little cost the needles they need to inject drugs. Such programs prevent drug users to participate in needle-sharing networks which later contribute to the spread of lethal or hard-to-cure diseases such HIV or hepatitis. Worldwide these programs were effective in dodging HIV risk, although they remain very controversial.

Opponents are concerned that state-funded needle-exchange programs actually encourage drug abuse at societal and individual level because drug users have easy access to needles or syringes and they may get the wrong message. On the other hand, a WHO report showed that that was not the case, while former drug addicts lauded such programs for maybe saving their lives.

Indiana’s legislative initiative currently needs to be approved by Gov. Mike Pence to become a law.

Although Pence’s previous stance was against needle-exchange programs due to concerns that it would promote drug abuse, he said Wednesday that he was open to the new measures which he hopes would soon receive a proper legal framework that would provide health officials with the necessary resources and flexibility to start the programs as soon as possible within their communities.

Pence explained that he remained open to the initiative as long as it was designed to tackle a public health emergency. He also said that he would back needle-exchange programs until the emergency was brought under control.

According to the new bill’s provisions, local communities that face a HIV outbreak caused by intravenous drug use could get approval from state officials to launch a needle-exchange program as long as they can prove the outbreak. If the governor signs off the bill, it would be the first time Indiana allowed such an extensive program to fight further HIV infections.

The bill passed the House on an 80-19 vote, while the Senate said yes to it on a 38-11 vote. Supporters argued that the measure was absolutely necessary since the state faces its worst HIV outbreak in decades.

About 143 people living in Scott County and Jackson County have recently tested positive for HIV virus. Nearly all patients reported that they were involved in needle-sharing networks because they needed needles and syringes to inject their drug.

In March, Gov. Pence signed off another bill which allowed a limited needle-exchange program in Scott County as a measure to contain the HIV outbreak. Additionally, he signed an extension to the order last week, which allowed the program to continue one more month. Until now, more than 7,000 new needles were distributed through the program in the county.

State Representative Ed Clere expressed his support for the new measure which was designed to prevent other counties from becoming the next Scott County. On the other hand, the lawmaker acknowledged that the move was controversial and people remained divisive.

“For some this doesn’t go far enough. For some, it goes too far,”

he added.

Image Source: Reuters

Email, RSS Follow

Deborah Nielsen

Deborah Nielsen never thought she could be a journalist and a good one, we might add. Having a strong passion for music, she started singing at an early age, but it was only in college that she formed her first band. Her music education won her a job as a news reporter at the local radio station as well as the chance of meeting her favorite artists. In 2013, Deborah took things forward by starting her own blog and contributing to various news related websites. Currently, she covers a broad area of subjects and topics from various fields.

Filed Under: Headlines, US

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Recent Articles

dc logo on black galaxy background

Ava DuVernay to Direct DC’s New Gods Adaptation

March 16, 2018 By Rebecca McGhee Leave a Comment

leonardo davinci's signature in black

Is DaVinci’s Record Breaking Painting Authentic?

November 20, 2017 By Rebecca McGhee Leave a Comment

stephen hawking

Stephen Hawking Makes Gloomy Prediction For Earth In A 100 Years

May 7, 2017 By Deborah Nielsen Leave a Comment

"Dwayne Johnson not dead"

Dwayne Johnson Died this Week or Not

January 19, 2016 By Jason Leathers 3 Comments

There Are At Least Three More Seasons of Game of Thrones To Go

July 31, 2015 By Rebecca McGhee Leave a Comment

Homelessness Soars in L.A., Officials Pledge to House Everybody by 2016

May 12, 2015 By Brian Galloway Leave a Comment

FBI Releases National Report on Slain Police Officers, Figures are Alarming

May 12, 2015 By Rebecca McGhee Leave a Comment

New York Nuclear Plant Partially Shut Down due to Hudson Oil Slick

May 11, 2015 By Jason Leathers 2 Comments

Obama Draws Heat from Democrats over Asia Trade Deal

May 9, 2015 By Rebecca McGhee Leave a Comment

Florida Governor Changes Stance on Obamacare Once More, Budget on Hold

May 9, 2015 By Brian Galloway Leave a Comment

Secret Service to add an Extra Layer of Spikes to White House Fence

May 8, 2015 By Chen Lai Leave a Comment

Police Arrested Suspect in death of Student who tried to Sell Car on Craigslist

May 8, 2015 By Deborah Nielsen 1 Comment

AccuWeather.com: 2015 Atlantic Tropical Storm Season is Officially Open

May 7, 2015 By Deborah Nielsen Leave a Comment

Illinois Student Found Dead after Trying to Sell his Car on Craigslist

May 7, 2015 By Deborah Nielsen 2 Comments

Related Articles

  • Sex offender Stephen Koch

    Arkansas Man Sentenced to 50 Years in Jail for Willfully Spreading HIV

    Jun 8, 2018
  • Crime scene tape

    Serial Prankster, 2 COD Gamers Indicted in Fatal Swatting Case

    May 24, 2018
  • FLOTUS Melania Trump

    First Lady Melania Trump to Announce Her Formal Agenda

    May 7, 2018
  • Woman applying sunscreen on her skin

    Hawaii Is the First U.S. State to Outlaw Sunscreen

    May 4, 2018
  • Judge Merrilee Ehrlich

    Judge Who Reduced Now-Late Defendant to Tears Will Not Return to Court

    Apr 24, 2018
  • Florida teen's prom proposal

    Florida Teen Under Fire for Racist Prom Proposal

    Apr 24, 2018
  • New York Governor Andrew Cuomo

    NY Governor to Open the Ballot Box to Paroled Felons

    Apr 19, 2018
  • U.S. President Donald Trump and Russia President Vladimir Putin

    President Trump Furious About the New Sanctions on Russia

    Apr 16, 2018
  • Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood

    California Sheriff Thinks It is Better to Kill Suspects, than “Cripple” Them

    Apr 11, 2018
  • Affluenza teen Ethan Couch

    Affluenza Teen Serves 2 Years in Jail after Killing Four

    Apr 3, 2018

Categories

  • Business
  • Headlines
  • Health
  • Sports
  • Tech & Science
  • US
  • World

Copyright © 2021 capitalwired.com

About · Privacy Policy · Terms of Use · Contact