Stringent Gun Laws Help Cut Down On Fatal Police Shootings, Study Finds
Fatal police shootings were about half as common in states whose gun laws place them in the top 25 percent of stringency than they were in states where such restrictions ranked in the bottom 25 percent.
Los Angeles Times:
When States Have Strong Guns Laws, They Also Have Fewer Fatal Police Shootings
Fatal shootings of civilians by police officers are less common in states with stricter gun laws than they are in states that take a more relaxed approach to regulating the sale, storage and use of firearms, new research says. A study published Thursday in the American Journal of Public Health has found that fatal police shootings were about half as common in states whose gun laws place them in the top 25% of stringency than they were in states where such restrictions ranked in the bottom 25%. (Healy, 5/18)
In other public health news —
Los Angeles Times:
Area School Districts See Gains In Vaccination Rates
Area school districts made gains in the rates of vaccinated students because of a change in state law that eliminated personal exemptions as a reason not to immunize children, according to an Orange County Grand Jury report released earlier this week... The law, which took effect on July 1, 2016, requires all children enrolled in day-care facilities and public or private schools in California to be fully vaccinated against several communicable diseases including diphtheria, hepatitis B, Haemophilus influenza type B, measles, mumps and pertussis, according to the report. (Alderton, 5/18)
Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
Lyme Disease Leaves Victims Frustrated, Searching For Answers
The question of whether someone has Lyme disease can run into murky medical territory that pits western medicine against naturopathic medicine, in part because there is no specific test or symptom that designates the infection with 100 percent accuracy. One side of the argument says Lyme is under-diagnosed, while the other claims that alternative medicine is over-diagnosing the illness. But the one thing both sides agree upon is that it exists and, with the peak of the North Coast tick season now in full swing, steps should be taken to avoid Lyme infection. Record rains last winter have created favorable conditions for tick habitat in Sonoma County, raising concerns among health care professionals that tick-borne illnesses such as Lyme disease could increase this year. (Espinoza, 5/18)
Orange County Register:
Two New Mumps Cases In Orange County Are Unrelated To Chapman Outbreak
Two new mumps cases have been diagnosed that are unrelated to the Chapman University outbreak, the Orange County Health Care Agency said Thursday, May 18. The two patients, both in their 20s, did not have contact with the 13 Chapman students who fell ill between January and April 18, but had close contact with each other. One became sick in April and the other earlier this month. (Perkes, 5/18)