Three diseases added to list of Agent Orange effects
Vietnam veterans with parkinsonism, bladder cancer and hypothyroidism may file claims
With the recent passage of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, three new conditions have been added to the Agent Orange Presumptive List.
Parkinsonism, bladder cancer and hypothyroidism are now listed as being associated with exposure to certain herbicide agents.
Agent Orange is an herbicide that was used by the United States to kill vegetation in the Republic of Vietnam during the war. The herbicide was named for the distinctive orange band painted on the storage barrels.
Veterans who served in the Republic of Vietnam between Feb. 28, 1961, and May 7, 1975, and who have a current diagnosed condition that is on the VA Agent Orange Presumptive List have a lower burden of proof regarding exposure to Agent Orange in order to receive benefits.
Federal officials told Brown and Oregon Health Director Pat Allen that there had been a miscommunication.
Actually, no additional vaccine at all would be on its way. I thought I was losing my mind, Allen said, I went back and reviewed the actual C-SPAN video of Secretary Azar, and the words he used were releasing the entire supply. He talked about physical inventory. It was incredibly clear.
In response, Brown on Jan. 15 said the state would have to revise its priority list for the second time in one week.
The new rollout also underlined an already controversial decision by the governor to place teachers and staff above the elderly on the priority list.
Oregon flu cases drop from 14,000 in 2019 to just four now January 13 2021
But the state may not be completely out of potential trouble yet. The influenza season can peak as late as March in Oregon.
At least judging by the numbers, the flu season has been far less prevalent in Oregon this year.
That s likely because the same precautions Oregonians are taking to avoid COVID-19 seem to be keeping them safe from the flu.
Dr. Paul Cieslak with the Oregon Health Authority said he s impressed at how few cases the state has seen: We ve only confirmed four cases in the state so far out of 2,800 specimens tested.