*By Christian Smith*
After an overdose earlier this week, Demi Lovato's life was reportedly saved by Narcan, a nasal administrator of naloxone that counteracts the effects of opioids. When administered quicklyーthrough either nasal mist or injectionーnaloxone can temporarily halt an overdose, allowing EMTs enough time to respond. The medication is available without a prescription in 49 states, and the generic version costs about $20 per dose.
But all merits aside, is the drug's accessibility enabling addicts to push their limits?
Dr. Roger Crystal, the lead inventor of Narcan and CEO of Opiant Pharmaceuticals, says there's little evidence to support that concern.
"Addiction like any kind of chronic disease is something you can control using better medication, but ultimately you can't cure," Crystal told Cheddar. "To think about an opioid addict behaving rationally and saying, 'well because I have access to Narcan I'll shoot more heroin, inject more heroin' there's no proof for that whatsoever."
Naloxone is considered some of the best ammunition on the front lines of America's growing opioid epidemic. A reported 2 million Americans have an addition to opioidsーand the number isn't going down. U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams [issued an advisory](https://www.surgeongeneral.gov/priorities/opioid-overdose-prevention/naloxone-advisory.html) in April urging anyoneーand their close family and friendsーwho uses painkillers, heroin, fentanyl, or other opioids to carry naloxone in case of an emergency.
Crystal isn't stopping at Narcan: he told Cheddar he's also developing a heroin vaccine, suggesting the inventor has lofty ambitions for the future of overdose prevention.
Although Crystal may be aware of lingering ethical concerns, he doesn't think they dwarf his mission. After all, Lovato has him to thank.
"Putting it in the hands of everyone and anyone is critical," Crystal said.
For more on this story, [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/how-one-pharmaceutical-company-is-fighting-the-opioid-epidemic).
Announcing 599 deaths in the last 24 hours, Cuomo called the fatality number “effectively flat for two days,” which he said hints at a possible flattening of New York’s curve, along with fewer hospital and ICU admissions
New Jersey is emerging as another hot spot of COVID-19 with nearly 40,000 confirmed cases and 917 deaths. However, the head of one of the state's health care systems said officials there hope they are beginning to see a peak.
With the number of coronavirus patients exploding in hotspots like New York and hospitals facing a critical shortage of life-saving equipment, health care providers may soon be facing an excruciating choice: Who gets to live. And who doesn’t.
Experts maintain that despite social distancing and quarantining measures during the coronavirus pandemic, people should still attempt to socialize "serendipitously" and commit to acts of kindness to mitigate the stress.
Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore. 2nd District) supports the "basic public health protocol" is leading to drastic mitigation of the pandemic in his state of Oregon.
Like many of you out there, everyone at Cheddar is cooped up at home for maximum social distancing. And we’ve noticed something: in our respective self-quarantines, we’re taking out the trash a lot more than usual.
So our Megan Pratz teamed up with HEATED’s Emily Atkin to figure out the impact this extra waste is having on our communities.
The Trump administration is formalizing new guidance to recommend that many Americans wear face coverings in an effort to slow the spread of the new coronavirus, as the president is aggressively defending his response to the public health crisis.
The coronavirus outbreak has triggered a stunning collapse in the U.S. workforce, with 10 million people losing their jobs in the past two weeks. Meanwhile, the number of confirmed infections worldwide has hit 1 million, with more than 50,000 deaths, according to the tally kept by Johns Hopkins University.
Dr. Eric Wei, chief quality officer for NYC Health + Hospitals, told Cheddar that one of his biggest fears as a hospital administrator and ER doctor is the potential impact of the pandemic on the emotional and mental well being of the health care workers.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has released new guidelines for blood donors to bolster the supply of urgently needed blood and blood components. Most notable perhaps is a partial lifting of the controversial ban on men who have had sexual relations with another man within the last 12 months.
