En las noticias

"I am going to raise hell if that's the scenario," says Congressman Raul Ruiz (D-36), he's not mincing words when it comes to equity in the future of the coronavirus vaccine distribution.

He says he will not accept the vaccine going to the highest bidder and met with pharma make this clear he met with pharmaceutical companies to make this clear, "I told them that we need a public health approach to the distribution of vaccines that's fair, that's effective and that prioritizes the people that needs them the most."

Executives from four companies in the race to produce a coronavirus vaccine — AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna Therapeutics and Pfizer — told lawmakers on Tuesday that they are optimistic their products could be ready by the end of 2020 or the beginning of 2021. All four companies are testing vaccines in human clinical trials.

Congressman Raul Ruiz, M.D. (CA-36) is calling on President Donald Trump to extend the expanded unemployment benefits made available under H.R. 748, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. In a letter to President Trump, Dr. Ruiz and 109 other members of the House of Representatives urged an extension of these expanded benefits, which are set to expire at the end of the month.

Congressman Raul Ruiz, M.D., CA-36, who has consistently fought for legislation on behalf of servicemembers exposed to burn pits. this week introduced five new pieces of legislation to address the military's use of toxic burn pits.

A House committee unanimously approved legislation Wednesday that would make changes for the first time in 50 years to the complex rules for enrolling in Medicare's Part B, which covers doctor visits and other outpatient care.

Currently, seniors who don't get Part B when they first become eligible for Medicare pay permanent, recurring late enrollment penalties and can only sign up during the first 3 months of the year for coverage that begins July 1, unless they qualify for an exception. To make matters worse, they cannot buy other health insurance during their months-long wait.

Low-cost and free health clinics that serve large minority and low-income communities are being hit hard by the pandemic, with nearly 2,000 health-center sites closing temporarily and others worried about their financial futures, trends that risk widening racial disparities in health care.

Riverside County on Friday reached 100% usage of its licensed intensive care unit beds but hospitals can still treat new critical patients, officials said.

County spokeswoman Brooke Federico said the metric accounts for the 385 licensed ICU beds at 17 hospitals across the county.

"Ten out of 17 hospitals are either at or above 100% capacity of licensed ICU beds," she said. "These hospitals are converting traditional beds into ICU beds. The remaining seven hospitals are below their licensed ICU capacity."

Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Calif., has one message for President Donald Trump — wear a mask.

Ruiz, who is a physician, told Trump to "man up" and put on a mask during a Thursday appearance on CNN's "New Day."

"Man up, Mr. President. Wear your mask," Ruiz said. "That's the best thing you can do. You can save millions and millions of lives if you simply wear a mask."

Ruiz was reacting to comments the president made during a Wednesday interview with Fox Business.