dChan - Q Origins Project Archive

Why did Schumer care about this pen so much in July 2019?

Bees on a plane?

07.21.19

SCHUMER REVEALS: EMERGENCY MEDICAL KITS ABOARD AIRPLANES DO NOT HAVE TO STOCK LIFE-SAVING MEDICINE—LIKE THAT FOUND IN EPIPENS; SINCE 2001, AIRLINES HAVE SUCCESSFULLY LOBBIED FAA FOR A PASS; SENATOR DEMANDS AIRLINES & FAA REVERSE COURSE & STOCK PLANES WITH EPIPENS BECAUSE THEY CAN SAVE THE LIVES OF KIDS & ADULTS DURING AN EMERGENCY

Standing With “Doctor Mike,” The Well-Known NY Physician Who Just Saved A Passenger From A Food Allergy Attack On A Delta Flight –That Had No EpiPen On Board— Schumer Rallies For Airlines & FAA To Immediately Stock EpiPens

Since 1986, U.S. Commercial Planes Have Been Required To Carry Emergency Medical Kits (EMKs) On Board; But Since 2001, The Airlines Routinely Sought Exemptions Of EpiPens; We Are In Midst Of A Four-Year Exemption Right Now

Schumer: Airlines & FAA Need A Shot In The Arm When It Comes To Adding EpiPens To Emergency Med Kits On Board Flights

Standing with the New York physician who recently saved the life of a passenger experiencing a serious food allergy attack aboard a Delta flight–that had no EpiPens on board—U.S. Senator Charles Schumer revealed, today, that airlines, via the airline ‘lobby,’ have successfully sought a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) exemption requiring Epinephrine and auto-injectors known as EpiPens, as well as other life-saving drugs aboard planes since as early as 2001, with a four-year exemption that began in 2016. Schumer, today, demanded that these U.S. airlines and the FAA immediately reverse course on the exemption policy and require epinephrine and EpiPens on planes in the standard Emergency Medical Kits already on each U.S. flight.

“If the status quo continues, the airlines will not have to stock Epinephrine or EpiPens on planes until 2020 at the soonest, and that simply cannot fly,” said U.S. Senator Charles Schumer. “We are in the midst of a food allergy uptick that, for one reason or another, is making more and more people susceptible to attacks and reactions that can lead to death. We owe it to the traveling public to adjust the policy of the FAA and the exemption sought by the airlines if we are going to ensure public health, especially the health of children, many of whom might not learn of their allergy until aboard a plane where auto-injectable Epinephrine could be a true lifesaver."

Schumer’s call for Epinephrine and EpiPens to be included in all emergency medical kits comes after a passenger on a Delta flight from New York City to Tel Aviv went into anaphylactic shock two hours into the trip. With no EpiPen on board, Dr. Mikhail Varshavski, another passenger on the flight, had to perform a life-saving procedure with a manual syringe. The syringe approach is complicated to get the correct dose of epinephrine, and it requires extensive medical training to administer effectively and safely, without contamination or accidental intravenous injection. Moreover, this current EMK version of the drug is not the right dosage for an allergy attack. Rather, it is used for a heart attack. Only the dosage of an Epinephrine auto-injector fits a food allergy attack. In the Delta case, ‘Dr. Mike’ had to manipulate the EMK dosage in a risky setting to save the patient’s life. But in Dr. Mike’s and the patients circumstance, Delta at least had a version of Epinephrine, which is an exemption successfully sought by the other airlines.

According to a June 2019 scientific study in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, equipping all commercial aircraft with auto-injectors (EpiPens) would cost the airlines about $2 million dollars a year, or about 8 cents per passenger. As a continuing trend, domestic airlines continue to rake in billions in profits. Schumer says airlines can both afford to stock EpiPens and that they should as a matter of ensuring public health. Airlines have cited drug shortages in their pleas to seek drug exemptions from the FAA, a variable Schumer says should not sustain as a years-on-end excuse. Other drugs the airlines have sought to exclude from EMKs include Atropine, Dextrose and Lidocaine, amongst others. The airlines use their lobbying arm to push through these exemptions. These organizations include: the Airlines for America, the National Air Carrier Association and the Regional Airline Association.

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https://www.schumer.senate.gov/newsroom/press-releases/schumer-reveals-emergency-medical-kits-aboard-airplanes-do-not-have-to-stock-life-saving-medicinelike-that-found-in-epipens-since-2001-airlines-have-successfully-lobbied-faa-for-a-pass-senator-demands-airlines-and-faa-reverse-course_stock-planes-with-epipens-because-they-can-save-the-lives-of-kids–adults-during-an-emergency