New businesses opening; DeSantis' legislative wish list; Bucs updates
| | | | Wednesday, December 29, 2021 | | | Forward this to a friend Subscribe to more newsletters | | Is it spring already? The sunny, warm and dry weather continues, with a high of 84 and low of 65. The year is almost over, dear reader, but there are plenty of new businesses slated to open in 2022 (even as the remnants of old ones disappear). There are also new isolation and quarantine guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which are confusing to a lot of people. | | | [IVY CEBALLO | Times] | | As overdoses rise in Tampa Bay, one program is preventing deaths and reducing infectious diseases | | When IDEA Exchange Tampa — the second sanctioned needle exchange program in Florida — first launched, no clients showed up for months. Now, 30 clients is a slow day, and the program is struggling to keep up with demand. The program became legal when Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the Infectious Disease Elimination Act into law in 2019. IDEA Exchange Tampa has now collected nearly 86,000 used syringes and distributed nearly 83,900 new, sterile ones. But Limited funding has created inequities in who has access to the life-saving services. The site supervisor says it's clear the demographics in who's receiving the services is not as diverse at the population of users in Tampa Bay. With limited resources, it's difficult to adequately address the needs of communities of color. Read Margo Snipe's story to learn more about the program. | | | | | | | Your support makes a difference | | The Tampa Bay Times needs your help to keep delivering top-notch journalism. Please consider subscribing or making a tax-deductible donation to the Tampa Bay Times Journalism Fund. | | | | |
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