美国国家公共电台 NPR--FDA approves the overdose-reversing drug Narcan for over-the-counter sales

FDA approves the overdose-reversing drug Narcan for over-the-counter sales

Transcript¹

NPR's A Martinez talks to pediatrician and addiction² specialist Scott Hadland about the FDA's decision. The nasal spray could be on store shelves and ready to buy without a prescription³ by late summer

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Drug overdoses continue to be one of the leading causes of accidental deaths in the U.S. But yesterday's FDA approval of the nasal spray Narcan, an overdose-reversing drug, could change that. So far, Narcan nasal spray has been available as a prescription drug, but soon Americans will be able to access it in convenience stores, vending⁴ machines or even online. Dr. Scott Hadland is a pediatrician and addiction specialist at Mass General Hospital for Children and Harvard Medical School in Boston. At the FDA panel last month, he testified as an independent expert in favor of the approval. Doctor, you work with children and teens. Why did you support this?

SCOTT HADLAND: Well, it's a really - an easy decision. We're at a point right now in this overdose crisis where since the turn of the century, we've had more than a million overdose deaths and where these are increasing. We're now at a point where more than 100,000 people die every year. Narcan is a medication that is safe. It's effective. It has virtually no downside to administering it. And there really is no reason that it shouldn't be widely available to save the lives of the so many people who die each year.

MART?NEZ: So if someone takes Narcan just by itself, it's fine.

HADLAND: That's right. It's a medication with basically no adverse⁵ effects. And so it's very safe to administer.

MART?NEZ: So then explain to us how the drug works on someone who has overdosed.

HADLAND: What happens when somebody overdoses is that opioids - and in this day and age, it's most commonly fentanyl that's getting into people's systems - opioids bind⁶ to receptors in the body and make it so that a person stops breathing, and that's what ultimately ends up killing⁷ a person. And so what Narcan is doing is it's getting in and it's releasing the fentanyl or other opioids from those receptors and essentially⁸ in just seconds or even just minutes reversing that overdose and saving a person's life. And since Narcan is a medication that's sprayed up the nose, it's very easy to administer. Almost anybody can do it with very little training needed.

MART?NEZ: So now that the FDA approval has happened, how worried are you that costs may prevent access to many who need it?

HADLAND: This is really the central worry right now, is that, you know, a key step - and we celebrate this step, that the FDA has made this medication now widely available. We're anticipating that starting in probably the summer, Narcan will be available all across the United States. So this is huge. Unfortunately, many of us are still worried about the cost of this medication. It's one thing to make it available. It's another thing to make it affordable⁹ to people. And as somebody who works with families that have been affected¹⁰ by this overdose crisis every day, I know that if the price is too high, many families and patients just simply won't buy it.

MART?NEZ: Yeah, according to GoodRx, 130 bucks¹¹ for an average price of a two-dose box. I know if you make something more expensive, it makes it harder to get, and also people might want to do something terrible to try and get it.

HADLAND: That's right. And, you know, I've seen some of my patients who, when I prescribe them medication and they have to pay a co-pay, even if their insurance requires a co-pay for Narcan that's 20 or $30, some of my patients and families will just say, hey, that's too expensive for me. That's not something I can afford right now, and then they won't have it when they need it.

MART?NEZ: There's a lot of stigma¹², doctor, attached to drug users. I'm sure you know that. When you testified for the FDA, you talked about the need to change public perception. How do you think that can happen?

HADLAND: Well, I think that making Narcan available reflects the fact that almost everybody in this country at this point is aware of the overdose crisis. Many of us have family or friends or in my case patients who, you know, have been personally affected by this crisis. We've lost loved ones. Even when we haven't lost loved ones, we've watched as people have struggled with addiction, and we've worried about them. And so what this FDA approval does is it makes the availability of Narcan all over the country normalized. It tells us all that this is something that we should all have with us, that we should make available in our communities and that we should use to save the lives of people who might use drugs.

MART?NEZ: Doctor, what would you say to someone who says that if Narcan is easier to get, that no one will fear the danger of an overdose?

HADLAND: This is an unfortunately common argument, and I refute it. If - you know, there are many examples in public health of situations like this where people worry that if we make a safety measure available, it will make people behave in a different way. So, for example, in the 1980s when we talked about making seatbelts mandatory¹³ for people when they're driving, people made the argument that maybe that would drive people to be more reckless when they drive their cars, and that just hasn't been borne out. And in countless¹⁴ public health examples, this isn't what happens. And so I have personally watched as people use Narcan to keep themselves safe and not in a way that results in them using more drugs.

MART?NEZ: Dr. Scott Hadland is a pediatrician and addiction specialist at Mass General Hospital for Children and Harvard Medical School in Boston. Doctor, thanks.

HADLAND: Thanks for having me.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 addiction   

n.上瘾入迷，嗜好

参考例句：

• He stole money from his parents to feed his addiction.他从父母那儿偷钱以满足自己的嗜好。
• Areas of drug dealing are hellholes of addiction,poverty and murder.贩卖毒品的地区往往是吸毒上瘾、贫困和发生谋杀的地方。

3 prescription   

n.处方，开药；指示，规定

参考例句：

• The physician made a prescription against sea- sickness for him.医生给他开了个治晕船的药方。
• The drug is available on prescription only.这种药只能凭处方购买。

4 vending   

v.出售（尤指土地等财产）( vend的现在分词 )；（尤指在公共场所）贩卖；发表（意见，言论）；声明

参考例句：

• Why Are You Banging on the Vending Machine? 你为什么敲打这台自动售货机？ 来自朗文快捷英语教程 2
• Coca-Cola had to adapt almost 300,000 vending machines to accept the new coins. 可口可乐公司必须使将近三十万台自动贩卖机接受新货币。 来自超越目标英语 第5册

5 adverse   

adj.不利的；有害的；敌对的，不友好的

参考例句：

• He is adverse to going abroad.他反对出国。
• The improper use of medicine could lead to severe adverse reactions.用药不当会产生严重的不良反应。

6 bind   

vt.捆，包扎；装订；约束；使凝固；vi.变硬

参考例句：

• I will let the waiter bind up the parcel for you.我让服务生帮你把包裹包起来。
• He wants a shirt that does not bind him.他要一件不使他觉得过紧的衬衫。

7 killing   

n.巨额利润；突然赚大钱，发大财

参考例句：

• Investors are set to make a killing from the sell-off.投资者准备清仓以便大赚一笔。
• Last week my brother made a killing on Wall Street.上个周我兄弟在华尔街赚了一大笔。

8 essentially   

adv.本质上，实质上，基本上

参考例句：

• Really great men are essentially modest.真正的伟人大都很谦虚。
• She is an essentially selfish person.她本质上是个自私自利的人。

9 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

10 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

11 bucks   

n.雄鹿( buck的名词复数 )；钱；（英国十九世纪初的）花花公子；（用于某些表达方式）责任v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的第三人称单数 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• They cost ten bucks. 这些值十元钱。
• They are hunting for bucks. 他们正在猎雄兔。 来自《简明英汉词典》

12 stigma   

n.耻辱，污名；(花的)柱头

参考例句：

• Being an unmarried mother used to carry a social stigma.做未婚母亲在社会上曾是不光彩的事。
• The stigma of losing weighed heavily on the team.失败的耻辱让整个队伍压力沉重。

13 mandatory   

adj.命令的；强制的；义务的；n.受托者

参考例句：

• It's mandatory to pay taxes.缴税是义务性的。
• There is no mandatory paid annual leave in the U.S.美国没有强制带薪年假。

14 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。