Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Covered California Says Health Insurance Just Got Too Cheap to Ignore
Californians who passed up health coverage in the past may be pleasantly surprised by the lower prices available thanks to the new federal relief act. (Bernard J. Wolfson, )
California's Covid Outlook Brightens: Coronavirus hospitalizations in California have dropped to their lowest levels since the start of the pandemic more than a year ago. One major factor for California’s turnaround: Californians’ general embrace of vaccines. Read more from the Bay Area News Group and Los Angeles Times.
In related news —
Covid Deaths Fall In LA: Los Angeles County public health authorities on Sunday reported no new deaths related to covid-19. Officials cautioned that the figure was probably an undercount because of reporting delays on weekends, but it still capped several months of progress. Read more from the Los Angeles Times and LA Daily News.
Below, check out the roundup of California Healthline’s coverage. For today's national health news, read KHN's Morning Briefing.
More News From Across The State
AP:
Prince Harry, Jennifer Lopez Speak Out At SoFi Concert
President Biden spoke about the COVID-19 vaccination being safe, Prince Harry urged that the vaccine be distributed everywhere and Jennifer Lopez embraced her fully vaccinated mother on stage during one of the largest concert gatherings in Southern California since the pandemic rocked the world more than a year ago. Celebrities and political leaders gathered Sunday night to talk about the importance of vaccine equity at Global Citizen’s “Vax Live: The Concert to Reunite the World” at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood. The taped fundraising event will air May 8 on ABC, ABC News Live, CBS, YouTube and iHeartMedia broadcast radio stations. (Landrum, 5/3)
Modesto Bee:
Stanislaus County To Hold Mobile COVID Vaccine Clinics
The Stanislaus County Health Services Agency next week will take coronavirus vaccine out to communities that have lower vaccination rates or less access to the shots. A clinic Thursday at the Airport Neighborhood Community Center, 805 Empire Ave., will offer first doses of Pfizer vaccine from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. (Carlson, 5/1)
Modesto Bee:
Some In Stanislaus County Are Hesitant About COVID-19 Vaccine
Their reasons may be different — distrust of government, doubts of effectiveness, fear of side effects — but some people of color in Stanislaus County share a feeling of hesitation toward getting vaccinated against the coronavirus. Latinos in the county make up 30.4% of those either fully or partially vaccinated, while Blacks make up 1.9% and whites 36.6%, according to California for All data. However, Latinos add up to 47.6% of the population in Stanislaus County, Blacks 3.5% and whites 40.4%, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. (Briseño, 5/3)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
County Nurses Hit The Streets, Work At Pop-Up Clinic To Vaccinate Homeless From COVID-19
Anthony Romero said he already has contracted COVID-19 and believes he may be immune, but he wasn’t about to pass up a vaccination for the disease. “Better safe than sorry,” he said about why he decided to get a coronavirus vaccine shot at a pop-up health clinic in Balboa Park on Thursday morning. (Warth, 4/30)
Bay Area News Group:
These Vaccine ‘Fairies’ Have Booked Hundreds Of Shots For Bay Area Essential Workers
As he cleaned and repaired pools across South Bay backyards this spring, Mauricio Lopez spoke almost daily with his employees about getting COVID-19 vaccines. Lopez’s brother and co-owner of Ernie’s Pool and Spa, Rene, died from the virus on Feb. 10th. His death was a “wake-up” call for the other two dozen workers — mostly fellow immigrants from Mexico and Guatemala — to get their shots, Mauricio Lopez said. “This is serious. We have to do this,” he told them. But as the weeks dragged on, none of his employees could get an appointment. (Kelliher, 5/2)
Bay Area News Group:
Did Blue Shield Deal Help Vaccinate California? CEO Fields Questions On Role
As the national COVID-19 vaccination campaign ramped up in March, with increasing supplies allowing more people to become eligible for the shots, California tapped Oakland-based health plan giant Blue Shield to oversee vaccine distribution statewide with the promise of streamlining the thousands of the disparate efforts by counties, clinics and hospitals. The move was met with a barrage of criticism. County officials in the Bay Area and Southern California who had spent months honing their local distribution systems balked at handing control over to the private health care provider. (Woolfolk, 5/1)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
So Coronavirus Vaccines Aren’t Perfect. They’re Still Very, Very Effective
A rising number of people who’ve been vaccinated are getting infected with the coronavirus. But is that surprising, and should it be cause for concern? The short answer, according to local researchers: No. (Wosen, 5/2)
Los Angeles Times:
In Rare Cases, Even The Vaccinated Can Get COVID-19 And Die
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have reported that about .008% of the fully vaccinated have become infected and about 1% of them have died. Public health officials said such cases were expected and their number reassuringly few. “No suit of armor is 100% effective,” said Dr. John Swartzberg, an infectious disease expert at UC Berkeley. But the so-called breakthrough infections remain troubling, and the reported numbers are likely lower than the actual cases. They serve as cautionary tales to fully vaccinated people to get tested if they develop symptoms for the infection and to continue to follow health guidelines. (Dolan, 5/3)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Here Are Scenarios In Which Vaccinated People Still Need To Get COVID Tests
As more and more people get vaccinated, it’s not always clear when someone should get a COVID-19 test, or how testing will continue to play a part in our lives. But even as the percentage of vaccinated people rises each day, huge parts of the population — including children and adolescents — are not inoculated. That means access to reliable coronavirus tests will remain critical for the foreseeable future. (Hwang, 5/2)
Orange County Register:
Coronavirus: Orange County Reports 75 New Cases And 4 New Deaths On May 2
The OC Health Care Agency reported 75 new cases of the coronavirus on Sunday, May 2, increasing the cumulative total in the county to 253,989 cases since tracking began. There have been 963 new infections reported in the last 14 days. Four new deaths were reported Sunday, with the total number of COVID-19 fatalities in the county reaching 4,969. (Goertzen, 5/2)
The Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
Sonoma County Detects Single Case Of Brazil Variant
Sonoma County public health officials have confirmed the first local case of the so-called Brazil variant, a coronavirus mutation that has wreaked havoc in that country and might be twice as transmissible as earlier strains of the infectious diseaseThe latest mutation, known as the P.1 variant, is one of a small but increasing number of variant and “breakthrough” cases officials have discovered in the county. As of Friday, there were 14 virus infections overall tied to the Brazil, U.K. and West Coast variants, up from 8 cases in mid-April. (Espinoza, 5/2)
Sacramento Bee:
How Inaccurate CA Death Records Obscure COVID’s True Story
When California looks back on the COVID-19 pandemic — the most significant health crisis in modern history, with tens of thousands of deaths so far — medical researchers will find some of the most basic details remarkably incomplete. Overwhelmed public health departments and front-line workers have for months failed to record accurate health histories for COVID-19 victims, a Sacramento Bee review of the state’s internal pandemic death records found. (Pohl, Sabalow, and Reese, 5/3)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Mask Wearing Outdoors Still Evokes Range Of Emotions, Even With Looser Guidelines
At the fountain in Balboa Park Saturday, a group of girls snapped Instagrammable photos of one another, while a family with two young children took a break from riding their scooters to snack on juice boxes and sandwiches. Meanwhile at Mission Beach, crowds of people breezed down the boardwalk on bikes and rollerblades, while groups took in the sun on their beach blankets or at the bars lining the sand. It was a fairly typical spring Saturday throughout San Diego in many ways except one: unlike recent months, there were far fewer masks. (Mapp, 5/1)
San Francisco Chronicle:
'You Just Get Used To Being Locked Down': Pandemic Anxiety Is Keeping People Home As The Bay Area Reopens
As California and the Bay Area make big steps toward reopening, many people don’t feel ready to return to anything like normal. In the most recent Morning Consult tracking poll, 45% of respondents nationwide said they weren’t yet ready to return to their regular routines. A March survey by the American Psychological Association had similar findings: 46% of those polled said they didn’t feel comfortable “living life like they used to before the pandemic,” while 49% said they were feeling uneasy about adjusting to “in-person interaction once the pandemic ends.” (Kost, 5/2)
Reveal:
Banking On Inequity
Congress spent hundreds of billions of dollars to rescue small businesses hurt by the pandemic. But Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) money disproportionately went to White neighborhoods, leaving communities of color behind. (5/1)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Scripps Health Targeted By Cyberattack
A ransomware attack on Scripps Health’s computer network over the weekend significantly disrupted care, forcing the giant healthcare provider to stop patient access to its online portal, postpone appointments set for Monday and divert some critical care patients to other hospitals. Though the provider, which sees more than 700,000 patients annually, initially downplayed the intrusion, an internal memo obtained by The San Diego Union-Tribune indicated that information systems at two of Scripps’ four main hospitals were infected, including backup servers in Arizona. (Moran and Sisson, 5/2)
KQED:
Kaiser Lays Off More Than 200 Workers In Northern California
Kaiser plans to lay off more than 200 workers throughout Northern California, including some in the Bay Area. The company plans to tell impacted workers on Monday, after informing union representatives earlier this week. The positions eliminated are primarily non-clinical administrative support positions, according to Kaiser. (McDede, 5/2)
Fresno Bee:
How Pharmacy Change Could Impact CA Health Care Center
Kevin Arias-Romero, 25, a lifelong Mendota resident, has been going to United Health Centers in his hometown since he was a child. Most residents in the rural, impoverished city in western Fresno County depend on the health center for their care and medications. “It would be a huge loss if we didn’t have United Health Centers around,” Arias-Romero told The Bee. “It’s not just a clinic, it’s not just a building, it’s a vital part of our community.” (Amaro, 5/3)
The Bakersfield Californian:
Air District Issues Health Caution Due To Gusty Winds
The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District issued a heath caution Saturday night that lasts through Monday due to blowing dust from strong northwesterly winds. The caution is for San Joaquin Valley, and particularly the northern counties of San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Merced. The air district urges people to avoid exposure to blowing dust. (5/1)
AP:
Public Transit Hopes To Win Back Riders After Crushing Year
As President Joe Biden urges more f ederal spending for public transportation, transit agencies decimated by COVID-19 are trying to figure out how to win back passengers. It’s made more urgent by the climate change crisis. ... Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti promises free transit fares for them and for students. The city’s Metro ridership has fallen to about half its peak of 1.2 million, and Garcetti said getting more people on board would accelerate economic recovery “for our most vulnerable” and reduce traffic and emissions. (Yen, Weber, Tareen and Porter, 5/2)
Fresno Bee:
CA Natives Stunningly Underfunded By Indian Health Service
The court rulings brought hope. Finally, California’s Native American population — the nation’s largest — would receive its rightful share of federal health care funding. Triumphant, leaders in the California Native community journeyed to Washington to negotiate the process of opening the funding pipeline. That was more than four decades ago. (Amaro, 5/2)
NPR:
Audio: 25 States Mount Legal Fight To Block Sackler Bid For Opioid Immunity
For months members of the Sackler family who own Purdue Pharma, the maker of Oxycontin, have portrayed their bid for immunity from future opioid lawsuits as a kind of fait accompli, a take-it-or-leave it fix to a legal morass. In exchange for what amounts to a legal firewall for the Sacklers and their remaining empire, members of the family have offered to forfeit control of their bankrupt drug company and pay $4.2 billion from their private fortunes. (Mann, 5/3)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Northern California Residents Return 13 Tons Of Drugs To DEA
Northern California residents turned in 13 tons of expired or unwanted drugs as part of a nationwide campaign known as Take Back Day, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has announced. The haul was part of the 420 tons collected nationwide in the roundup, which took place on April 24. That’s down from the 492 tons collected in October and the nearly 469 tons collected during a pre-pandemic April 2019. (Rubenstein, 5/2)
AP:
Jenner Says Transgender Girls In Women's Sports Is 'Unfair'
Caitlyn Jenner, the former Olympic champion and reality TV personality now running for California governor, said she opposes transgender girls competing in girls’ sports at school. Jenner, a 1976 decathlon Olympic gold medalist who came out as a transgender woman in 2015, told a TMZ reporter on Saturday that it’s “a question of fairness.” (5/2)
Modesto Bee:
Turlock CA To Sweep Homeless Camp, Continuing Emergency
Turlock employees are preparing to clear a homeless encampment in northwest Turlock, but as of Friday have not set a date for the third sweep of the city’s 120-day emergency. The city reported spending about $20,000 on cleanup crews for the previous two sweeps and estimated much of its nearly $500,000 emergency budget remains unused heading into the next sweep. (Lam, 5/3)
San Francisco Chronicle:
San Francisco's Pandemic Exodus Looks Like It's Almost Over
San Francisco households fled the city during the pandemic’s first year, with many residents — particularly those living in the densest neighborhoods — seeking roomier homes in more affordable areas. But now that the city is reopening for business, with consistently low numbers of new cases and climbing vaccination rates, the flood of move-outs has slowed to near pre-pandemic levels. (Nielson, 5/3)