Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
To Extract More Doses per Vial, Vaccinators Put Squeeze on FDA to Relax Vaccine Handling Advice
Although vaccine supply is ramping up, the supply gap puts pressure on vaccinating teams to extract every drop they can. Some are asking the FDA to waive guidance against extracting vaccine from two vials with the same needle. It’s worth a shot. (Arthur Allen, )
More Businesses Reopening This Weekend: Breweries and distilleries that do not serve meals may open for outdoor service starting Saturday, according to new guidance released Thursday by the California Department of Public Health, which is also allowing bars to reopen in some counties. Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle, Sacramento Bee and Bay Area News Group.
In related news —
Los Angeles Times: From movies to gyms to eateries, here’s what will reopen in L.A. County as early as Monday
School Boards Approve Reopening Plans In L.A., San Francisco: The Los Angeles school board on Thursday unanimously approved a deal with the teachers union that aims to reopen elementary schools in mid-April. And San Francisco public schools are expected to begin in-person learning for preschool through fifth graders starting April 12, after the school board unanimously approved the plan Thursday. Read more from the Los Angeles Times and San Francisco Chronicle.
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
Politico:
Senate Advances Becerra Nomination For HHS Secretary
A divided Senate on Thursday advanced Xavier Becerra's nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services after Maine Republican Susan Collins joined all of the chamber's Democrats in backing a confirmation vote. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer filed a discharge petition to bring up the nomination after the Senate Finance Committee split along party lines on the nomination last week, creating an extra procedural hurdle. The vote on holding a confirmation vote was 51-48. (Ollstein, 3/11)
Roll Call:
Senate Votes To Move Becerra Nomination To Floor
The Senate on Thursday voted, 51-48, to discharge Xavier Becerra’s nomination to lead the Department of Health and Human Services from the Senate Finance Committee, teeing up floor debate and a confirmation vote as soon as next week. Becerra appeared to have the votes to be confirmed to the role overseeing the massive agency, after Sens. Joe Manchin III, D-W.Va., and Susan Collins, R-Maine, said separately they would vote to confirm him. (McIntire, 3/11)
CNN:
Xavier Becerra: Biden's Pick To Lead HHS Heads Toward Confirmation
Health and Human Services Secretary nominee Xavier Becerra picked up the support of two crucial votes on Thursday, all but ensuring his eventual Senate confirmation. West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin and Maine Sen. Susan Collins, a Democrat and a Republican, announced they would vote to confirm Becerra despite their differences. (Rogers and Raju, 3/11)
Fox News:
Manchin, Collins To Vote For Becerra As Biden's HHS Secretary After Conservatives Try To Sink Nomination
Sens. Joe Manchin and Susan Collins said Thursday they plan to vote for Xavier Becerra to serve as President Biden’s Health and Human Services secretary, likely delivering the new administration another Cabinet member. Support from Manchin and Collins, two crucial swing votes, almost certainly gives Democrats the necessary support to confirm Becerra after the Senate Finance Committee deadlocked earlier this week on whether to advance Biden's nominee to lead the health agency. (Henney, 3/11)
Los Angeles Times:
California Releases Details On How Millions Can Get COVID-19 Vaccinations Beginning Monday
Four days before an estimated 4.4 million Californians with disabilities or underlying health conditions become eligible for the vaccine, the California Public Health Department released guidance on the verification process. Notably, the state is not requiring that eligible disabled or sick individuals present documentation of their condition. Instead, all will be required to self-attest that they meet the criteria. (Shalby and Smith, 3/11)
Bay Area News Group:
COVID: Bay Area Counties Rejigger, Cancel Vaccine Appointments Amid Tight Supply
Bay Area vaccine providers are facing a tight supply crunch that has forced them to shift doses among clinics, curtail appointments or cancel them altogether — even as another wave of eligible Californians looms. Starting Monday, an estimated 4 million to 6 million additional people will qualify for the potentially lifesaving injections, but they may have to wait weeks to make appointments as counties are hampered by a dearth of doses. And while the state has pledged that a reliable flow of vaccines will arrive early next month, local providers say the certainty of that delivery — let alone the exact timing — is unpredictable. (Kelliher and DeRuy, 3/11)
Ventura County Star:
CVS Expands COVID-19 Vaccinations In Ventura County, California
CVS Pharmacy sites across Ventura County are expected to offer the COVID-19 vaccination as part of an expanded rollout announced by the company this week. CVS officials have not released which specific stores will be involved in an expansion starting this weekend that will bring the vaccine to 119 new sites across California. A list of communities on CVS.com where appointments were shown as available based on vaccine supply includes Agoura Hills, Camarillo, Moorpark, Fillmore, Newbury Park, Oxnard, Simi Valley, Thousand Oaks, Ventura and Westlake Village. (Kisken, 3/11)
Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
Target, CVS Add New Coronavirus Vaccination Sites In Sonoma County
Target is now providing coronavirus vaccines at in-store CVS pharmacies across California, including locations in Sonoma County. Target announced Wednesday that more than 600 CVS locations at Target stores across the United States will offer the vaccine. (Chudwin, 3/11)
The Bakersfield Californian:
'Dream' Of Cesar Chavez Continues With Vaccination Clinic At The Forty Acres
From Cesar Chavez’s first fast — which gained national attention and drew in thousands of supporters, including Sen. Robert Kennedy — to the signing of a collective bargaining agreement with table grape growers, the site has radically altered the lives of thousands of farmworkers. Now it will save their lives. Beginning Saturday and extending over six weekends in March and April, The Forty Acres will host a mobile clinic with the capacity of vaccinating 500 to 600 farmworkers per day. Operating during non-standard business hours, and in a convenient location, the event is meant to erase the barriers some farmworkers may experience when trying to get vaccinated. (Morgen, 3/11)
Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
Biden Order Praised In Sonoma County, But Public Health Officer Cautions Much More Vaccine Needed
Sonoma County Health Officer Dr. Sundari Mase applauded President Joe Biden’s move to make all American adults eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine by May 1, but cautioned that much more vaccine is needed to avoid long lines and public frustration as people rush to get vaccinated. (Espinoza, 3/11)
Bay Area News Group:
Johnson & Johnson COVID Vaccine: California Leaders Line Up For ‘One-And-Done’ Shot
One by one Thursday morning, several of California’s top public health officials took a seat in a white folding chair at the mass-vaccination site in the parking lot of the Oakland Coliseum. They sat patiently, upper arms exposed, as a worker swabbed their skin and injected them with the COVID-19 vaccine from Johnson & Johnson — all before a row of more than a dozen TV cameras, plus more photographers and reporters. It was an effort to show state leaders are putting their money where their mouths are when they tout the effectiveness and importance of the newly approved single-shot vaccine. (Savidge, 3/11)
The Bakersfield Californian:
Bakersfield College On-Campus Clinic Administers 100 One-Shot Johnson & Johnson Vaccines
Retired hospital worker Cheryl Tate was happy to secure an appointment at a walk-in clinic at Bakersfield College on Thursday, and doubly happy to learn that she would be among the first in Bakersfield to receive the new Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccine. Asked about not needing a second shot like those required by those who receive the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines, Tate just smiled behind her jeweled mask. "I'm glad I don't," she said. (Mayer, 3/11)
Orange County Register:
Catholic Church’s Direction On Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine Raises Questions
Despite statements from the Vatican and U.S. bishops that the unprecedented global coronavirus pandemic would make it “morally acceptable” for Roman Catholics to take the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, the moral implications of using cell lines derived from an aborted fetus to test and produce the vaccine are being debated with some fearing that it might send a mixed message to the nearly 5 million Catholics in Southern California. (Bharath, 3/11)
Bay Area News Group:
COVID Vaccine: California Public Transit Workers Eligible Starting Monday
Bus drivers, BART station agents and other employees of California’s public transportation systems could get COVID vaccines as soon as next week, after the state’s Department of Public Health broadened its eligibility rules Thursday. The updated rules now include transit workers among a group of more than 4 million Californians who will become eligible for vaccines starting Monday. The list also includes people between the ages of 16 and 64 who have serious medical conditions and disabilities. (Savidge, 3/11)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Orange Tent Helps Seniors Schedule Vaccine Appointments
Under the orange tent set up next to the COVID-19 Vaccination Super Station in Chula Vista, dozens of seniors have found answers to their many questions about getting the shots that will protect them from the virus. The information booth, operated by Chula Vista-based insurance agency SBHIS in partnership with Sharp Healthcare, supports seniors who have been unable to navigate what can be a confusing scheduling process to set up an appointment for the first or second dose. The seniors are either at a technological disadvantage or a language one. Workers at the booth can help alleviate those problems. (Mendoza, 3/11)
Los Angeles Times:
In The Midst Of Their Battle Against COVID-19, A Medical Team Celebrates Life
On a cold Tuesday evening in January, Blanca Lopez and her son Criztiaan Juarez drove from their home in Glendale to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. Traffic was light through the valley and over the Sepulveda Pass. Lopez had been busy that day, going to a hair salon, getting her lashes done, preparing dinner for her family in her absence: chili colorado with nopales and Peruvian beans for her parents, spaghetti with smoked sausage for her children. Five months earlier, she had nearly died of COVID-19, and an ambulance, following the same route she drove today, took her to UCLA. (Curwen, 3/12)
Los Angeles Times:
The Patient Was Dying Of COVID-19. Could ECMO Save Her?
Blanca Lopez was drowning. Her lungs filled with fluid, and a mask over her mouth and nose flooded her with oxygen. She gasped, threw up her arms and yanked it off. A bedside monitor screamed and grew faint as Lopez, infected with the coronavirus, lost consciousness. Her heart and brain, deprived of oxygen, weakened. Cells in her blood vessels that maintain pressure began to die. Her kidneys slowed. She felt the room grow dark and quiet. (Curwen, 3/12)
Los Angeles Times:
ECMO: The Mystery Of Breath And The Machine That Saves Lives
Have we ever been more aware of what it means to breathe? To fill our lungs with air, feel our chests expand and know that something so ordinary and commonplace is now — especially now — nothing to take for granted? I would call the breath mystical if it weren’t so well understood. But understanding the principle of diffusion, by which oxygen and carbon dioxide change places in our bloodstream, does not make it any less extraordinary. (Curwen, 3/12)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
COVID-19's Impact On San Diego's Hospitals Continues To Lessen As County Inches Toward Red Tier
The number of San Diegans in the hospital with COVID-19 is less than a third of what it was a month ago, according to the county’s latest coronavirus report. On Thursday, the county reported 24 new hospitalizations, with 314 San Diegans currently hospitalized from a coronavirus infection; on Feb. 9, there were 992 in the hospital with COVID-19. “We’re pretty happy,” said Dr. Davey Smith, UC San Diego’s chief of infectious disease research, of the steady decline in hospitalizations since around the start of the new year. (Wosen, 3/11)
The Bakersfield Californian:
Attorney General Files Accusation Against Bakersfield Doctor Following Death Of Patient, Unborn Son
California's attorney general's office has filed an accusation against Dr. Arthur M. Park, accusing the Bakersfield OB-GYN of gross negligence, repeated negligence and failure to keep adequate and accurate records related to the wrongful deaths of a patient and her unborn son last year. According to a filing from the California Medical Board, Park is accused of not adequately treating her and discharging the patient, Demi Ruben Dominguez, at Mercy Southwest Hospital before she died days later. A call to Park's office seeking comment was not immediately returned. (3/11)
Sacramento Bee:
California Republicans Betray Families And Businesses With Votes Against COVID Stimulus
President Joe Biden today signed a $1.9 trillion stimulus package designed to help Americans struggling with economic losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Every single Republican member of Congress voted against the American Rescue Plan. This includes the Central Valley region’s Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R- Richvale, Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield, Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Elk Grove, Devin Nunes, R-Tulare, and David Valadao, R-Handford. (3/11)
Los Angeles Times:
COVID One Year Later: Lessons From A Pandemic Year
For Musso & Frank Grill, the venerable Hollywood institution, the past year has been one of uncertainty. The restaurant has been closed since last March 15, when Mayor Eric Garcetti abruptly banned indoor dining or serving of alcohol, effective midnight that night. When conditions eased, the restaurant reopened in late June — for four days, until the state banned indoor dining again. (Michael Hiltzik, 3/12)
Sacramento Bee:
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Off-Key Speech To An Empty Dodger Stadium Falls Flat
Threatened by a potential recall election after a year during which COVID-19 killed nearly 55,000 Californians, Gov. Gavin Newsom delivered an optimistic speech in an empty Dodger Stadium on Tuesday night. It was a little weird. Helicopters, apparently searching for a murder suspect, buzzed in the background as Newsom whizzed through the lines of his third State of the State speech with uncharacteristic speed. (Gil Duran, 3/10)
Sacramento Bee:
California Must Live Up To Newsom’s Promises Of COVID Vaccine Equity. Here’s A Way
The pandemic has taken a devastating toll on California’s communities of color, and so far the state is failing to vaccinate enough Black and brown people despite lofty promises of equity. Gov. Gavin Newsom emphasized equitable vaccine distribution as “the fastest way through the pandemic” in Tuesday’s State of the State address. His optimistic tone came days after the latest whiplash, when his administration directed doses to hard-hit communities while also easing pandemic restrictions. (3/10)
Sacramento Bee:
These Placer County Restaurants Are Suing Gov. Newsom. I’ll Never Eat At Them Again
I’ve celebrated birthdays and graduations at La Provence, Roseville’s chic upscale French restaurant. Their indoor and outdoor spaces are gorgeous, and the waitstaff has always been friendly and accommodating. The food is spectacular. But I won’t be dining there ever again. La Provence is part of a group of Placer County restaurants banding together to sue Gov. Gavin Newsom and the State of California over COVID-19 restrictions. Other restaurants involved in the so-called Placer County Restaurant & Bar Coalition are Brick Yard Kitchen & Bar, House of Oliver, Randy Peters Catering, Primo Pizza, The Brass Tap, Infusion Taproom and Pete’s Restaurant & Brewhouse. (Hannah Holzer, 3/12)
Bay Area News Group:
California’s Blue Shield Vaccine Deal Rife With Problems
It would not have been fair to expect Gov. Gavin Newsom’s response to the coronavirus to be neat and orderly. After all, we’re in the middle of a pandemic. We haven’t been through this before. There is no simple playbook, especially for a state as large and complex as California. The governor and state officials have had to figure it out as they go along. Such is the nature of an unprecedented crisis. To a certain extent, that helps explain the confusion over the state’s testing, the bungled attempt at contact tracing, the constantly changing criteria for sheltering and reopening businesses, and the botched effort to reopen schools. (3/11)
Los Angeles Times:
After 365 Days Of COVID Exile, I Returned To My Office
I walked out of my office a year ago, on March 11, 2020. This week, for the first time, I went back. It was ghostly. My glasses were still sitting by the phone, and a legal pad was open, as if I had just stepped out for lunch. A cup, now dry, and that day’s newspaper still sat on the desk, as if, like Miss Havisham’s wedding feast, time had been intentionally stopped. (Nicholas Goldberg, 3/11)
Bay Area News Group:
Our Patients Can’t Wait To Fix Our Health Care System
If there’s a lesson we should learn from the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s that it’s long past time to stop delaying a fundamental fix to our disjoined, dysfunctional and discriminatory health care system. Californians have the opportunity to take those critical steps this year following the introduction of AB 1400, the California Guaranteed Health Care for All Act (CalCare) by San Jose Assemblyman Ash Kalra, D-San Jose, with 20 co-authors and sponsored by the California Nurses Association. The Bay Area, site of the nation’s first COVID-19 deaths, could be a poster child for why CalCare is needed. (Zenei Triunfo Cortez, 3/10)
Bay Area News Group:
To Reopen Schools A Year Into COVID, All Sides Must Focus On Shared Goal
On this week a year ago, students in the Bay Area’s two largest school districts, Oakland and San Francisco, left their classrooms for the last time and have not yet returned. Their educational experience changed entirely, as did the job descriptions for educators and parents. There was no emotional closure. There was no preparation for the transition. Yet, in that moment, it was the right choice. To the best of our knowledge then, it was the safest choice. There were so many unknowns about COVID-19. One year later, we have access to more knowledge and data. We now know that schools are not super-spreader sites, and a safe return to in-person learning is possible with appropriate mitigation measures in place. (Dr. Rebecca McEntee, 3/11)