CapRadio: Covered California Enrollment Starts With Extra Federal Boost For Low And Middle-Income Families 
The open enrollment window for the state’s health insurance marketplace, Covered California, began Nov. 1. Health officials say purchasing coverage will be more affordable than usual for many people thanks to newly available federal financial help. The additional subsidies come out of the American Rescue Plan, President Joe Biden’s $1.9-trillion post-pandemic stimulus package. The plan includes an estimated $3 billion for the state marketplace through 2022, according to Covered California. (Caiola, 11/01)

CapRadio:  Shopping For Health Insurance During The Open Enrollment Period? Here’s Some Tips To Help You Out
It’s important to have health insurance, especially during a pandemic. KPCC’s Jackie Fortier reports that there’s a big change to most health care coverage you now should be on the lookout for when shopping for a new plan during open enrollment. At the beginning of the pandemic, some insurers chose not to charge COVID-19 patients for expensive hospital stays and therapies, and a few have continued that policy as long as the public health emergency is in place. (11/01)

CapRadio: Open Enrollment Warning: Your Health Insurance May Not Cover COVID Treatment 
The midst of a pandemic might be the worst time to not have health insurance. With open enrollment in full swing for many employers — and for Covered California (the state’s health insurance exchange) — let's take a look at how each policy handles COVID-19 treatment. Federal law requires health insurance companies to waive costs for medically necessary COVID-19 testing and vaccination. COVID-19 treatment is another matter. (Frontier, 11/01)

Axios: Uninsured Rate Holds Steady Amid COVID Pandemic 
The rate of uninsured Americans in 2020 remained relatively stable — between 8.6% and 9.7% — despite pandemic-related job losses and other economic challenges, according to data released by HHS. Biden administration officials released the numbers just ahead of the start of open enrollment in the federal health insurance marketplaces today as evidence of the Affordable Care Act's impact. (Reed, 11/1)

The Washington Post: CDC Expected To Sign Off On Vaccine For Children 5 To 11 
Advisers to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are meeting Tuesday to discuss giving the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine to children ages 5 to 11 and are expected to recommend moving forward. The Food and Drug Administration has already authorized the shots, which deliver about one-third of the vaccine dose given to adults. (Jeong, Suliman and Sun, 11/2)

Los Angeles Times: Should Young Kids Get COVID-19 Vaccination When It's Available? 
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted emergency use authorization for kid-sized doses of the vaccine made by Pfizer and BioNTech. That paves the way for making it available to elementary-school-age children by the end of the week. The action had been recommended by a panel of experts who advise the FDA on vaccines. When it comes to adults and older kids, groups like this have almost always said everyone should get vaccinated. But this time was different: Several members made clear that they do not think the vaccination should be given to as many young children as possible, at least right now. (Healy, 11/01)

AP: COVID Vaccine For Younger Kids Already Being Packed, Shipped
Anticipating a green light from vaccine advisers, the Biden administration is assembling and shipping millions of COVID-19 shots for children ages 5-11, the White House said Monday. The first could go into kids’ arms by midweek. “We are not waiting on the operations and logistics,” said coronavirus coordinator Jeff Zients. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 11/1)

Bloomberg: Pfizer Covid Vaccine Approval For Kids Will Close Hispanic Vaccine Gaps In U.S.
Emergency authorization for the Pfizer Inc. vaccine for kids five and up will almost certainly help boost vaccinations of minority populations in the U.S., which have continued to lag in recent months, particularly among Hispanic people. More than half the 48 million U.S. children ages 5 to 11 are children of color — one of the most diverse age groups in the country. Hispanic people are particularly over-represented among kids those ages. While they make up 18% of the total U.S. population, a quarter of 5- to 11-year-olds are Hispanic. An additional 13.3% of the age group are Black, 4.7% are Asian, and the remaining 6.7% are American Indian or Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, or multiracial. (Biekert, 11/1)

The New York Times: How Often Do Covid Vaccines Cause Heart Problems in Kids?
Federal regulators are reviewing data on the link between Moderna’s coronavirus vaccine and a rare heart problem in adolescents, the company announced on Sunday. That side effect — myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle — has also worried advisers to federal agencies in deliberations regarding use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine in younger children and teenagers. Scientists advising the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will review the latest data on the condition at a meeting on Tuesday before deciding whether to recommend the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for younger children. So how common is myocarditis, really? And should parents be concerned about vaccinating their children? (Mandavilli, 11/1)

Los Angeles Times: Vaccinated Moms Delay Weaning Kids To Give COVID Antibodies 
Lactating parents in California who are vaccinated for COVID-19 have kept nursing beyond the six-months-to-one-year recommendation out of determination — and fear — that human milk is the best protection they can offer their smallest children until a vaccine is available for them. Researchers found in a study published this month in Pediatrics, the journal from the American Academy of Pediatrics, that COVID-19 antibody concentrations were “significantly higher” in the milk of mothers who were breastfeeding 24 months or more compared with mothers with shorter breastfeeding periods. (Evans, 11/02)

The Washington Post: CDC Finds Immunity From Vaccines Is More Consistent Than From Infection, But Both Last At Least Six Months 
It’s a question that scientists have been trying to answer since the start of the pandemic, one that is central to the rancorous political debates over coronavirus vaccine policies: How much immunity does someone have after recovering from a coronavirus infection, and how does it compare with immunity provided by vaccination? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has weighed in for the first time in a detailed science report released with little fanfare Friday evening. Reviewing scores of research studies and its own unpublished data, the agency found that both infection-induced and vaccine-induced immunity are durable for at least six months — but that vaccines are more consistent in their protection and offer a huge boost in antibodies for people previously infected. (Sun and Achenbach, 11/1)

AP: Judge Limits New California Law Protecting Vaccination Sites
A federal judge has thrown out California’s new 30-foot buffer zone designed to restrict protests at coronavirus vaccination sites, though his ruling left in place other parts of a new state law despite arguments that it infringes on free speech. The law that took effect Oct. 8 makes it illegal to come within 30 feet (9.14 meters) of someone at a vaccination site “for the purpose of obstructing, injuring, harassing, intimidating, or interfering with that person.” (Thompson, 11/1)

Sacramento Bee: Anti-Abortion Group Sues California Over COVID Vaccinations
An anti-abortion group in Fresno won a legal victory Saturday in a case in which the group’s supporters argue a state law related to COVID-19 vaccines is infringing on their free speech rights. Fresno nonprofit Right to Life of Central California is suing Attorney General Rob Bonta over Senate Bill 742, a law Gov. Gavin Newsom signed this past month that creates a 100-foot buffer zone outside of a clinic or other facility that administers vaccines. (Miller, 11/1)

City News Service: LA County Pushes Again For COVID Vaccines, Boosters Before Feared Winter Woes 
Los Angeles County health officials made another push Monday, Nov. 1, for residents to get vaccinated against COVID-19, and for those who have already been vaccinated to receive a booster shot prior to the winter months. “There is urgency for those unvaccinated to get vaccinated, and for those eligible for an additional dose because of their age, underlying health conditions, or occupation, to get their booster,” county Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said in a statement. “We saw last year how damaging the virus can be and how colder weather and increased intermingling leads to more transmission.” (11/1)

Modesto Bee: Fake Moderna Site Offered COVID Vaccines For Sale, Feds Say 
A website mimicking Moderna’s official site claimed to have doses of the coronavirus vaccine for sale before they were widely available, according to federal court filings. Now a 25-year-old man from Maryland is pleading guilty to fraud charges. Odunayo “Baba” Oluwalade, of Windsor Mill, is one of at least three men accused of orchestrating the scheme, the government said in court documents. (Fowler, 11/01)

USA Today: Mandatory Vaccination For Employees Of Large Companies Draws Closer
The controversial Biden administration plan to require companies with more than 100 employees to mandate vaccination for their workers or require weekly testing cleared another hurdle Monday when the Office of Management and Budget completed its regulatory review. The plan also requires employers to provide paid time to workers to get vaccinated and paid sick leave to recover from any side effects. The Federal Register will publish the emergency temporary standard "in the coming days," the Labor Department said in a statement. It's not clear when the mandate would become effective. (Bacon and Ortiz, 11/1)

Roll Call: Biden Gives Contractors Leeway On COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate 
Federal contractors can use their discretion in deciding how to handle an employee who refuses to get the COVID-19 vaccine, according to guidance released by the White House on Monday. If a government contractor's employee refuses to get vaccinated and does not have a pending request for an accommodation, there is no one protocol for the employer to follow. The administration suggests counseling and education, followed by additional disciplinary measures, if necessary. Firing an unvaccinated employee should occur only after additional noncompliance, the White House says. (Cohen, 11/1)

AP: Military Weighs Penalties For Those Who Refuse COVID Vaccine
As deadlines loom for military and defense civilians to get mandated COVID-19 vaccines, senior leaders must now wrestle with the fate of those who flatly refuse the shots or are seeking exemptions, and how to make sure they are treated fairly and equally. The vast majority of the active duty force has received at least one shot, but tens of thousands have not. For some it may be a career-ending decision. Others could face transfers, travel restrictions, limits on deployments and requirements to repay bonuses. (Baldor, 11/1)

American Homefront Project: As Deadlines Near For Service Members To Get COVID Vaccines, The Vast Majority Have Complied
After Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered America’s 1.4 million active duty service members to get COVID-19 vaccines, the service branches set their own deadlines for compliance. The Air Force set the most ambitious deadline - Nov. 2. The deadline in the Navy and the Marine Corps is Nov. 28, and the Army's cutoff date is Dec. 15. The Department of Defense says more than 90 percent of active duty troops have received at least one vaccine dose. Some of the rest have requested medical or religious exemptions. Others face possible punishment for disregarding the order. (Frame, 11/1)

CalMatters: California COVID Testing: State Renews Valencia Lab Contract 
On Sunday, while you were out trick-or-treating, California quietly auto-renewed a contract worth up to $1.7 billion for a COVID-19 testing lab so plagued with problems that state health officials warned in February it could lose its license. The automatic renewal, which California Health and Human Services Agency spokesperson Sami Gallegos confirmed to me Sunday night, comes as the state faces scrutiny for its failure to release a report investigating “significant deficiencies” at the lab. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration said the full report would be made available in mid-March. More than seven months later, it is nowhere to be found. (Hoeven, 11/01)

Sacramento Bee: Free COVID-19 Testing Sites For Sacramento County Residents 
Sacramento County Public Health recently opened several testing locations with longer hours for Sacramento County residents 2 years and older. Here’s a list of some of free testing for Sacramento County residents. (Taylor, 11/01)

Sacramento Bee: Sacramento County Jail Inmate Death Related To COVID-19 
Sacramento County health officials on Monday evening announced that a jail inmate, who was vaccinated against the coronavirus several months ago, has died after testing positive for COVID-19 last week. The Sacramento County Jail inmate was a 76-year-old man who was being treated for “long term significant and multiple underlying health conditions,” according to a county news release. He was admitted to a hospital Oct. 25 because he had low oxygen levels, health officials said. (Ahumada, 11/01)

The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat: In Local COVID Deaths, Vaccinated Residents Die But Unvaccinated Are At Greatest Danger
As the COVID-19 pandemic progresses into the fall, Sonoma County health officials continue to report coronavirus-related fatalities, though far fewer now than during the summer surge. For the past three weeks, county public health staff have reported two COVID-19 deaths every Friday. During the summer, officials were reporting virus-related deaths every few days. (Espinoza, 11/1)

Sacramento Bee: What Are The Symptoms, How To Get Help For Long-Haul COVID?
A study from PLOS Medicine, a non-profit medical journal, found that “over 1 in 3 patients had one or more features of long-COVID recorded between 3 and 6 months after a diagnosis of COVID-19.” Recent research, however, has differing standpoints on who is more susceptible to lingering symptoms. (Truong, 11/01)

Modesto Bee: COVID Isolation Was A Positive Experience For Many People 
Isolation during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has been a struggle for many people, but new research shows some people flourished when alone during a round of lockdowns. A study of more than 2,000 teens and adults in the U.K. found that for the most part, everyone had both positive and negative experiences during the country’s first national lockdown because of COVID-19. But researchers learned people found their solitude to have more positive than negative effects on their well-being — particularly older adults who more frequently reported feeling peaceful and less socially alienated than teens. (Camero, 11/02)

San Francisco Chronicle: S.F. Public Employees Return To City Hall, But Civic Center Stays Quiet
On the first day that all San Francisco city employees were required to come back to the office after more than a year of doing their jobs from home, a steady but small stream of people trickled off BART on Monday morning and walked into their Civic Center offices. The drizzly, breezy morning around City Hall seemed calm, quiet and nothing special. But, in reality, it was a significant day for San Francisco: Not only did all city employees have to return to work for at least two days a week, but they also had to be vaccinated against COVID-19. (DiFeliciantonio, Stoughtenborough and Thadani, 11/01)

Orange County Register: Rep. Linda Sanchez, Others Push To Keep Pandemic-Inspired Restaurant Expansions 
Inspired by Diaz’s situation, Sanchez and Minnesota Rep. Angie Craig are leading 18 of their fellow House Democrats in an effort to encourage states and cities to let restaurants keep outdoor seating in parking lots, sidewalks and streets “for the duration of the pandemic.” Toward that end, Sanchez and the others sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen seeking to link such restaurant expansions to a state or city’s eligibility to receive Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, a $350 billion pot of money created in March when Congress passed the American Rescue Plan. The Treasury is reviewing comments on that program through fall before issuing a final rule. (Staggs, 11/01)

City News Service: Judge Denies Order To Groups Fighting LAUSD Student Vaccine Mandate 
A judge has denied a temporary restraining order sought by two nonprofit groups representing parents of nearly 1,500 Los Angeles Unified students who oppose the LAUSD’s student COVID-19 vaccine mandate on grounds such decisions should be left to the state Department of Public Health. (11/1)

Los Angeles Times: LAUSD Removing Athletes Who Aren't Vaccinated From Rosters 
High schools following Los Angeles Unified School District rules began to remove athletes from rosters Monday, the first day of an LAUSD mandate banning students who are not fully vaccinated for COVID-19 from participating in games or afterschool practices. Last week, LAUSD statistics indicated at least 70% of district athletes had been vaccinated. On Monday, LAUSD announced that 77% of students on teams met the Sunday deadline for two-dose COVID-19 vaccine. (Sondheimer, 11/01)

Los Angeles Times: UC Santa Barbara Mega-Dorm Slammed, Architect Quits In Protest 
A longtime consulting architect at UC Santa Barbara has quit in protest over a massive proposed dormitory he slammed as a “social and psychological experiment.” The $1.5-billion project, dubbed Munger Hall, is the brainchild of billionaire Berkshire Hathaway Vice Chairman Charlie Munger, who donated $200 million toward the plan in 2016. The dorm could house more than 4,500 students, a huge relief on a campus that ran so short of housing this fall it temporarily put up students in hotels. (Martinez, 11/01)

Sacramento Bee: Workers At Sutter Psychiatric Hospital In Sacramento Join Union 
Social workers, therapists and other health care workers at Sutter Center for Psychiatry in Sacramento said Monday that they had voted overwhelmingly to join the National Union of Healthcare Workers. The union said the workers began organizing at the 73-bed hospital earlier this year after Sutter ignored the workers’ concerns about pay, staffing levels and working conditions. (Anderson, 11/02)

Sacramento Bee: Amphitheater, Homes Planned At Sleep Train Site In Sacramento 
A new hospital being built at the former Sleep Train Arena site in Sacramento will also include over 3,000 units of housing, as well as retail space, bike trails and an amphitheater. The development, called Innovation Park, will be located at the 183-acre North Natomas site. California Northstate University plans to construct a major 14-story teaching hospital, trauma center and medical school at the site, bringing up to 3,000 jobs. (Clift, 11/02)

Sacramento Bee: High Court Action Allows Transgender Man To Sue Mercy San Juan 
The U.S. Supreme Court announced Monday that it would not hear arguments on a California appeals court decision that let a Sacramento-area transgender man sue Mercy San Juan Medical Center over its cancellation of his hysterectomy. The 1st District Court of Appeal in San Francisco ruled in September 2019 that Evan Minton could sue the Carmichael-based hospital over the last-minute change in his care, overturning a lower-court ruling that dismissed the case. (Anderson, 11/01)

San Diego Union-Tribune: San Diego Biotech Chases ‘One-Size-Fits-All’ Cancer Drugs
San Diego biotech Shoreline Biosciences announced Tuesday that it has raised $140 million to fund a one-size-fits-all strategy that would use genetically modified immune cells to kill cancer cells. That’s a popular goal these days. The Food and Drug Administration has approved a growing list of so-called CAR-T therapies, which take a patient’s own immune cells, equip them to recognize and attack a certain cancer, and reinfuse those modified cells back into the patient. (Wosen, 11/2)

Orange County Register: LA County ‘Special Alert’ Aims To Prevent Altercations Between Deputies And People With Disabilities, Mental Health Issues 
A program unveiled by Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva on Monday, Nov. 1, invites households to notify the department if they are caring for people with disabilities or mental health conditions to prevent misunderstandings that could spiral into altercations between deputies and their loved ones. (Licas, 11/1)

San Francisco Chronicle: Push To Overhaul Sex-Work Laws Hinges On A Central Question: Who Counts As A Victim?
Efforts to protect both victims of human trafficking and people who engage in sex work willingly are increasingly hinging on a fundamental question: When is the act of trading sex for money truly voluntary? In recent years, California lawmakers have taken up a handful of measures to ease enforcement targeting sex workers as they weigh the effects of decades-old laws criminalizing the industry. The debate could ultimately put the state on a path to decriminalize sex work. (Gardiner, 11/1)

San Francisco Chronicle: How Is The Pandemic Changing Births In California?
Several months ago, the Chronicle examined how the coronavirus pandemic’s initial lockdown period had driven a nearly historically unprecedented California-wide “baby bust” — a steep decline in births — in the first two months of 2021. Now that we’re nearing the end of the year, it’s time to check back in. Where are California’s birth rates now? (Neilson, 11/01)

CapRadio: $182 Million In Pandemic Food Aid Is Going Unused In California. Here’s How To Make Sure You’re Not Missing Out
At least $182 million of pandemic food aid in California has gone unused, according to a recent audit. That amounts to some 500,000 unused benefit cards for the 2019-20 school year. The California State Auditor analyzed the California Department of Social Services’ use of federal funds for two food assistance programs:  the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer cards and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as CalFresh. (Salanga, 11/02)

Modesto Bee: CA Democrats Weigh New Ammunition Rules After ‘Rust’ Tragedy 
A California Democrat is calling for a ban on live ammunition on movie sets in response to the deadly “Rust” film accident last week that left the cinematographer dead after actor Alec Baldwin unknowingly fired a gun containing a lead bullet while filming in Santa Fe. State Sen. Dave Cortese of San Jose announced this week that he will soon unveil legislation for the 2022 session that would prohibit the use of live ammunition and guns that can fire live rounds in theatrical productions. Cortese said that language is already being drafted. (Wiley, 11/02)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. County Clears Homeless Encampment Outside VA Campus; Vets Offered Shelter Inside 
Tensions were high on moving day at the encampment, which sits along the perimeter of the historic Veterans Affairs campus near Brentwood. Roughly 4,000 veterans in the county are homeless, and about 40 have been living at the Veterans Row encampment for the last several months. The effort was the byproduct of several months of outreach to the homeless veterans community, said Robert Reynolds, an advocate with AMVETS, the veterans service organization. Advocates say they have been meeting with veterans on the street to prepare them to leave the encampment and move into a temporary tent village on the VA campus itself. The process could be jarring. (Solis, 11/01)

San Francisco Chronicle: Oakland Is Embracing Tiny Home Villages For The Unhoused With One Opening This Month. Here's Why
Oakland city leaders invited housed residents and business leaders near Lake Merritt to tour a tiny home village Monday that will begin moving in homeless people later this month. The idea was to strengthen the bonds between housed residents in the area and those heading to the village to ensure its success. The Lakeview Village, located at East 12th Street and Second Avenue, will house 71 people in pallet shelters who formerly lived in encampments. (Ravani, 11/1)

Bay Area News Group: Elizabeth Holmes: Two Months Into Theranos Founder's Trial, How Does It Look For Her?
Two months after Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes’ federal criminal trial started in San Jose, legal observers are divided on her prospects. “It doesn’t look good for Holmes,” said  Neama Rahmani, a former federal prosecutor who’s now an attorney at West Coast Trial Lawyers. “I fully expect her to be convicted unless something dramatic happens when the defense puts on their case.” (Baron, 11/01)