Bay Area News Group: CDC: Omicron Drove Up Kids' COVID-19 Hospitalization Rates
Bay Area pediatricians knew omicron was like nothing they’d seen before for their youngest patients, and a new study released Tuesday confirms their alarm: The highly contagious variant sent kids to U.S. hospitals at rates four times higher than delta, and rates were higher still for those under age 5, who are too young for COVID-19 vaccination. Although kids have been least vulnerable to the virus, the rise in severe illness among them as cases surged this winter alarmed health officials who have pleaded with parents to get their children vaccinated. (Woolfolk and DeRuy, 2/15)

Los Angeles Times: Going To The Rams Parade? Here's How To Limit COVID-19 Risks
As Rams fans gear up for a parade Wednesday to celebrate the team’s Super Bowl victory, public health officials and experts urged people to gauge their level of risk and take appropriate precautions. Public health officials generally advise people to avoid crowds, but “there’s no avoiding crowds in a parade,” Dr. George Rutherford, UCSF professor of epidemiology said Monday. “The safest bet is to wear a mask, if you’re going to go.” (Reyes, 2/15)

The Washington Post: CDC Lowers Cruise Travel Warning From ‘Very High’ To ‘High’ 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says taking a cruise now presents a lower risk than it did at the end of 2021 — at least in some cases. On Tuesday, the public health agency lowered its travel health notice for cruises from Level 4 to Level 3, which indicates covid-19 levels on ships are “high” rather than “very high.” The agency had been warning all travelers to avoid cruise travel regardless of vaccination status since Dec. 30, after the omicron surge sent cases on ships soaring. (Sampson, 2/15)

The Washington Post: A Middle-Aged Woman Is The Third Patient To Be Potentially Cured Of HIV, Scientists Report 
A middle-aged, mixed-race woman is the third patient to be potentially cured of HIV, with the virus in long-term remission four years after she received a transplant of stem cells harvested from an infant’s umbilical cord blood, scientists said Tuesday. The new case, reported at the annual meeting of the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infection, is the first time the transplant approach has been successfully reported in a mixed-race woman, an advance that reinforces the exciting concept that an HIV cure may be possible in a wider array of people by using cord blood. (Johnson, 2/15)

ABC News: Breakthrough Treatment Makes Woman 3rd Person To Be Cured Of HIV
"This case is special for several reasons: First, our participant was a U.S. woman living with HIV of mixed race, who needed a stem cell transplant for treatment of her leukemia. And she would find a more difficult time finding both a genetic match and one with the HIV-resistant mutation to both cure her cancer and potentially her HIV. This is a natural, but rare mutation," said Dr. Yvonne Bryson, an infectious disease physician at UCLA who led the study. (Morrison and Salzman, 2/15)

The New York Times: A Woman Is Cured Of H.I.V. Using A Novel Treatment 
Cord blood is more widely available than the adult stem cells used in the bone marrow transplants that cured the previous two patients, and it does not need to be matched as closely to the recipient. Most donors in registries are of Caucasian origin, so allowing for only a partial match has the potential to cure dozens of Americans who have both H.I.V. and cancer each year, scientists said. The woman, who also had leukemia, received cord blood to treat her cancer. It came from a partially matched donor, instead of the typical practice of finding a bone marrow donor of similar race and ethnicity to the patient’s. She also received blood from a close relative to give her body temporary immune defenses while the transplant took. (Mandavilli, 2/15)

The New York Times: California Returns As Climate Leader, With Help From The White House 
The Biden administration is preparing strict new limits on pollution from buses, delivery vans, tractor-trailers and other heavy trucks, the first time tailpipe standards have been tightened for the biggest polluters on the road since 2001. The new federal regulations are drawn from truck pollution rules recently enacted by California and come as the Biden administration is moving to restore that state’s legal authority to set auto emissions limits that are tighter than federal standards, according to two people familiar with the matter, who were not authorized to speak on the record. (Davenport, 2/15)

The New York Times: Senate Confirms Califf As F.D.A. Chief In Tight Vote
The Senate on Tuesday narrowly confirmed Dr. Robert Califf as commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, a key federal agency that has been without a permanent chief for more than a yearlong stretch of the coronavirus pandemic. The vote was 50-to-46, with six Republicans crossing the aisle to support him while five senators who caucus with Democrats opposed him. One senator voted present. (Jewett and Cochrane, 2/15)

AP: Senate Confirms Biden's FDA Pick Despite Political Divisions
White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the administration is “thrilled” that the Senate confirmed Califf on a bipartisan basis. “He brings to this critical post a lifetime of knowledge and the institutional experience that will ensure he hits the ground running,” she said. (Perrone and Freking, 2/15)

Politico: Califf Confirmed: The 6 Challenges That Await The New FDA Commissioner 
With a permanent political leader in place after a 13-month holding pattern, the agency will be more empowered to move forward with sensitive policies and accelerate its regulatory agenda. Returning to the FDA early in President Joe Biden’s tenure gives Califf greater ability to place his stamp on the agency than the last time he led it during the final months of the Obama administration. Scott Gottlieb, former President Donald Trump’s first FDA commissioner, played an outsized role communicating with lawmakers on Capitol Hill about the agency’s priorities. (Gardner, Foley, Lim and Ollstein, 2/15)

Bay Area News Group: COVID: Vaccination When Pregnant Can Protect Baby, CDC Study Says
Women who are vaccinated during pregnancy may not only protect themselves from COVID-19 but also their babies, according to new research published Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study found that infants under 6 months old were 61% less likely to be hospitalized with COVID-19 if their mothers had received a Pfizer or Moderna vaccination against the disease during pregnancy, and concluded that vaccination during pregnancy “might help prevent COVID-19 hospitalization among infants.” (Woolfolk, 2/15)

AP: COVID-19 Vaccine In Pregnancy May Protect Babies After Birth
COVID-19 vaccines during pregnancy can protect babies after they’re born and lead to fewer hospitalized infants, a U.S. government study released Tuesday suggested. The study is the first to show potential benefits to infants born to people who received two doses of Pfizer or Moderna vaccines during pregnancy, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers said during a briefing. It was already known that antibodies developed by COVID-19 vaccines transfer to the fetus through the umbilical cord. How that might affect infants after birth was uncertain. (Tanner, 2/15)

CBS News: Infants Born To Vaccinated Mothers Are Less Likely To Be Hospitalized With COVID, CDC Study Finds
Scientists studied 379 infants under the age of six months at 20 different children's hospitals across 17 states from July 2021 to January 2022. Of the 176 babies who were hospitalized with COVID-19, 84% of them were born to mothers who did not get vaccinated during their pregnancy, the study determined. Researchers also found that 88% of babies admitted to intensive care units with COVID-19 were born to mothers who were not vaccinated. The one infant who died during the study was born to an unvaccinated mother. (Powell, 2/15)

Bay Area News Group: California's Changed Its Mask Rules. Where Do I Need One?
If your head is spinning over the ever-shifting face mask rules in the COVID-19 pandemic, you’re not alone. First, it was don’t bother. Then, wear anything over your face everywhere. Then only inside. Then only if you’re unvaccinated. Or at school, the doctor’s, on transit. Then wear it even if you’re vaccinated. This morning, the mask rules changed again in California. Here’s a guide to when and where you can taste a little of that mask freedom, and when you’ll need to don the old face diaper again. (Woolfolk, 2/16)

Sacramento Bee: Some CA Counties Keep COVID Mask Rule As Newsom Lifts Mandate 
As Sacramento and Yolo counties faced last summer’s surge from the delta variant of COVID-19, local health officials set targets to reach before removing indoor masking requirements for the fully vaccinated. Sacramento health officer Dr. Olivia Kasirye said she’d likely end the universal mask order, imposed in late July, once the county returned to a rate of around five daily cases per 100,000 residents. (McGough, 2/16)

San Francisco Chronicle: California’s Indoor Mask Mandate Lifts Wednesday. Here’s What The Bay Area Needs To Know
On Wednesday, the state’s indoor mask requirement — which requires everyone to wear face coverings indoors regardless of vaccination status — expires, with officials pointing to falling COVID-19 case counts and relatively low hospitalizations rates during the omicron surge as reasons for the change. But not all Bay Area counties will follow suit, and masks are still required in certain settings. (Echeverria, 2/15)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. County Lifts Outdoor Mask Mandate 
As the number of hospitalized coronavirus-positive patients continues to fall, Los Angeles County relaxed its outdoor masking rules Wednesday. The revised guidance will allow people to go without face coverings outdoors at K-12 (including transitional kindergarten) schools and child-care facilities, and will apply to exterior areas of “mega” events, such as those at the Hollywood Bowl, Dodger Stadium, SoFi Stadium and Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. (Money and Lin II, 2/15)

Los Angeles Daily News: ‘Post-Surge’ Era Comes To LA County, Along With Calls To Relax Indoor Mask Rules
With Los Angeles County’s outdoor masking mandate for schools and mega events disappearing as of 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, the county’s health director faced renewed calls Tuesday, Feb. 15, to immediately relax the rules for indoor settings, in line with the state’s now less stringent guidance. It’s a prospect she said is being considered, with options for some sites to come as early as next week. The lifting of the outdoor mandate was encouraging news. In effect, the county has officially reached the post-winter surge era, a result of rapidly dropping hospitalizations, which on Tuesday had fallen to 1,995, 59 fewer than the day before. It means that Wednesday will mark seven consecutive days of COVID-19 hospitalizations below 2,500 — a key threshold set in place two weeks ago. (Carter, 2/15)

CalMatters: Parents Lose Patience Over School Mask Mandate 
Since California health officials decreed the end of the mask mandate for restaurants and grocery stores last week, frustrated parents have been asking: When can their kids take their masks off at school? They didn’t get any answers during a much anticipated press conference Monday hosted by California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly, who said the state would wait until Feb. 28 to potentially change masking rules at schools. (Hong, 2/15)

CapRadio: What’s Going On With California’s Mask Rules For Schools? 
For at least the next two weeks, California schoolchildren will remain masked in classrooms — but officials say changes are likely on the horizon. Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said Monday that he “anticipates” changes to the state’s longstanding school mask requirements on Feb. 28. (Hupka, 2/15)

Fresno Bee: Mask Mandate Lifts, But State Workers Can Keep Teleworking
The largest departments in California state government aren’t rushing to return employees to offices after an indoor mask mandate expired Tuesday, representatives of the departments said. The Department of Motor Vehicles, the Employment Development Department, Caltrans, the Franchise Tax Board and California Highway Patrol will follow state and local mandates and continue monitoring the situation, said spokespeople for the departments. The departments are five of the largest, with sizable groups of telework-eligible employees. Together they employ about 60,000 of California’s roughly 230,000 workers. (Venteicher, 2/16)

San Diego Union-Times: San Diego Unified Lifts Outdoor Mask Requirement Amid Declining COVID Cases
San Diego Unified students and staff will no longer have to wear masks outdoors starting Wednesday, the district announced Tuesday, hours before an overall statewide indoor masking requirement is scheduled to expire. The district also will allow indoor and outdoor field trips, which the district had paused. Students will continue to wear masks in classrooms for now, the district said. COVID-19 cases have declined significantly in the district, and in the state overall, since last month, according to district figures. (Taketa, 2/15)

NBC News: CDC Masks: The CDC Is Expected To Update Mask Guidance As Early As Next Week
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to loosen its indoor masking guidelines to states soon, according to several people familiar with the matter. The agency’s update could come as early as next week. Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the director of the CDC, is expected to discuss masking guidance Wednesday at a White House Covid-19 Response Team briefing. Nothing has been finalized yet, but the CDC is considering a new benchmark for whether masks are needed, basing it on the level of severe disease and hospitalizations in a given community, two people familiar with the situation said. (Lovelace Jr. and Przybyla, 2/15)

Los Angeles Times: Judge Dismisses Firefighter Group's Lawsuit Over L.A. Vaccine Policy 
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge Tuesday dismissed a lawsuit brought by a group of Los Angeles firefighters over a city requirement that employees be vaccinated against COVID-19. Judge Michael P. Linfield wrote that “courts have consistently held that government has the power to require vaccinations to protect the public’s health and safety.” He cited several cases, including a 1905 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that compulsory vaccinations are allowed under the Constitution. (Smith, 2/15)

The Bakersfield Californian: Supervisors Vote To Oppose State Bills That Strengthen Vaccine Mandates In Schools
The Kern County Board of Supervisors is unanimously opposed to two bills being fast-tracked through the state Legislature that would strengthen vaccine mandates in California’s schools. During a meeting Tuesday, all five supervisors voted to oppose Senate Bill 866, which would allow children 12 years and older to get vaccinated without parental consent, and Senate Bill 871, which would end the personal belief exemption of the COVID-19 vaccine for school children. (Morgen, 2/15)

Bay Area News Group: California Sues East Oakland Metal Factory Over Cancerous Toxins
California Attorney General Rob Bonta is suing a pipe fitting factory in East Oakland, accusing it of illegally emitting carcinogenic toxins into the community around it. The state’s lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Alameda County Superior Court and accuses the AB&I Foundry, a subsidiary of McWane, Inc., of failing to provide state-required warnings of the release of hexavalent chromium, a toxin that can cause lung and other forms of cancer. The suit also says AB&I did not take required steps to reduce the emission of the carcinogen from its facility. Representatives from McWane did not respond to a request for comment on Tuesday. (Sciacca, 2/15)

The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat: Without A Clear Exit Path, Santa Rosa Will Remain With Sonoma County’s Ambulance Provider But Seek Future Change
Santa Rosa City Council wants to leave the county’s contract with a private ambulance company and control its own EMS system, but on Tuesday learned it may cost too much to create its own service. The city is currently covered by American Medical Response, a private for-profit ambulance company that has covered Santa Rosa, Sebastopol and Rohnert Park under a contract with Sonoma County since 1991. The county is seeking bids for a five-year contract, and Santa Rosa city officials had hoped to extract the city from its relationship with AMR and focus on creating its own service or entering into a public-private partnership. (Graham, 2/15)

VC Star: Ventura County OKs Analysis Of Mental Health System
Ventura County supervisors have ordered an independent assessment of the county's entire mental health system at the urging of patient advocates. The evaluation, approved unanimously on Feb. 8, will examine the adequacy of programs for mental illness and substance use, identify gaps and make recommendations, said Barry Zimmerman, director of the county's Health Care Agency. He said various aspects of the county's programs are reviewed and audited regularly, but that this study would look broadly at the county's offerings for treatment, rehabilitation, prevention and housing. (Wilson, 2/15)

Modesto Bee: Black Modesto Residents Talk Mental Health Stigma 
Black Americans are 20% more likely to experience serious mental health problems compared to the general community, but some are less likely to receive services than their white counterparts, the Columbia University department of psychiatry research found. One barrier to seeking mental health help is the stigma surrounding it, which a majority (63%) of Black Americans feel is a sign of personal weakness, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. (Briseño, 2/15)

Modesto Bee: Grayson Helping State Create Pesticide Notification System
The community of Grayson will participate in a pilot program this spring to help develop a statewide system providing advance notice of pesticide spraying. The pilot programs will be key in the design and implementation of California’s statewide notification system, expected to launch in 2024. The purpose of the statewide system is to provide Californians with increased transparency and equitable access ahead of pesticide applications. (Briseño, 2/15)

San Francisco Chronicle: D.A. Chesa Boudin Drops Case Against Suspect Allegedly Linked To A Property Crime From Rape Exam DNA
San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin has dismissed the property crime case against a woman whose DNA collected from a rape kit was used to link her to a recent property crime, officials said Tuesday. Officials said the case amounted to “fruit of the poisonous tree,” meaning evidence that led to the arrest was gathered in a way that violated the defendant’s rights. (Cassidy, 2/15)

San Francisco Chronicle: Is California’s Prop. 13 Racist? Homeowners In White Neighborhoods Of One City May Get Triple The Tax Benefit
California’s famous 1970s-era cap on property taxes, Proposition 13, has long been a lightning rod in the state’s housing wars. For critics like Phil Levin, a recent Oakland homebuyer who started Prop. 13 mapping initiative the Tax Fairness Project, voters’ decision to effectively freeze tax bills as property values soared amounts to a big annual giveaway that undercuts entire communities. (Hepler, 2/16)

Sacramento Bee: Sacramento County Could See Homeless Measure In 2022 Election 
Sacramento County Supervisor Patrick Kennedy plans to ask his colleagues to place a measure on the November ballot that would require the county to open thousands of shelter beds and housing units for homeless individuals. It mirrors a proposed ballot initiative that would apply to the city of Sacramento that also could go before voters this fall. Daniel Conway, former chief of staff to former Mayor Kevin Johnson, filed paperwork with the city last week to start collecting signatures for that version. (Clift, 2/15)

KQED: SOLD OUT: A Suburb With An Eviction Problem 
Antioch has been a destination for Bay Area residents looking for affordable housing. But now, it’s at the center of a growing eviction crisis.  In the first episode of the newest season of SOLD OUT: Rethinking Housing in America, KQED housing reporters Molly Solomon and Erin Baldassari take us to the Sycamore Corridor in Antioch. (Montecillo, Cruz Guevarra, Solomon and Baldassari, 2/16)