Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Sex Apps for Gay Men Join Forces to Fight Online Insults
A San Francisco-area group that pushes for healthier internet behavior aims to show that being mean isn’t sexy and can lead to mental anguish and unsafe sexual encounters. (David Tuller, )
Panel Recommends Making California An Abortion ‘Sanctuary’: If people can't access abortion services in their own states, California should help fund their travel here to get the services they need. That's according to a report released Wednesday by a council convened by Gov. Gavin Newsom, which issued 45 recommendations for expanding abortion access both for California residents and those living elsewhere. Read more from KQED, The Sacramento Bee and the San Francisco Chronicle.
Parents Pack Courtroom In Effort To Block Vaccine Mandate: A judge said Wednesday he is inclined to deny a request by two parent groups for a preliminary injunction against the Los Angeles Unified School District’s covid-19 vaccine mandate for students, but he took the case under submission after a raucous and packed hearing in which he twice admonished the crowd against outbursts. This came a day after the LAUSD said 34,000 students will not meet the deadline to be fully vaxxed and may not be able to return to school in January. Read more from City News Service.
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
Bay Area News Group:
East Bay Omicron Cases Were Vaccinated Kaiser Staff
Kaiser Permanente said Wednesday that 11 of its vaccinated and boosted Oakland Medical Center workers were among a cluster of East Bay COVID-19 cases linked to the omicron variant — and that at least 16 patients and other staff members were exposed to them before the discovery. All 11 of the Kaiser employees had attended a wedding in Wisconsin that is believed to be responsible for the outbreak, the largest known Bay Area cluster of infections attributed to the worrisome new variant that has touched off a worldwide sprint to determine its dangers and contain its spread. (Woolfolk, 12/8)
San Francisco Chronicle:
New East Bay Omicron Outbreak Details: Fully Vaccinated, Boosted Kaiser Staff Got COVID After Out-Of-State Wedding
Eleven of the 12 confirmed COVID-19 cases tied to an omicron outbreak in the East Bay last week are among fully vaccinated and boosted staff members at Kaiser Permanente’s Oakland Medical Center, according to a spokesperson for the hospital. The initial case was reported to the Alameda County Public Health Department by Kaiser on Nov. 30. Four days later, the department announced a dozen total suspected cases of the omicron coronavirus variant. (Vaziri and Allday, 12/08)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
San Diego Officials Urge COVID Vaccine Boosters As Omicron Looms
Local officials have yet to spot the Omicron variant of the coronavirus in San Diego County, but the new strain gave fresh urgency to calls on Wednesday for fully vaccinated residents to get booster shots. In an afternoon announcement, county officials called on San Diegans who got their Johnson & Johnson shot at least two months ago or their second Pfizer or Moderna dose six or more months ago to return for a booster. More than 528,000 people have already done so, according to data posted on the region’s vaccine dashboard. (Wosen, 12/8)
AP:
The AP Interview: CDC Chief Says Omicron Mostly Mild So Far
More than 40 people in the U.S. have been found to be infected with the omicron variant so far, and more than three-quarters of them had been vaccinated, the chief of the CDC said Wednesday. But she said nearly all of them were only mildly ill. In an interview with The Associated Press, Dr. Rochelle Walensky, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said the data is very limited and the agency is working on a more detailed analysis of what the new mutant form of the coronavirus might hold for the U.S. (Stobbe, 12/9)
The Washington Post:
Early Studies Suggest Omicron Is Formidable — But Not Unstoppable
The need to understand omicron’s true threat is so urgent that data is leapfrogging the usual channels. Papers are being shared even before they are made available on preprint servers, with research findings posted on laboratories’ websites or on Twitter. The laboratory experiments offer an early glimpse of how omicron behaves. But such research has limitations. Scientists are exposing the virus, or in some cases a “pseudovirus” that has the superficial features of the virus, to blood samples from people with different levels of vaccination and antibodies. That does not predict, necessarily, how the virus will spread in the general population. (Johnson and Achenbach, 12/8)
AP:
WHO: Omicron Could Spread Faster But It's Still Not Certain
The World Health Organization says early evidence suggests the omicron variant may be spreading faster than the highly transmissible delta variant but brings with it less severe coronavirus disease -– though it’s too early to make firm conclusions. The comments come among swirling concerns about the new variant that first emerged in southern Africa last month, prompting some countries to shut their borders and rattling stock markets fearful of the long-term impact of a possible new variant of the virus that has already infected at least 267 million people and killed more than 5.2 million. (12/8)
The Wall Street Journal:
How Blood Samples Are Helping Scientists Test Covid-19 Vaccines Against Omicron
Human blood samples and the substance that makes fireflies glow are among the tools that scientists are using for early clues about whether Covid-19 vaccines retain their effectiveness against the new Omicron virus variant. (Loftus, 12/8)
The Washington Post:
Omicron May Require Fourth Vaccine Dose, Pfizer Says
The new omicron variant could increase the likelihood that people will need a fourth coronavirus vaccine dose earlier than expected, executives at pharmaceutical giant Pfizer said Wednesday. Boosters are likely to help control the variant, according to the company, which said early lab experiments suggest the standard two-dose regimen still provides some protection against severe illness from the variant. Albert Bourla, Pfizer’s chief executive, had projected that a fourth dose might be needed 12 months after a third shot. But he said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box” that the timeline might need to be moved up. One of the company’s top scientists recently said a fourth shot — possibly one targeting omicron — is likely to be necessary. (Jeong and Suliman, 12/9)
AP:
Vaccine Makers Racing To Update COVID Shots, Just In Case
Vaccine makers are racing to update their COVID-19 shots against the newest coronavirus threat even before it’s clear a change is needed, just in case. Experts doubt today’s shots will become useless but say it’s critical to see how fast companies could produce a reformulated dose and prove it works -- because whatever happens with omicron, this newest mutant won’t be the last. Omicron “is pulling the fire alarm. Whether it turns out to be a false alarm, it would be really good to know if we can actually do this -- get a new vaccine rolled out and be ready,” said immunologist E. John Wherry of the University of Pennsylvania. (Neergaard, 12/9)
Modesto Bee:
Time Of Day You Get COVID Vaccine May Affect Antibody Levels
Each cell in your body can tell what time of day it is and adjust its behaviors accordingly, such as producing hormones at night that make you sleepy and telling your brain you’re hungry around noon. Decades of research have demonstrated your immune system follows your body’s 24-hour internal clock, formally called your circadian rhythm, in ways that could affect how you respond to medications, exposure to viruses and vaccinations. Now, new research suggests the time of day you receive your COVID-19 shot may influence how much protection your body builds. (Camero, 12/08)
The Hill:
Pediatric COVID Vaccination Has Slowed Across The US: Analysis
The rate of COVID-19 vaccinations among children ages 5 to 11 has slowed considerably nationwide, according to a new analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation. The analysis shows that a little more than a month since the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) signed off on pediatric COVID-19 vaccines, the rate of increase has leveled off. The drop-off began before Thanksgiving, and has continued since. (Weixel, 12/8)
NBC News:
Pfizer Boosters Dominate The U.S. See A State-By-State Breakdown.
The Pfizer-BioNTech Covid vaccine booster, which the companies say offers better protection against the new variant than an initial one or two-dose series, accounts for about 55 percent of all booster shots in the U.S., according to an NBC News analysis of vaccine data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Several states have exceeded the national average. In Hawaii, 70 percent of boosters were from Pfizer, and Pfizer shots accounted for about 60 percent of boosters in states such as Utah, Missouri and Indiana. Just under 25 percent of people in the U.S. have received a booster, the CDC says. (Ramos, 12/8)
AP:
COVID Cases Spike Even As US Hits 200M Vaccine Milestone
The number of Americans fully vaccinated against COVID-19 reached 200 million Wednesday amid a dispiriting holiday-season spike in cases and hospitalizations that has hit even New England, one of the most highly inoculated corners of the country. New cases in the U.S. climbed from an average of nearly 95,000 a day on Nov. 22 to almost 119,000 a day this week, and hospitalizations are up 25% from a month ago. The increases are due almost entirely to the delta variant, though the omicron mutation has been detected in about 20 states and is sure to spread even more. (Tareen and McDermott, 12/8)
The Bakersfield Californian:
Local Dentist Offers Up Thousands Of PPEs As Supplies Remain Tight
The PPE panic may be over, but personal protective equipment remains a hot commodity 20½ months into the pandemic, evident in the reception a Bakersfield dentist got this week when he opened up his inventory of coveralls, face shields and gowns. Crediting a strong supply network he has shared access to since the start of the crisis, the owner of SDDS Dental on Ming Avenue on Tuesday offered up 3,000 coveralls, 1,000 face shields and 500 isolation gowns to Kern County organizations. (Cox, 12/8)
Sacramento Bee:
CA Medical Board Head Says She Was Stalked By Anti-Vax Group
The head of the California Medical Board says members of an anti-vaccine group known to spread misinformation about COVID-19 treatments targeted her at her home and workplace in Walnut Creek on Monday. Kristina Lawson, president of the state agency that licenses and disciplines medical doctors, first shared the “terrifying experience” on Twitter Wednesday. (Korte, 12/08)
AP:
New COVID-19 Antibody Drug OK'd To Protect Most Vulnerable
Federal health officials on Wednesday authorized a new COVID-19 antibody drug for people with serious health problems or allergies who can’t get adequate protection from vaccination. Antibody drugs have been a standard treatment for treating COVID-19 infections for over a year. But the AstraZeneca antibody drug cleared by the Food and Drug Administration is different. It’s the first intended for long-term prevention against COVID-19 infection, rather than a short-term treatment. (Perrone, 12/8)
The Wall Street Journal:
AstraZeneca Covid-19 Antibody Authorized By FDA As Novel Tool To Prevent Symptomatic Disease
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized a preventive antibody combination from AstraZeneca AZN 0.68% PLC that has shown strong efficacy in reducing risk of symptomatic Covid-19, offering a first-of-its-kind alternative for a minority of people for whom vaccines are considered less effective. The antibody cocktail, called Evusheld, is aimed primarily for use in a minority of adolescents and adults age 12 and older with moderate to severely compromised immune systems. That may be because they have cancer or another illness or take medications or undergo treatments such as chemotherapy that inhibit an immune response to Covid-19 vaccines, the FDA said in a statement. (Strasburg and Walker, 12/8)
The New York Times:
The Coronavirus Attacks Fat Tissue, Scientists Find
From the start of the pandemic, the coronavirus seemed to target people carrying extra pounds. Patients who were overweight or obese were more likely to develop severe Covid-19 and more likely to die. Though these patients often have health conditions like diabetes that compound their risk, scientists have become increasingly convinced that their vulnerability has something to do with obesity itself. Now researchers have found that the coronavirus infects both fat cells and certain immune cells within body fat, prompting a damaging defensive response in the body. (Rabin, 12/8)
The New York Times:
As Covid Deaths Rise, Lingering Grief Gets A New Name
Ms. Garza Tulip, 41, had endured so many losses — two miscarriages, and the virus taking her mother, uncle and great-aunt. It also debilitated her father. “I think the one thing I miss the most is feeling anything,” she said recently of life after the series of tragedies. She had thought the lack of emotion meant she was not grieving, unaware that numbness can be a symptom of grief. When a therapist diagnosed her with prolonged grief disorder, or P.G.D., a newly recognized condition, Ms. Garza Tulip, who lives in New Jersey, was relieved that what she suffered had a name. Recently added to the upcoming revision of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, or D.S.M., it’s a syndrome in which people feel stuck in an endless cycle of mourning that can last for years or even decades, severely impairing their daily life, relationships and job performance. (MacKeen, 12/8)
Politico:
Senate Issues Rebuke Of Biden's Workplace Vaccine Mandate
The Senate issued a high-profile rebuke of President Joe Biden's vaccine mandate on large businesses Wednesday night, in a largely symbolic vote to get rid of a key component of the administration's Covid-19 response. Democrats Joe Manchin (W.Va.) and Jon Tester (Mont.) joined all the Republicans present in the 52-48 vote after critics assailed the mandate as an example of federal overreach and dismissed its option of weekly testing for workers who refuse to get shots as an insufficient accommodation. (Ollstein, 12/8)
San Gabriel Valley Tribune:
City Of Hope Buying Cancer Treatment Centers For $390 Million
City of Hope, the cancer treatment and research center in Duarte, has reached a deal to acquire Cancer Treatment Centers of America for $390 million. The acquisition is expected to close in early 2022, subject to regulatory approvals. It will advance the missions of both organizations and build a national, integrated cancer research and treatment system, City of Hope said Wednesday. (Smith, 12/8)
Fierce Healthcare:
City Of Hope To Acquire Cancer Treatment Centers Of America For A Reported $390M
The organizations said the combined entity will be one of the largest cancer research and treatment organizations in the country with one of the largest geographic footprints, serving approximately 115,000 patients each year. Together, City of Hope and CTCA will comprise about 11,000 employees, including 575 physicians across four states. City of Hope currently serves patients in Southern California, and the acquisition will expand its reach across a network of locations in California—including a new campus in Irvine opening in summer 2022—as well as Arizona, Illinois and Georgia. (Gliadkovskaya, 12/8)
ABC News:
Head Of Instagram Grilled By Senate Panel Over Impact On Young Users
Lawmakers on Wednesday grilled Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, in a wide-ranging hearing on the potential harms of social media use for young people. The senators pledged that the age of "self-regulation" for Big Tech is over and bipartisan legislation to protect kids online is imminent. Mosseri claimed a lot of the issues raised by the lawmakers are not unique to Instagram but are an "industry-wide challenge" that requires "industry-wide solutions and industry-wide standards." (Thorbecke, 12/8)
The Wall Street Journal:
Instagram, Other Social-Media Apps Need Stricter Regulation, Senators Say
Instagram’s top executive clashed Wednesday with senators over the photo-sharing app’s impact on young users, during a contentious hearing where lawmakers in both parties argued for stricter government oversight of social-media apps. Adam Mosseri, head of Meta Platforms Inc.’s Instagram, asserted that many young users find Instagram makes their lives better. “I’m proud of our work to help keep young people safe, to support young people who are struggling, and to empower parents with tools to help their teenagers develop healthy and safe online habits,” said Mr. Mosseri, whose parent company Meta also owns Facebook. (Tracy and McKinnon, 12/8)
CBS News:
Instagram CEO Says It's "Critical" To Have Multi-Platform Youth Safety Rules
Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri told a Senate subcommittee investigating the harmful effects of the photo sharing app on teenagers that "keeping young people safe online is not just about one company" and called for industry-wide solutions. "With teens using multiple platforms, it is critical that we address youth online safety as an industry challenge and develop industry-wide solutions and standards," Mosseri told lawmakers. He called for age verification tools at the phone level and said the social media platforms need an industry body to determine how to verify the age of minors, how to design specific experiences, and what kind of parental controls are needed. (Bidar, 12/8)
The Washington Post:
‘Baby Steps’ Won’t Fix Instagram, Lawmakers Say In First Hearing With Social Network Head
Lawmakers were unimpressed with the proposals that Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, made Wednesday to address revelations about the social network’s potentially detrimental effects on children and teens during his first congressional testimony. With political pressure from both parties mounting against the photo-sharing company, Mosseri came armed for the hearing with a series of proposals to respond to criticism. He called for a new industry body to create standards for age verification, age-appropriate experience and online parental controls. The body would receive input from civil society and parents, and some of tech companies’ legal protections could be contingent on compliance with the board sets, he said. (Zakrzewski, Lima and Oremus, 12/8)
The Wall Street Journal:
The Elizabeth Holmes Trial: The Defense Rests Its Case
Elizabeth Holmes’s lawyers rested their case Wednesday in her criminal-fraud trial, after the founder of blood-testing startup Theranos Inc. gave testimony over seven days in which she acknowledged regrets but also placed blame on her former deputy and boyfriend. She asserted she never defrauded anyone. Among the final questions from her attorney on Wednesday, Ms. Holmes was asked whether she ever tried to mislead investors. “Never,” she said. (Somerville and Randazzo, 12/8)
Bay Area News Group:
Elizabeth Holmes Trial: Psychologist Who Analyzed Holmes Won't Testify
Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes’ seven days on the witness stand in her criminal fraud trial ended Wednesday — and with that, abruptly and surprisingly, her 10-lawyer defense team rested its case. In her long hours on the stand, Holmes took the jury on a rollercoaster ride that saw her smiling and confidently answering questions before tearfully alleging that her former lover and Theranos chief operating officer Sunny Balwani abused and controlled her. In response to many questions about events central to the case, she said she could not recall. She admitted mistakes. She expressed faith in her technology. (Baron, 12/08)
AP:
Defense Team Rests In Elizabeth Holmes Fraud Trial
Fallen entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes has finished her attempt to persuade a jury that she suffered lapses in business judgment but never engaged in fraud while running blood-testing startup Theranos. Her defense lawyers rested their case Wednesday shortly after she walked off the witness stand. That gave Holmes the final say among the more than 30 witnesses who testified in a high-profile trial that began three months ago i n the heart of Silicon Valley. It’s the same locale where Holmes became a media sensation before Theranos collapsed in ruins amid evidence that its ballyhooed blood-testing technology was dangerously flawed. (Liedtke, 12/8)
AP:
What Elizabeth Holmes Had To Say At Her Trial: 5 Takeaways
Once-lionized entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes wrapped up seven days of testimony in her criminal fraud trial Wednesday, having largely used the time to defend her actions as CEO of the startup Theranos. The company she founded had soared on the promise of innovative blood-testing technology only to crash in a sordid display of failure and alleged deceit. Holmes alternately took responsibility for her missteps as CEO and cast herself as the abused victim of her former lover and business partner Sunny Balwani. She also repeatedly said she couldn’t recall her actions at key points even when confronted with internal documents including her own emails. (Liedtke, 12/9)
AP:
Nobels For Medicine, Economics Given In California Ceremony
The 2021 Nobel Prize laureates for medicine and economics received their awards in Southern California on Wednesday during a scaled-down ceremony adapted for pandemic times. Swedish Ambassador Karin Olofsdotter was on hand in Irvine, south of Los Angeles, to award the Nobel for physiology or medicine to David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian and the prize for economic sciences to David Card, Joshua D. Angrist and Guido W. Imbens. Julius, a professor of physiology at the University of California, San Francisco, and Patapoutian, a molecular biologist at Scripps Research in La Jolla, California, were honored for independently discovering key mechanisms of how humans sense heat, cold and other stimuli. (12/9)
Los Angeles Times:
L.A. County To Pay $2.75 Million In Deputy Beating Of Man
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday agreed to pay $2.75 million to a mentally disabled man who was beaten by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies. The payout settles a lawsuit filed by the man, Barry Montgomery, who was confronted in a Willowbrook park in July 2014 by deputies from the department’s Compton station. (Tchekmedyian, 12/8)
City News Service:
'Virtual Opioid Assembly' For Students Scheduled As Fentanyl Deaths Spike In San Diego County
Authorities will hold a “virtual assembly” next week for local middle and high school students to address the dangers of fentanyl following an uptick in fentanyl-related overdose deaths across San Diego County. Schools countywide are invited to take part in the summit, which will feature testimonials from overdose survivors and a keynote speech from former NBA player Chris Herren, who struggled with an opioid addiction for much of his career. (12/7)