San Francisco Chronicle: Internet Searches Can Predict Outbreaks, Study Finds
Google searches, Twitter posts and other online activity usually used to cull data for advertisers could also be used as an early warning system for COVID-19 surges, according to a team of scientists from Northeastern University. (Vaziri and Beamish, 1/18)

Los Angeles Times: How Computers Learned To Be COVID-19 Outbreak Forecasters
Imagine a time when your virus-blocking face covering is like an umbrella. Most days, it stays in your closet or is stowed somewhere in your car. But when a COVID-19 outbreak is in the forecast, you can put it to use. Beyond that, an inclement viral forecast might induce you to choose an outdoor table when meeting a friend for coffee. If catching the coronavirus is likely to make you seriously ill, you might opt to work from home or attend church services online until the threat has passed. (Healy, 1/19)

Orange County Register: Coronavirus: L.A. County Reported 1,414 More Cases And 25 More Deaths, Jan. 18 
Los Angeles County public health officials reported 1,414 more cases of the coronavirus since Tuesday, bringing the total number of cases to 3,663,899 as of Wednesday, Jan. 18. (Goertzen, 1/18)

Becker's Hospital Review: 'Tripledemic' Has Peaked, CDC Data Suggests
The weekly rate of emergency department visits and hospitalizations for flu, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus peaked in early December, new CDC data shows. The CDC unveiled two data dashboards Jan. 17 that track emergency department visits and hospitalizations for COVID-19, flu and RSV. (Bean, 1/18)

CIDRAP: More Than 65 Million People Around The World May Have Long COVID
Worldwide, at least 65 million people have long COVID, and that is likely an underestimate, finds a review article published late last week in Nature Reviews Microbiology. ... The researchers said that the number of affected COVID-19 survivors was based on the estimated global rate of 10% of infected people and the more than 651 million documented cases. They cited the lack of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test availability at the beginning of the pandemic and the high false-negative rate of rapid antigen tests as reasons for suspecting an undercount. (Van Beusekom, 1/18)

KQED: California COVID Sick Pay Has Expired — But If You Work In San Francisco, You Still Have Options
California's COVID sick pay policy has now expired, as of Jan. 1, 2023. California employers can no longer accept any new claims for COVID paid leave. There's one exception to this: If you work in San Francisco, you might still be eligible for paid COVID sick leave. (Severn and Cabrera-Lomelí, 1/18)

Bloomberg: Covid-19 Immunity Lasts At Least A Year After Infection Plus Shots
People who have been both previously infected and vaccinated against Covid-19 get long-lasting protection against severe disease and hospitalization, a large international study found. The combination prevented more than 97% of severe disease or hospitalization for up to 12 months after infection or initial immunization, whichever was most recent, according to a report from the World Health Organization. (Meghjani, 1/18)

Fortune: ‘Hybrid’ COVID Immunity From Vaccination And Infection Is Superior To That From Infection Alone, New WHO-Backed Study Finds
So-called “hybrid immunity”—from vaccination and infection—offers better protection against severe disease and hospitalization from COVID than immunity from infection alone, according to a new study published in The Lancet. The study provides public health officials and policy-makers with recommendations on priorities when running vaccination campaigns, and on the potential frequency of booster shots going forward. The World Health Organization, which collaborated on the study, touted it Wednesday for “demonstrating the advantages of vaccination even after people have had COVID-19.” (Prater, 1/18)

San Francisco Chronicle: Wachter Praises “Superb” Report Busting Vaccine Myths
Dr. Bob Wachter, UCSF’s chief of medicine and a prominent Bay Area voice on the pandemic, called a new report on the safety of the COVID-19 vaccines “superb,” noting that it debunks “the fallacy that they’re causing significant harm.” (Vaziri and Beamish, 1/18)

Axios: Watchdog Faults HHS Oversight Of Research On Possible Pandemic Pathogens
The federal health department's framework for monitoring high-risk research on viruses and other agents that can cause pandemics doesn't meet key criteria for effective oversight, a new watchdog report concludes. The Government Accountability Office found HHS has an unclear policy for reviewing and approving research involving pathogens that are altered to make them more transmissible or deadly — and that other policy gaps may allow the research to occur without appropriate oversight. (Bettelheim, 1/19)

Stat: HIV Vaccine Being Developed By Johnson & Johnson Fails Trial
Yet another experimental HIV vaccine has failed. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases reported Wednesday that a Phase 3 clinical trial of a vaccine was stopped because the vaccine was ineffective at preventing HIV infection. The vaccine was being developed by Janssen, the vaccine division of Johnson & Johnson. (Branswell, 1/18)

NBC News: Another Major HIV Vaccine Trial Fails
“It’s obviously disappointing,” Dr. Anthony Fauci, who as the long-time head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) was an integral partner in the trial, said of the vaccine’s failure. However, he said, “there are a lot of other approaches” early in the HIV-vaccine research pipeline that he finds promising. (Ryan and Lavietas, 1/18)

Reuters: J&J To Discontinue HIV Vaccine Trial
The trial involved administering two different types of a shot, which uses a cold-causing virus to deliver the genetic code of HIV, spread over four vaccination visits in a year. J&J used similar technology for its COVID-19 vaccine. The study, which began in 2019, was conducted at over 50 sites and included about 3,900 gay men and transgender people - groups that are considered vulnerable to the infection. (Leo, 1/18)

KQED: Inside The Anti-Abortion Movement’s Crisis Pregnancy Centers
On a sunny October afternoon, a young woman exits the Planned Parenthood office in Napa carrying a small white paper bag. She hasn’t taken more than five steps toward her car before she’s approached: “Hi, can I give you some information about free resources?” It’s the Friday before Halloween of 2022, four months after the Supreme Court issued its landmark decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, leading to bans on most abortions in about 13 states (so far). (Silvers, 1/19)

The Hill: FDA Argues Public Harm If Court Reverses Abortion Pill Approval
A lawsuit challenging the decades-old Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of mifepristone has no merit, and a Texas judge should reject a request for a court order revoking that approval, the Biden administration argued in a Tuesday filing.   The FDA said granting the request from anti-abortion groups would be “unprecedented.” (Weixel, 1/18)

Stat: ‘Hot Mess’: Abortion Pills At Pharmacies Could Face Legal Quagmires
Federal regulators’ green light for pharmacists to dispense abortion pills is crashing into legal questions and simmering court battles. The Food and Drug Administration earlier this month removed a longtime restriction that only doctors could dispense mifepristone, which is approved for abortions up to 10 weeks. The move opens the door for pharmacists to supply the drugs and shores up protections for mail orders, which have become an important channel for abortion access in the wake of Roe’s overturn last summer. But it also puts abortion pills in a legal gray area in 12 of the country’s most abortion-restrictive states, where the procedure is banned from conception to six weeks. (Owermohle, 1/19)

The Hill: Harris To Mark 50th Anniversary Of Roe Ruling With Speech In Florida
Vice President Harris will deliver remarks in Florida on Sunday to mark the 50th anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court ruling, aiming to put the spotlight back on abortion rights following last summer’s ruling that struck down the precedent set by Roe. Harris will travel to Florida where Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) last year signed into law a ban on abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, to highlight the administration’s efforts to protect reproductive rights and abortion access. (Samuels and Gangitano, 1/18)

AP: US Divided Over Roe's Repeal As Abortion Foes Gird For March
Anti-abortion activists will have multiple reasons to celebrate — and some reasons for unease — when they gather Friday in Washington for the annual March for Life. The march, which includes a rally drawing abortion opponents from across the nation, has been held annually since January 1974 — a year after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision established a nationwide right to abortion. (Crary, 1/18)

Stat: Post-Dobbs, Pathologists Who Study Pregnancy Loss Walk A Thin Line
When Mana Parast examines a placenta, she knows she may never find the answers she seeks. She’s hunting for clues — strips of dead tissue that signal autoimmune disease, white blood cells in the lining of the umbilical cord that point to an infection, thickening that could suggest blood wasn’t flowing freely to the fetus. She wants to be able to tell a parent what she thinks went wrong. (Cummins, 1/19)

San Francisco Chronicle: Beleaguered Laguna Honda Asks Feds To Back Off From Forced Patient Transfers
Laguna Honda, San Francisco’s beleaguered public nursing home, is asking federal regulators to extend their moratorium on mandated transfers of the hospital’s frail patient population, which is currently due to lift on Feb. 2. Extending that pause would remove a Sword of Damocles hanging over Laguna Honda and allow the facility to focus exclusively on working to regain its certification, Roland Pickens, interim chief executive, told the city’s health commission on Tuesday. (Asimov, 1/18)

Los Angeles Times: Nursing Assistant Gets Life Sentence For Sexual Abuse Of Disabled Children
A certified nursing assistant from Pomona was sentenced to life in prison for filming himself sexually abusing disabled children at a group home where he worked, federal authorities said Tuesday. Steve Rodriguez, 38, was sentenced during a hearing Friday in Santa Ana, where U.S. District Judge John W. Holcomb described his crimes as “unspeakable acts,” according to the U.S. attorney’s office for the Central District of California. (Solis, 1/17)

Berkeleyside: 2 Contractors Hospitalized In Fire At Bayer In West Berkeley
Berkeley fire officials are still investigating a Tuesday fire at the Bayer lab in West Berkeley that hospitalized two contractors. Firefighters responded to Bayer at 800 Dwight Way shortly after 11 a.m. and located two workers with burns on the second floor of the building, according to Asst. Chief Keith May. (Yelimeli, 1/18)

Stat: Hip, Knee Replacements Go Better Via High-Volume Surgeons 
Anew study underscores the importance of the adage “practice makes perfect,” especially when it comes to surgery. It’s long been understood that the frequency at which surgeons perform and hospitals host complex procedures has a bearing on how patients fare, but the study from the Clarify Health Institute makes the link even clearer. (Bannow, 1/18)

Reuters: NBA Champions Warriors Praise Biden On Griner, Gun Control In White House Return
WNBA star Brittney Griner and gun control were on the agenda as the Golden State Warriors visited the White House on Tuesday, celebrating their fourth championship title in eight seasons with U.S. President Joe Biden. (1/17)

CalMatters: Gun Talk In Washington, Gun Bills In Sacramento
After twice spurning the Trump White House following NBA titles, the Bay Area’s Golden State Warriors paid a visit Tuesday to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. for a celebration of the team’s 2022 NBA championship. And prior to a few backslapping speeches by President Joe Biden and Warriors superstar Steph Curry, White House staffers gathered with Warriors coach Steve Kerr and players Klay Thompson and Moses Moody to talk gun safety and violence. (Christopher, 1/18)

PBS NewsHour: How To Talk To Children About Gun Violence
While there is no right age to start having these conversations preemptively, pediatric psychologist Jeff Shahidullah said children do absorb a lot of information from their surroundings and may know more about what is happening elsewhere than you think. To start a conversation, focus on finding out what they do know about school shootings or other violence in the news and how that makes them feel, he said. “Kids are always listening. They hear what caregivers and adult siblings and classmates are talking about,” Shahidullah said. (Ellis and Kuhn, 1/18)

Los Angeles Times: LAPD Tased Keenan Anderson 6 Times In 42 Seconds, Bringing Scrutiny To Taser Policies
For a disturbing 42 seconds, a Los Angeles police officer repeatedly stunned a teacher with a Taser gun this month as other officers tried to pin and handcuff the man in the middle of a busy Venice street. The gaps between pulses were so brief that Keenan Anderson, 31, could get out only a few words — including “Help me, please” — as he repeatedly cried out in agony. Anderson died several hours later, though his cause of death has not yet been established. (Winton, 1/18)

The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat: Sonoma County Breastfeeding Advocates Applaud Expanded Medi-Cal Coverage For Supplemental Breast Milk
Sonoma County breastfeeding advocates have begun spreading the word about a new state policy that significantly expands Medi-Cal coverage for new moms seeking donated breast milk for their babies. (Espinoza, 1/18)

Bay Area News Group: San Mateo County Could Soon Expand Direct Cash Payments To Some Of Its Poorest Residents
As inflation and the blow back from the coronavirus pandemic continue to put pressure on low-income people in one of the wealthiest regions in the country, San Mateo County is exploring expanded guaranteed income programs to help more families in need. (Toledo, 1/18)

Los Angeles Times: Disneyland Workers Laughed Before Woman Was Injured On Ride, Suit Alleges 
Disneyland employees laughed and snickered at a disabled woman trying to climb out of a ride moments before she fell back and broke her leg, a lawsuit against the park alleges. The federal lawsuit alleges 66-year-old Joanne Aguilar had to spend days in a hospital and then weeks at a rehabilitation clinic after her injury on Aug. 22, 2021. Ultimately, the Ventura County woman contracted an infection and died from septic shock, but the lawsuit alleges it was her initial injury at the Anaheim theme park that led to her death. (Hernandez, 1/18)

The New York Times: What Is Intuitive Eating? Meet The Duo Behind The Method 
It’s 6 p.m. on the patio at Il Moro, a twinkly-lit Italian gastro pub in West Los Angeles, and Elyse Resch and Evelyn Tribole are intuitively eating their dinner. ... Intuitive eating, as conceived by the dietitian-nutritionist duo, is the practice of renouncing restrictive diets and the goal of weight loss and encouraging people to tune into the intuition that governed their eating as toddlers. This includes satiating hunger rather than trying to suppress or outsmart it; feeling your fullness (and pausing mid-meal to assess it); and savoring, even seeking pleasure from, food. (Ruiz, 1/18)

NBC News: Intermittent Fasting Wasn't Associated With Weight Loss Over 6 Years, A New Study Found
When it comes to losing weight, how much food you eat likely matters more than the timing of your meals, according to a study published Wednesday in the Journal of the American Heart Association. (Bendix, 1/18)

Fox News: If You Retire Early, You Could Be Harming Your Health: New Study
As they grow older, many Americans begin to think about the best time to retire. Yet a new study throws some warning signs around that decision — as retiring early could actually worsen people's health. A recent paper published in the Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization suggests that early retirement may accelerate cognitive decline in late adulthood. (Sudhakar, 1/18)

Stat: Is Social Media Bad For Teens' Developing Brains?
Today’s teens and tweens have never known a world without social media. There are still a lot of open questions about how sites like TikTok and Instagram may shape their development — and stories focusing on the potential negative impacts of social media tend to dominate the news. But a recent study published in JAMA Pediatrics is the latest in a growing body of research that suggests the relationship that young people have with social media is too complicated to be categorized as simply good or bad. (Fitzgerald, 1/19)