State Wins $302M In Case Against Johnson & Johnson: The Supreme Court denied an appeal by Johnson & Johnson of a ruling requiring the company to pay $302 million in penalties to California for deceptive marketing of pelvic mesh implants that can cause serious vaginal pain and physical damage. Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
L.A.'s Black, Latino Kids Behind On Covid Vaccinations: Black and Latino children in Los Angeles County younger than 5 have covid vaccination rates in the single digits, reflecting a broad trend nationwide that has public health experts concerned and seeking ways to boost those figures. Only 12% of children between 6 months and 4 years old have received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, and only 7% are fully vaccinated, according to L.A. County data. Read more from the Los Angeles Times.
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
San Francisco Chronicle:
Covid In California: Even 1 COVID Shot Can Lower Heart Attack, Stroke Risk
The latest figures from the CDC show the continued rise of the XBB.1.5 subvariant but national COVID trends are mostly flat. The number of U.S. counties classified as having “high” community COVID levels is less than 3% as of Friday. (Vaziri, 2/21)
KQED:
California’s COVID Emergency Ends Feb. 28
Now, California is going to end its COVID state of emergency at the end of month. We’ll dive into what that means. (2/21)
Sacramento Bee:
Sacramento’s COVID Risk Level Rises To ‘Medium.’ What To Know
In a span of a month, Sacramento County’s COVID-19 community level rose from “low” to “medium,” according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Truong, 2/21)
Sacramento Bee:
California Bill Would Overhaul ‘Failing’ System Serving Adults And Kids With Disabilities
A state lawmaker has joined with parents and advocates in an ambitious effort to overhaul the system that serves adults and children with disabilities, a vast network of nonprofits that is “failing in significant ways,” according to a new bill. Assemblymember Dawn Addis, D- Morro Bay, last week introduced a bill designed to provide greater transparency, accountability and increased confidence in California’s $13 billion developmental disability service system. (Angst, 2/22)
State of Reform:
California Senate Leader Toni Atkins Sponsors Bill To Allow Physician Assistants To Perform Abortions
Sen. Toni Atkins (D – San Diego) is building upon her previous legislation on reproductive healthcare services this year through Senate Bill 385, which would expand and modernize reproductive healthcare training for physician assistants by allowing them to perform abortions. (Saunders, 2/21)
Capitol Weekly:
The Growing Push For Major Action On Mental Health And Homelessness
Brian Bloom was an Alameda County public defender for nearly three decades, part of a specialized mental health unit whose clients suffered from severe mental illness, many unable to understand – or even acknowledge – that they were sick, becoming mired in an overwhelmed criminal justice system ill-equipped to help them. (Bathen, 2/22)
AP:
Guns, Ammunition Seized From Man With Mental Health Ban
Authorities seized nearly two dozen guns, silencers and some 35,000 rounds of ammunition at the Southern California home of a man who was forbidden to own weapons because of a mental health-related ban, it was announced Tuesday. (2/22)
Politico:
FTC Won't Challenge Amazon's One Medical Deal
The Federal Trade Commission has decided it won’t challenge Amazon’s $3.9 billion deal for primary care provider One Medical, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. (Sisco, 2/21)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Genentech Expands In Oceanside With $450M Biotech Manufacturing Facility And 150 Jobs
Biotechnology company Genentech is expanding its local manufacturing capabilities with a $450 million investment in its Oceanside campus. (Rocha, 2/21)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Pfizer Shedding More Than 100 Jobs At Its San Diego Research And Development Center
Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer is cutting 111 jobs from its San Diego research and development organization as it discontinues some drug development programs to rebalance its research portfolio. (Freeman, 2/21)
KRCR:
Butte County Gets $2 Million To Bring Doctors, Psychiatrists To The Northstate
The Northstate is suffering from a lack of doctors and psychiatrists, but one group is working to change that.Healthy Rural California is a non-profit focused on health equity in rural areas, including Butte, Glenn, Tehama, and Shasta counties. (Stetson, 2/21)
California Healthline & PolitiFact HealthCheck:
Proposed Medicare Advantage Changes Cannot Accurately Be Called ‘Cuts,’ Experts Say
CMS advanced two proposed changes that could affect Medicare Advantage plans. One would allow the government to recover past overpayments. As a result, it could reduce those insurers’ profits, leading them to increase enrollees’ out-of-pocket costs or reduce benefits. But it’s inaccurate to characterize the changes as “cuts.” (Czopek and Reyes, 2/22)
California Healthline:
A Bitter Battle Over The ‘Orphan Drug’ Program Leaves Patients’ Pocketbooks At Risk
Patients who depend upon special drugs to treat rare diseases are caught in the crossfire as drugmakers and the FDA battle over regulations that reward companies for developing treatments for relatively small pools of patients. (Tribble, 2/22)
The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat:
Sonoma County Moves Forward With Managed Homeless Camps On County Sites In Santa Rosa
The Sonoma County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously declared a shelter crisis and advanced a plan to establish managed camps to accommodate homeless individuals at a pair of Santa Rosa locations owned by the county. (Murphy, 2/21)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Court Refuses To Halt Trump Era Rule Limiting States’ Abilities To Regulate Water Pollution
A federal appeals court refused Tuesday to halt a Trump administration rule that barred states from enforcing stricter standards than the U.S. government on pollution of waterways by pipelines and other industrial projects, rejecting arguments by California, other states and environmental groups. (Egelko, 2/21)
Center For Health Journalism:
As The Salton Sea Shrinks, Is Enough Being Done To Protect Public Health?
Mothers located around southern California’s Salton Sea don’t just have the usual worries about broken bones or bullies. Many have additional concerns that childhood nosebleeds, skin rashes, and asthma attacks could carry long-lasting impacts. (Gewin, 2/22)
Sacramento Bee:
As Fentanyl Overdoses In California Climb, Here’s What Biden Said He Would Do To Stop It
There were 6,843 opioid-related overdose deaths statewide in 2021, according to preliminary data from the California Department of Public health, 5,722 of which were related to fentanyl. (Brassil, 2/21)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Long Term HIV Survivors Find Familial Support In Unique Group Home
The yellow Victorian with purple detailing sits behind a gate that opens into a courtyard crowded with patio furniture and a stone fountain of a woman holding a mortar and pestle. It’s a scene that suggests the idyllic, bright San Francisco imagined in movies and Netflix shows. In fact, it’s a co-op off 25th Street in the Mission District where four men who have HIV and risk homelessness have chosen to live in a supportive community. (Rhodes, 2/21)
The Desert Sun:
Palm Springs Joins Blue Zones Initiative To Make City Healthier
The key to living a longer and healthier life might be found in Palm Springs now that the city will participate in Blue Zones Activate, an initiative focused on community-wide well-being. (Sasic, 2/21)