KVPR: Madera Community Hospital Clears Major Hurdle On Path To Reopening. Key Court Dates Remain
Madera Community Hospital is one of 16 facilities awarded a total of $300 million in loans on Monday by the state’s Department of Health Care Access and Information. The funds come from a Distressed Hospital Loan Program that was created last year by legislators to provide urgent funding to struggling hospitals. Other facilities in the region that received loans include Kaweah Delta Health Care District in Visalia, Ridgecrest Regional Hospital in Kern County, and John C. Fremont Healthcare District in Mariposa. (Klein, 4/9)

Fresno Bee: Gov. Newsom Approves Madera Hospital Loan. Critics Say There Was No 'Due Diligence' 
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Monday that a $57 million state loan for the Madera hospital has been approved, a key source of funding to help reopen the hospital and part of a statewide $300 million distressed hospital loan fund. (Montalvo, 4/9)

Los Angeles Times: Kaiser Facing Union Accusations That Patients Are Losing Mental Health Care 
Months after Kaiser Permanente reached a sweeping agreement with state regulators to improve its mental health services, the healthcare giant is facing union allegations that patients could be improperly losing such care. The National Union of Healthcare Workers, which represents thousands of Kaiser mental health professionals, complained earlier this year to state regulators that Kaiser appeared to be inappropriately handing off decisions about whether therapy is still medically necessary. (Reyes, 4/9)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Thermo Fisher Scientific Closing Carlsbad DNA Manufacturing Site Less Than 3 Years After Opening 
In July 2021, Thermo Fisher expanded its presence in San Diego County with a 67,000-square-foot plasmid manufacturing facility near its existing Carlsbad campus. Plasmid manufacturing supports life science clients working on developing cell, gene and mRNA-based therapies. (Rocha, 4/10)

Capital & Main: 700,000 Undocumented Californians Recently Became Eligible For Medi-Cal. Many May Be Afraid To Sign Up.
Perla Lopez, 35, works at St. John’s Community Health, a non-profit community health clinic in South Los Angeles. There, she helps patients, many of whom are undocumented immigrants, fill out applications for Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program. Since 2016, California has opened the program to undocumented residents, starting with children, then 19- to 25-year-olds, followed by adults 50 and older. In January, undocumented adults between 26 and 49 became eligible. But state officials and health advocates worry that many of the more than 700,000 newly eligible residents may not enroll, either because they are not sure they would be eligible or even that drawing attention to themselves could lead to deportation. (Sanchez-Tello, 4/9)

San Francisco Chronicle: Arizona Abortion Ban Will Drive More Patients To California
Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California is expecting a “marked increase in patients from Arizona at our health care centers in California,” Jodi Hicks, the group’s CEO, said in a statement to the Chronicle. “We’ve been generally preparing over the last several years for more and more out-of-state patients through strategic investments and statewide efforts to move forward policy solutions to support abortion access,” she said. (Stein, 4/9)

CalMatters: California Clinics Brace For Fallout From Arizona Abortion Ban
Planned Parenthood clinics in California are bracing for an uptick in patients crossing the state line for abortions, after the Arizona Supreme Court upheld a nearly total prohibition on the procedure. On Tuesday the court effectively banned abortion by reinstating an 1864 law that forbids the procedure except to save a mother’s life, without exemptions for rape or incest. “We were all saddened by the decision, and one of my colleagues at a different clinic said ‘Wow, we’re going to get slammed,’” said Mia Neustein, a nurse practitioner with Planned Parenthood clinics in the Coachella Valley. (Brennan, 4/10)

KQED: The 1st Over-The-Counter Birth Control Pill Is Now Available. How Does It Work?
Opill — the over-the-counter birth control pill that was approved by the Food and Drug Administration last year — is now available. This means people now have access to a birth control pill without needing a prescription from a doctor or requiring health insurance — making it accessible “over-the-counter,” like a painkiller like Tylenol. (Khan, 4/10)

San Francisco Chronicle: California COVID Hospitalizations And Deaths Hit Record Lows
California is witnessing a dramatic decline in COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths. Following a relatively subdued winter surge, the latest statistics released by the state provide a glimmer of hope as the pandemic enters its fifth year. The most recent California Department of Public Health data, published Friday, reveals that hospitalizations due to COVID-19 reached approximately 7 patients per 100,000 residents in early January, only to plummet to a historic low of 1.5 per 100,000 by March 30. (Vaziri, 4/9)

CIDRAP: Pfizer Reports Promising Findings For RSV Vaccine In At-Risk Adults 18 To 59 Years Old 
Pfizer today announced promising phase 3 clinical trial findings for a single dose of its respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine, Abrysvo, in adults ages 18 to 59 who are at increased risk of RSV infection and signaled that it would submit data to regulatory agencies as part of application for approval in that age-group. (Schnirring, 4/9)

LA Blade: New Director Of White House Office Of National AIDS Policy Named
Francisco Ruiz’s appointment as the director of the White House Office of National AIDS Policy has elicited widespread acknowledgment across various sectors. Ruiz, a distinguished figure in public health with a history of collaboration and strategic partnerships, assumes the role as the first-ever Latino to serve as ONAP’s director, underscoring a commitment to diversity and inclusivity in addressing public health challenges. (Laenen, 4/9)

Fox News: STD Rates Skyrocket Among Americans 55 And Older: CDC 
Sexually transmitted disease rates have risen sharply in a certain age group – and which group it is may surprise you. The CDC's latest statistics on STDs in the U.S. show that chlamydia, Hepatitis C, and syphilis were among the diseases that have been infecting Americans aged 55 and older at an alarming rate. The statistics, which are as recent as 2022, show how STD rates have skyrocketed since 2000. (Vacchiano, 4/9)

CIDRAP: WHO Warns About Rising Viral Hepatitis Deaths
Global deaths from viral hepatitis are rising, despite progress with prevention and better tools for diagnosis and treatment, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned today in its annual hepatitis report, which it released at the World Hepatitis Summit. New data show that deaths rose from 1.1 million in 2019 to 1.3 million in 2022. Hepatitis is the second-leading infectious disease cause of death, with levels about the same as tuberculosis, another leading cause of infectious disease fatalities. (Schnirring, 4/9)

CIDRAP: PAHO Issues Alert About Drug-Resistant Campylobacter Cases
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) last week urged member states to be on alert for cases of antibiotic-resistant Campylobacter infection in men who have sex with men (MSM) and outbreaks in high-risk populations. Citing a February outbreak of drug-resistant Campylobacter in 13 MSM in Minnesota, as well as and multiple small outbreaks in MSM in Canada dating back to 1999, PAHO encouraged member states in an information note to be vigilant in cases of MSM presenting with diarrhea with dysentery features. (Dall, 4/9)

LA Blade: Federal Judge Tosses Suit Against Calif. Trans Sanctuary State Law
A judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of California dismissed a second amended complaint challenging the constitutionality of Senate Bill 107 (SB 107), also referred to as California’s Transgender Sanctuary State Law. In the dismissal without leave to amend, the court dismissed the lawsuit on Article III standing grounds, finding that the plaintiff failed to allege that SB 107 injured them in any way, and failed to allege any facts showing that SB 107 forced the plaintiff to divert staff time and resources. (Levesque, 4/9)

The New York Times: Bill In Congress Would Force Action On U.S. Troops’ Blast Exposure
Lawmakers from both parties plan to introduce a sweeping bill in Congress on Wednesday that would force the military for the first time to track and limit troops’ exposure to damaging shock waves from firing their own weapons. Routine exposure to blasts in training and combat was long thought to be safe. But research suggests that over time, exposure to repeated blasts can cause microscopic brain injuries that lead to profound mental problems, like mood swings, insomnia, substance abuse, panic attacks and suicide. (Philipps, 4/9)

Interesting Engineering: Exposure To Blasts Can Help Pathogens Enter Your Intestine 
A study conducted on breachers (soldiers specially trained to use explosives during military operations) reveals for the first time, that individuals exposed to blasts can face intestinal health issues, in addition to other known problems.   There exists a natural barrier between our gut and the intestinal wall. This intestinal barrier prevents toxins, and harmful microbes from entering in our bloodstream. (Brahambhatt, 4/7)

Military Times: Air Force Extends Enforcement Deadline For New Body Composition Test
Airmen and guardians who exceed the Air Force’s new waist-to-height ratio cutoff on annual physical fitness tests now have until at least the fall to comply before they can be punished. The Air Force announced it would move away from its unpopular “tape test,” which graded troops on their waist circumference, in early 2023. It instead opted to compare that metric to service members’ height, arguing that it incentivizes healthy physical proportions rather than thinness alone. (Mabeus-Brown, 4/9)

KQED: San José Leaders Ban Homeless Encampments Near Schools
San José leaders on Tuesday approved new rules barring people experiencing homelessness from living near schools, and greenlit new limits on where people in RVs can park. While city officials say the changes are motivated by an immediate need to address the feeling of safety for students, homeless advocates say the move by the San José City Council lays the groundwork for more widespread restrictions against people living in tents, RVs and cars in the future. (Geha, 4/9)

CalMatters: Homeless Shelter Security Guards Accused Of Violence And Abuse
Wendy Powitzky thought she’d finally found a way off the street in Orange County. The former hairdresser had spent years sleeping in her car and parks around Anaheim, near the suburban salons where she used to work. One day a social worker told Powitzky about an old piano shop recently converted into a shelter. She just had to clear security to reach her new twin bed. (Hepler, 4/10)

San Diego Union-Tribune: How Will San Diego County Implement New Involuntary Treatment Law? Details Begin To Emerge. 
County supervisors accepted updates on several statewide mental health initiatives Tuesday, though the big questions remained unanswered. (Sisson, 4/9)

KQED: Tenderloin’s Troubles Take Center Stage In City Elections
Nikysha Parker-Dalton walks to work through the Tenderloin. The blocks between her apartment and the Glide Foundation, where she’s a community advocate, are strewn with crushed cardboard boxes, shopping bags and piles of feces. One morning last week, a KQED reporter and photographer walked the route Parker-Dalton takes. A cluster of tents, tarps and bicycles in front of the Cutting Ball Theater obstructed most of the sidewalk on Taylor Street, and on Turk Street, a woman sat on the curb wrapped in a plastic trash bag. (DeBenedetti, 4/10)

LAist: LA County Approves $25 Million Settlement With Family Of Man With Autism Who Was Shot, Paralyzed By Sheriff’s Deputy
Los Angeles County supervisors signed off on a $25-million settlement Tuesday in the case of a 28-year-old man who was paralyzed after he was shot by a sheriff’s deputy during a scuffle at the man’s home three years ago. Isaias Cervantes was 25 and experiencing a mental health crisis in March 2021 when the shooting occurred at his home in the southeast L.A. County city of Cudahy, according to one of the family’s attorneys. (Garrova, 4/9)

Sacramento Bee: Sacramento Pays Parents Whose Infant Died In Foster Care
Sacramento city and county have paid a $300,000 settlement to the parents of an infant who died after he was allegedly wrongfully placed in foster care. The county paid $225,000 to the parents and the city paid $75,000. Both the city and county declined comment on the settlement, according to city spokesman Tim Swanson and county spokeswoman Kim Nava. In June 2017 at about 2 a.m., an infant boy was suffering medical issues that included vomiting and gasping for air after feeding, alleged the wrongful death lawsuit filed in 2018 in Sacramento Superior Court. His parents took him to Sutter Hospital, where he was evaluated, determined to be in good condition, prescribed Zantac, then discharged. (Clift, 4/9)

Marin Independent Journal: Novato, Marin County Challenge State Over Fecal Pollution In Petaluma River
Marin County and Novato are disputing a state water board's contention that they are doing too little to prevent the discharge of fecal bacteria into the Petaluma River. (Halstead, 4/9)

NBC News: Cancer Research Institute Retracts Studies Amid Controversy Over Errors
Seven studies from researchers at the prestigious Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have been retracted over the last two months after a scientist blogger alleged that images used in them had been manipulated or duplicated. The retractions are the latest development in a monthslong controversy around research at the Boston-based institute, which is a teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School. (Bush, 4/9)

Stat: After Disappointments, Cancer Vaccines Gain Momentum At AACR- STAT
Cancer vaccines have traveled a potholed road over the last decade. But as researchers from different companies and academic institutions presented promising early data at the American Association for Cancer Research annual meeting in San Diego this week, experts said there’s a collective feeling of turning a corner. “There’s a lot more interest in vaccines” now that the technology is improving, said Roy Herbst, chief of medical oncology at Yale Cancer Center. (Chen, 4/10)

The New York Times: Should Alcoholic Beverages Have Cancer Warning Labels?
Fifteen words are roiling the global alcohol industry. Beginning in 2026, containers of beer, wine and liquor sold in Ireland will be required by law to bear a label in red capital letters with two warnings: “THERE IS A DIRECT LINK BETWEEN ALCOHOL AND FATAL CANCERS” and “DRINKING ALCOHOL CAUSES LIVER DISEASE.” ... Last week, the Alaska State Legislature held a committee hearing on a bill that would require businesses selling alcohol to post signs carrying a cancer warning. (Alcorn, 4/9)

ABC News: About One-Third Of Socially Vulnerable Women Missing Recommended Mammograms: CDC
Thousands of women between ages 50 and 74 are not receiving life-saving mammograms, according to new federal data. Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looked at the prevalence of mammography use over a two-year period, in a report published Tuesday. (Kekatos, 4/9)