Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Record Fines Might Mean California Is Finally Serious About Improving Medi-Cal
California regulators issued record fines against L.A. Care, the state’s largest Medi-Cal managed-care plan, for providing inadequate care to its enrollees. But whether the penalties are a sign that the state will make a more forceful effort to improve Medi-Cal’s overall quality of care remains to be seen. (Bernard J. Wolfson, )
California Extends Ban On Evictions: California lawmakers Thursday overwhelmingly approved a fourth extension of an eviction moratorium, granting a reprieve to renters awaiting relief from the state’s beleaguered and backlogged assistance program. The new law — approved the day before existing protections were set to expire — extends an eviction moratorium through June 30. Read more from the Bay Area News Group, The Sacramento Bee, Los Angeles Times, and KQED.
Most Californians Support Covid Restrictions, Poll Finds: Most Californians still favor covid restrictions, including requirements to show proof of vaccination at large outdoor gatherings or to enter places like indoor restaurants and bars, a new survey suggests. But the survey also noted wide divides based on political affiliation. Read more from the Los Angeles Times.
In related news –
Disneyland Bringing Back Hugs from Mickey: Disneyland announced Thursday that theme parks will end social-distanced interactions as early as April 18. 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
Pasadena Star-News:
As BA.2 Gains Strength, LA County’s Ferrer Laments ‘Shameful’ Pace Of Federal Funding
A more infectious version of the omicron variant continues to gain traction in Los Angeles County, public health officials said Thursday, March 31. And while that traction has not yet translated into an upwards spike in hospitalizations, it has sparked caution amid the recent slow pace of congressional action vital to battling the disease, officials said. (Dixson, 3/31)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Where COVID Cases Stand In Bay Area Schools 2 Weeks After Mask Mandates Lifted
Two weeks after California lifted its school mask mandate, COVID-19 case rates largely continued declining across California and in classrooms, leading education and health officials to pull out their cautiously optimistic cliches. So far, so good. No red flags. Fingers crossed. (Tucker, 3/29)
San Francisco Chronicle:
For People Who Never Got COVID, Could Close Exposure Still Give Any Immunity?
Say someone in your house gets COVID. Maybe it’s your kid, your partner, your roommate. But you never seem to catch it, despite the exposure. Still — does that close encounter with the virus give you any immunity? It’s complicated, experts say. (Echeverria, 3/31)
Los Angeles Times:
How Many COVID Deaths Are 'Acceptable'? Decision Necessary To Move To Post-Pandemic World
In the post-pandemic world the United States is struggling to bring forth, how many people are we willing to let die of COVID-19 each year? Yep, let’s go there. Should your vaccinated grandmother’s death from COVID-19 be considered an acceptable loss? Should seasonal spikes in casualties among the unvaccinated elicit more than a shrug? Should life go on without disruption if a new coronavirus variant starts killing as many youngsters as childhood cancers? (Healy, 4/1)
AP:
Pandemic Took A Toll On Teen Mental Health, US Study Says
CDC officials said that the pandemic did not affect teens equally. LGBT youth reported poorer mental health and more suicide attempts than others. About 75% said they suffered emotional abuse in the home and 20% reported physical abuse. By comparison, half of heterosexual students reported emotional abuse and 10% reported physical abuse, the CDC said. (Stobbe, 3/31)
Marin Independent Journal:
Marin School Restores Mask Order Amid COVID Spike
A Marin County elementary school has reinstated its indoor masking rule following a spike in COVID-19 cases. Coleman Elementary School in San Rafael has documented 20 infections since March 22, including 14 students and six employees, the school district reported Thursday. Principal Mike Taylor announced a temporary reinstatement of the indoor mask mandate through April 15. He said extra masks will be available in the school office. (Brenner, 4/1)
The Washington Post:
Pregnant People At Much Higher Risk Of Breakthrough Covid, Study Shows
The new study goes beyond what has previously been understood, suggesting that even pregnant people who are fully vaccinated tend to have less protection from the virus than many other patients with significant medical problems. “If you are fully vaccinated, that’s magnificent,” said a lead author of the study, David R. Little, a physician who is a researcher at Epic, a Wisconsin company that maintains electronic patient records for nearly 1,000 hospitals and more than 20,000 clinics across the country. “But if you are fully vaccinated and become pregnant, you remain at higher risk of acquiring covid.” (Goldstein and Keating, 3/31)
Sacramento Bee:
Kaiser Goes Big On Plans For Sacramento Medical Offices
Kaiser Permanente entered into an agreement to purchase of 37 acres in North Natomas where it plans to build an outpatient medical facility, said Trish Rodriguez, interim senior vice president and area manager for Kaiser Permanente Sacramento. The Oakland-based company had planned to build the offices on a 12-acre parcel in the neighborhood north of Interstate 80 but decided that site was too small. (Anderson, 3/31)
Orange County Register:
Patient Passes Pingpong Test After Surgery Using Heart Pump The Size Of An Ear Stud
Clinicians have many ways of checking their patient’s progress after a procedure. A rousing game of pingpong isn’t in the textbooks, but the match played by Manh Nguyen, 63, and his cardiologist, Dr. Michael Chan, on Thursday, March 31, was a good indication of the patient’s progress. Nguyen’s heart function was so poor when he was diagnosed with heart failure in late 2020, doctors feared bypass surgery was too risky, representatives of St. Joseph Hospital in Orange said. (McRea, 3/31)
San Bernardino Sun:
Legal Claim Blames Paramedics Who Refused To Enter California Care Facility Over COVID-19 Protocols For Patient’s Death
The daughter of a man who died of cardiac arrest after Rialto paramedics refused to enter a care facility where he was a patient has filed a $100 million wrongful death claim against the Fire Department. Bridgette Angulo alleges in her claim, filed Jan. 27 with the city, that the paramedics’ failure to immediately enter Rialto Post Acute Care Center on South Riverside Avenue shortly before 8 p.m. on Nov. 17 and treat her father, 56-year-old Joseph Angulo, proved fatal. (Nelson, 4/1)
San Francisco Chronicle:
In Research Breakthrough, California Scientists Help Decode Entire Human Genome
An international team of scientists, led by geneticists at UC Santa Cruz and the National Institutes of Health, has published the first truly complete human genome, a dramatic advance in understanding the role of genetics in disease and evolution that closes the last gaps in cataloging the 3 billion paired molecules that make up our DNA. The full genetic sequence — first reported last summer, but officially unveiled in the journal Science on Thursday — finally fills in the roughly 8% of the human genome that scientists had been unable to work out since publishing their first draft more than 20 years ago. (Allday, 3/31)
USA Today:
Mapping Of Human DNA Is Complete. Here's What That Means For Humanity
Scientists are finally done mapping the human genome, more than two decades after the first draft was completed, researchers announced Thursday. About 8% of genetic material had been impossible to decipher with previous technology. Completing the final pieces is like adding the continent of Africa to a map of the globe that lacked it, said Michael Schatz, who participated in the research and is a professor of computer science and biology at Johns Hopkins University. Missing that 8% still allowed scientists to get the gist of the story of human genetics, said Jonas Korlach, chief scientific officer of Pacific Biosciences, the company whose technology was used to fill the gaps. (Weintraub, 3/31)
San Francisco Chronicle:
COVID May No Longer Feel Like A Crisis. But The Social Emergency It Created Is Far From Over
Mask mandates have ended in all states, and in his State of the Union address earlier this month, President Biden effectively ended the country’s “emergency” approach to COVID-19, outlining various steps the U.S. will take toward “returning to work” and accepting the disease as endemic. Although there are still widespread disputes over these shifts in pandemic policy and concerns about the omicron subvariant BA.2, many Americans believe the viral emergency has ended. For America’s most vulnerable, however, the social emergency that COVID-19 ignited is far from over. (Claire Decoteau, 3/31)
Sacramento Bee:
Oscars Slap Elevates Issues Black Women With Alopecia Face
For many Black women, alopecia is no joke. When I heard about the incident at the Oscars in which Will Smith stood up for his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith, a part of me was glad that someone stood up for one of us. I don’t condone violence, especially among Black men, but the altercation brings up an important discussion. So here we are, talking about Black women and alopecia. (Beatrice M. Hogg, 3/31)
Los Angeles Times:
Did Aphasia Influence Bruce Willis' Career Decisions? Every Case Is Unique
The image of Bruce Willis, an athletic and wise-cracking movie star, struggling to remember his lines is a tough one. Progressive aphasia is frightening for anyone, but when it afflicts an actor who long displayed a quick wit and physical agility, it hits home in a visceral way. Then there is the question: Was this hugely bankable star manipulated by those around him to continue working even when the time had come to step out of the spotlight and take care of himself? In the last few years, he has appeared in a remarkably high number of films. To get closer to answering that question, we need some understanding of aphasia, which can be a symptom of different aliments and have different variants with different results. (Keith Vossel, 3/31)
Sacramento Bee:
Kings’ Mishandling Of Richaun Holmes Allegations Shows NBA Still Downplays Domestic Abuse
Two years ago, the Sacramento Kings made a pledge to the Black community that the organization would “engage in uncomfortable conversations” and educate itself to combat bias. Given how the franchise bungled its response to allegations of domestic violence against fan favorite Richaun Holmes, it’s clear that the work required to honor such promises is far from done. The team’s front office chose to end Holmes’ season more than a month early for what it called “personal reasons,” allowing sympathetic fans and media to speculate about whether it was due to a mental health issue or the big man’s grief over the recent death of a loved one. But as The Bee’s Robin Epley reported last week, the “personal reasons” were allegations of domestic abuse by his ex-wife, Allexis Holmes. (4/1)
East Bay Times:
Opinion: It's Time For Californians To Talk About The Cow In The Room
No one can deny that we’re in the mother of all megadroughts. The seven hottest years on record have happened in the last seven years. The U.S. Drought Monitor just reported that 93% of California, including the Bay Area, is in severe drought and 35% is in extreme drought. Last year, dangerous heat killed hundreds of people in Oregon and Washington and nearly buckled California’s power grid. Federal forecasters say that this year conditions will worsen in California and the West with hotter-than-normal temperatures and little chance of rain. (Karen Rubio, 3/31)