Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Backed by Millions in Public and Private Cash, Rapid Covid Tests Are Coming to Stores Near You
Over-the-counter covid tests could help speed the economy’s recovery, allowing students and workers to test themselves at home and get quick results. Could they become as ubiquitous as toothpaste and cold remedies on store shelves, or will demand dry up as the nation gets vaccinated? (Hannah Norman, )
Warning Signals From Silicon Valley? Santa Clara has been a bellwether of the coronavirus pandemic’s rampage for not just California, but across the United States. Now the county is warning that the number of cases of more contagious covid-19 variants is increasing to worrisome levels, Reuters reports. “The region’s progress in curbing the pandemic remains precarious,” its health department said. Get more from Sharon Bernstein with Reuters.
Scroll below for more on California's pandemic stats, including 30% vaccination rate and low contact tracing.
Travel Restrictions Lifted: While the California Department of Public Health announced that it was rolling back a previous recommendation to limit non-essential travel to 120 miles from home, public health officials are still urging Californians to do so. More is reported from the Los Angeles Times and KTVU.
More News From Across The State
Los Angeles Times:
30% Of Californians Have Received COVID-19 Vaccine Dose
More than 30% of Californians are now at least partially vaccinated against COVID-19 — a hopeful milestone that comes as the state dramatically expands who is eligible to receive the shots. While still far short of the threshold needed to achieve the kind of herd immunity that can finally put the pandemic in the rearview mirror, officials say getting even to this level of community coverage provides a desperately needed layer of defense as the state seeks to dodge the COVID-19 spikes striking other areas of the country. (Money and Shalby, 4/1)
Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
COVID-19 Vaccination Appointments Scarce As California Expands Eligibility To People 50 And Older
A surge of Sonoma County residents 50 and older scrambled to book appointments for COVID-19 vaccinations Thursday under new state eligibility standards, but demand appeared to far outpace availability. The expansion made about 60,000 unvaccinated Sonoma County residents from the ages of 50 to 64 eligible to receive a shot for the first time since the immunization campaign started in mid December. Many residents, however, struggled to find open appointments through their health care provider or other systems. (Tornay, 4/1)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Overwhelming Majority Of S.F. Adults Could Receive First Vaccine Shot By Mid-May
Eighty percent of San Francisco residents above the age of 16 could receive at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine by mid-May, Mayor London Breed said Thursday. That would be a big jump from the 46% of eligible residents who have received a vaccine as of Thursday. But there’s a catch: The city will reach its goal only if it continues to receive vaccines at the expected rate over the next few weeks. (Thadani, 4/1)
ABC7 San Francisco:
Can You Go To Another County To Get A COVID-19 Vaccine In California? Here's What We Found
We reached out to 11 different counties outside the Bay Area with available vaccine appointments and asked if they would give doses to folks from the Bay Area who are willing to make the drive. Every answer we got was a different version of "no." (We didn't hear back from every county by publication time, and will update this story if we hear differently.) (Martichoux and Freedman, 3/31)
LA Daily News:
Vaccine Eligibility Widens In LA County Despite Limited Doses
As another million people in Los Angeles County on Thursday, April 1, were able to get in line for often scarce coronavirus vaccine appointments, public health officials urged residents to be patient and avoid gathering and follow pandemic safety rules as they wait to be inoculated. Residents age 50 and older are now eligible for the shots, but at least 631,000 residents in that age group have already received at least one vaccine dose, officials have said, by qualifying in another eligible category. That leaves 1.4 million people able to hunt down appointments as of Thursday, April 1. (Evains, 4/1)
LA Daily News:
City Of LA To Take Over Operation Of Mammoth Cal State LA Vaccination Site
A giant COVID-19 vaccination site at Cal State Los Angeles itself got an injection of new life on Thursday, April 1, after the city of L.A. stepped up to take it over from the federal government, officials said. The site — which had been run by FEMA — had been set to close on April 11, but L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti said the city will take over operation, which will transition on April 12, officials said. (Carter and Rosenfeld, 4/1)
Modesto Bee:
Younger Adults Flock To COVID Clinic In Stanislaus County
Randi McCullar waited for months to get the coronavirus vaccine to protect herself and everyone else against COVID-19. The Modesto mom got her chance Thursday as people age 16 and older became eligible for COVID-19 shots in Stanislaus County. She arrived at the public clinic at Modesto Centre Plaza at 9:40 a.m. and was out by 11 a.m. after getting a first dose of Pfizer vaccine. (Alfaro and Carlson, 4/1)
Sacramento Bee:
Sacramento Gets Biggest Vaccine Allotment Yet, But Growing Supply Still Trails Demand
The day has finally arrived for many more Californians: residents 50 through 64 are eligible to sign up for COVID-19 vaccination regardless of job sector or health condition. The expansion is the first of two planned for April. On April 15, the state will open eligibility to everyone 16 and older. Sacramento-area health officials continue to caution, though, that supply limitations mean it will still take a while for everyone who wants a vaccine to be able to sign up for their shots. (McGough and Bizjak, 4/1)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Newsom Gets His Johnson & Johnson COVID Shot As Californians Over 50 Become Eligible
Gov. Gavin Newsom received his coronavirus vaccine Thursday to promote the expansion of eligibility to all Californians 50 and older. “Today’s an important day, obviously, with the opportunity now for people my age, who have been waiting,” Newsom, 53, said during a visit to the Baldwin Hills Crenshaw Mobile Vaccination Clinic in Los Angeles County. (Koseff, 4/1)
Sacramento Bee:
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg Receives The COVID-19 Vaccine
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg helps promote vaccine safety after receiving his COVID-19 vaccine at Wellspace Health in Sacramento on April 1, 2021. (Kitagaki Jr., 4/1)
San Jose Mercury News:
Santa Clara County Opens Up First-Dose COVID-19 Vaccine Appointments
After nearly a month of offering virtually no first-dose COVID-19 vaccine opportunities, Santa Clara County has released thousands of new appointments at its health clinics and mass vaccination sites. In order to get a coveted shot, you must be a resident of Santa Clara County and meet the state’s current eligibility criteria. Qualifying criteria include people over the age of 50, residents of long-term care facilities, healthcare workers, people 16 or older with high-risk health conditions or disabilities, and workers in education, emergency services, public transit, food and agriculture. (Angst, 4/1)
San Jose Mercury News:
Permanent Vaccine Site Opens Tomorrow At Chavez School
A permanent vaccine site is opening in the city on Friday as public health officials push to increase a dismal vaccination record in the community. Council member Antonio Lopez announced Thursday that the parking lot of Cesar Chavez Middle School will be converted into a permanent COVID-19 vaccine clinic that will serve any East Palo Alto community member 18 and over. (Toledo, 4/1)
Fresno Bee:
Fresno CA Doctor: Unvaccinated At 20 Times The Risk Of Virus
A person who is not vaccinated is 20 times more likely to get the deadly COVID-19 virus than a person who accepted the shots, a Fresno doctor said on Thursday. It’s a stark wake-up call to anyone still hesitant to get the vaccine or waiting to get the vaccine brand of their choice. Officials have urged people to get whichever vaccine — Pfizer, Moderna, or Johnson & Johnson — is available first. The vaccines have also shown effectiveness against the newest variants of the virus that have reared their ugly heads in California and Fresno County, according to Dr. John Zweifler, a consultant working with Fresno County Public Health. (Miller, 4/1)
Reuters:
Moderna Gets Nod To Speed Up Virus Vaccine Output With Bigger Vials
The U.S. drug regulator gave Moderna Inc clearance to speed up output of its COVID-19 vaccine by letting it fill a single vial with up to 15 doses, with the United States banking on rapid immunization to stem the spread of the deadly virus. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also authorized vaccinators to extract a maximum of 11 doses from the current vials, instead of the ten previously permitted. (4/1)
The Wall Street Journal:
Pfizer’s Covid-19 Vaccine Is Still Highly Effective Six Months After Second Dose
The Covid-19 vaccine from Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech remains highly effective six months after its second dose, an indication that protection could last for an even longer period. The findings, released on Thursday, emerged from a continuing review of how volunteers in the shot’s late-stage trial were faring and whether they contracted Covid-19 with symptoms. (Hopkins, 4/1)
The Wall Street Journal:
FDA Probes Cause Of Failed Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 Vaccine Batch
The Food and Drug Administration is investigating what caused a batch of the active ingredient for Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine to be scrapped for failing to meet quality standards at a contract manufacturing plant, according to a person familiar with the matter. The FDA may send an inspection team to assess the situation at the Baltimore plant operated by contractor Emergent BioSolutions Inc., the person said. (Loftus and Burton, 4/1)
Reuters:
Exclusive: Fauci Says U.S. May Not Need AstraZeneca COVID-19 Vaccine
The United States may not need AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine, even if it wins U.S. regulatory approval, Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease doctor told Reuters on Thursday. The vaccine, once hailed as another milestone in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, has been dogged by questions since late last year, even as it has been authorized for use by dozens of countries, not including United States. (Steenhuysen, 4/1)
The Sacramento Bee:
Gavin Newsom Concerned About Threat Of New COVID Surge In CA
Nearly a third of Californians have received at least one COVID-19 vaccine, but Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday he’s still concerned the state could see another coronavirus surge before its population reaches herd immunity. That would mean more coronavirus deaths, as well as more harm to California’s already damaged economy. If case rates increase again, counties may face more restrictions on their economic activity, Newsom said. For weeks, the state has allowed counties to ease restrictions as case rates declined. (Bollag, 4/1)
Fresno Bee:
California Falls Short On COVID Contact Tracing, Audit Says
More than a year after the COVID-19 pandemic began, the state auditor says California’s public health agency is doing just a so-so job on a key element of coronavirus control: finding out whether infected Californians had possibly spread the disease to someone else. Amid warnings of another potential surge in coronavirus cases, State Auditor Elaine Howle said Thursday the California Department of Public Health has fallen short of its goals for contact tracing, in which newly-infected residents are supposed to be interviewed to determine who might have infected them. (Kasler, 4/2)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Santa Clara County Officials Warn Of Possible Fourth 'Swell' As Variants Rise
Variants that are more infectious than earlier versions of the coronavirus or may be somewhat resistant to vaccines are spreading in Santa Clara County and potentially threatening local progress toward preventing a fourth surge, public health officials said Thursday. The county has found cases of all four of the so-called variants of concern identified by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It now has 92 cases of the more infectious B.1.1.7 variant that is driving surges in several countries in Europe. Santa Clara County also has found three cases of the B.1.351 variant from South Africa and one case of the P.1 variant from Brazil. Both of those are believed to be somewhat vaccine-resistant. (Allday, 4/1)
Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
Sonoma County Health Officials Report First COVID-19 Death In Over Two Weeks
Sonoma County health officials Thursday reported the first death due to complications from the coronavirus in more than two weeks, boosting the pandemic total to 309 fatalities. The last local COVID-19 fatality occurred March 7, making it the longest period without a virus-related death since last June when the highly contagious respiratory disease starting claims lives in greater numbers. (Espinoza, 4/1)
The Hill:
HHS Asks Pentagon For Use Of Third Base To House Migrant Children
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has asked the Pentagon to temporarily house unaccompanied migrant children at another military base, this one in California, the Defense Department’s top spokesman confirmed Thursday. “We have received a request for assistance from HHS for the potential use of Camp Roberts in California to house unaccompanied minors,” press secretary John Kirby told reporters at the Pentagon. (Mitchell, 4/1)
ProPublica:
“No Good Choices”: HHS Is Cutting Safety Corners To Move Migrant Kids Out Of Overcrowded Facilities
But as the Biden administration’s Department of Health and Human Services scrambles to open “emergency” temporary facilities at military bases, work camps and convention centers to house up to 15,000 additional children, it’s cutting corners on health and safety standards, which raises new concerns about its ability to protect children, according to congressional sources and legal observers. And even its permanent shelter network includes some facilities whose grants were renewed this year despite a record of complaints about the physical or sexual abuse of children. (Lind, 4/1)
San Francisco Public Press:
As Pandemic Threatens Restaurants, Charities Battling Hunger Can Help
On a sunny weekday morning in March just shy of the one-year anniversary of San Francisco’s shelter-in-place order, Brian Fernando, the chef and owner of the Michelin-rated modern Sri Lankan restaurant 1601 Bar & Kitchen, was in a rush. He and his only colleagues still working at the restaurant — his wife and one line cook — were busy transferring 105 individual brown paper bag lunches to the trunk of his car. He would then drive them from western SoMa, where his restaurant is located, to Lombard Street, the site of that day’s delivery. The lunches they had prepared were not the restaurant’s typical Sri Lankan-inspired dishes sourced from the foods of his childhood but, as requested by the community-based organizations working to feed residents facing food insecurity, “American comfort food.” “We’ve totally transitioned into basically a soup kitchen from normal restaurant operations,” Fernando said. (Paul, 4/1)
AP:
US Hunger Crisis Persists, Especially For Kids, Older Adults
America is starting to claw its way out of the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, but food insecurity persists, especially for children and older adults. Food banks around the U.S. continue giving away far more canned, packaged and fresh provisions than they did before the virus outbreak tossed millions of people out of work, forcing many to seek something to eat for the first time. For those who are now back at work, many are still struggling, paying back rent or trying to rebuild savings. (Snow, Santana and Choi, 4/1)
CBS News:
USDA Drops Trump Plan To Cut Food Stamps For 700,000 Americans
A Trump-era plan to cut food stamps is now off the table after the Biden administration said it is abandoning a previous plan to tighten work requirements for working-age adults without children. Those restrictions were projected to deny federal food assistance benefits to 700,000 adults, a proposal that had had drawn strong condemnation from anti-hunger advocates. (Picchi, 4/1)
San Jose Mercury News:
Investigation Underway Into Stanford Personal Data Breach
Stanford University on Thursday said it is investigating claims hackers stole personal data from the School of Medicine. The alleged theft was part of a larger national cyberattack on universities and organizations that use Palo Alto-based Accellion Inc.’s 20-year-old File Transfer Appliance, the university said in a statement. The FTA is a third-party file-sharing service. “Stanford University School of Medicine has learned that cybercriminals have claimed they have stolen some School of Medicine data. … We are investigating this incident and we have reported the incident to law enforcement,” the university said. (Green, 4/1)
LAist:
UCLA Researchers Are Tracking How Effective The COVID-19 Vaccines Are For Health Care Workers
UCLA has received a $4.9 million grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to study the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines among 10,000 health care workers across the country. Researchers at UCLA's Geffen School of Medicine and the University of Iowa are studying vaccinated and non-vaccinated health care workers. Both groups will be tested for COVID-19 if they experience common symptoms of the virus. The researchers will compare the severity of illness of those who test positive. (4/1)
Capital and Main:
USC And UCLA Get Low Grades For Their COVID Responses
The University of Southern California employs more than 26,000 people and is Los Angeles’ largest private employer, while its historical crosstown rival, the University of California, Los Angeles, employs more than 42,000 people and ranks among the county’s largest employers. One year ago the two universities closed their campuses as their respective hospitals geared up for war with the novel coronavirus. Within weeks, learning went from classrooms to online, as administrators expanded pass/fail grading and students and teachers scrambled for Wi-Fi. How did two of Los Angeles’ largest employers handle the COVID-19 crisis? Capital & Main grades the graders. (Ross, 4/1)
LAist:
Faculty, Students Brace For Financial Fallout From USC's $1 Billion Sexual Abuse Settlement
Last week, USC announced that it will pay out more than $1 billion to settle hundreds of sexual abuse claims against a former campus gynecologist, George Tyndall. Now, the campus is bracing for the financial fallout. "The amount is significant, and we will face some difficult financial choices in the near term," USC President Carol Folt said in a letter sent by email to the campus community and posted on the university's website. (Guzman-Lopez, 4/1)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Illumina To Fight FTC Efforts To Block $7.1 Billion Buyout Of Cancer Diagnostic Firm Grail
San Diego gene-sequencing giant Illumina has vowed to fight the U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s legal action to block its blockbuster $7.1 billion acquisition of Grail Inc. The FTC said it planned to file a series of challenges alleging the merger would hamstring innovation and boost prices in the nascent market for blood tests to detect cancer earlier. (Freeman, 4/1)
LAist:
The Collective Trauma Of Anti-Asian Hate: We Talk To 5 Mental Health Experts
The day after the mass shooting in Atlanta left six Asian women among the dead, Eunji Kim watched the press conference where a law enforcement official described the gunman as having had a "bad day" when he fired on three Asian-run spas. The comment reinforced the feeling the 27-year-old art school student said she has had most of her life — that in the U.S., "they don't see Asian women as human." (Huang, 4/1)
NPR:
White House Says Drug Overdose Deaths Spiked To 88,000 During The Pandemic
The acting head of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy said Thursday that drug deaths spiked dramatically during a period that includes the first six months of the the pandemic, up roughly 27% compared with the previous year. "We lost 88,000 people in the 12-month period ending in August 2020," Regina LaBelle told reporters during a morning briefing. "Illicitly manufactured fentanyl and synthetic opioids are the primary drivers of this increase." (Mann, 4/1)
California Health Report:
Few Native Americans Access Hospice Care. A New Effort In Yolo County Hopes To Change That
Native American seniors are much less likely than other racial and ethnic groups to receive hospice and palliative care, but a new partnership between a Capay Valley tribe in Yolo County and a local hospice provider seeks to change that. Yolo Hospice, a non-profit hospice provider serving five Northern California counties, including Yolo County, recently received a $1 million grant from the Yocha Dehe Wintun Nation, a sovereign Native American Tribe. The grant will fund research and efforts to counteract the challenges that residents of rural and Native American communities face when trying to obtain and plan for end-of-life care. (Nittle, 3/30)
The Sacramento Bee:
Sacramento-Area Churches Plan Modified Easter Due To COVID
Sunday marks the second Easter during the coronavirus pandemic, but many church services in the Sacramento area will look different than last year. The holiday in 2020 came in the earliest weeks of the health crisis, less than a month after Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a statewide stay-at-home order for California. With restrictions on gatherings at their tightest levels, in-person church services were prohibited under the state health order. (McGough, 4/1)
The Press Democrat:
Inmates At Sonoma County Jail Stage Hunger Strike To Demand In-Person Visits
Nearly 100 inmates at the Sonoma County Jail began a hunger strike this week in an attempt to pressure jail administrators into reinstating in-person visits with family and friends more than a year after the coronavirus pandemic prompted jail staff to cut off such contact. (Chavez, 4/1)
CalMatters:
Benching COVID: Baseball Fans Return To California Stadiums
Major League Baseball welcomed spectators back to stadiums for regular season games for the first time since October 2019. The significance of Californians returning to a large public gathering — albeit masked and socially distanced, and stadiums at about a quarter of capacity — wasn’t lost on anyone. And it was underscored by an inescapable reminder: In the parking lot just behind the stadium, occupants in dozens of cars were lined up to receive their Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine. For baseball fans who turned out at California stadiums to watch openers by the Los Angeles Angels, San Diego Padres and Oakland A’s, the experience wasn’t exactly the same as before the pandemic. But the general consensus was that it felt good to be back. (Wernikoff, 4/2)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Giants Fans Will Need Negative Coronavirus Test Or Vaccination Proof To Attend Games
San Francisco public health officials approved the Giants’ plans to bring back spectators to Oracle Park this season, the club announced Thursday — and will require fans attending games to test negative for the coronavirus or provide proof of full vaccination. The Giants will be allowed to operate at up to 22% of the ballpark’s seating capacity. That’s less than the limit set by state officials on March 5, when they unveiled guidelines permitting outdoor stadiums in orange-tier counties (such as San Francisco) to reach 33% capacity. (Kroichick, 4/1)
Los Angeles Times:
Poll Shows Support For State-Funded Immigrant Healthcare
It was a breakthrough event befitting Cesar Chavez Day: A major poll showed that California voters support providing tax-paid healthcare for immigrants living here illegally. In all the polling by the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California over many years, it had never before found support among likely voters for giving full-blown public healthcare to undocumented immigrants. (George Skelton, 4/1)
The Sacramento Bee:
Changes To Medi-Cal Can Tackle Unequal Access To Health Care
Wealthy Californians come from affluent enclaves to take vaccine shots meant for at-risk frontline workers. In the same state but a world away, Californians haven’t heard that a safe, effective COVID-19 vaccine exists because the news hasn’t yet reached them in their language. Unequal access to quality health care allowed the virus to cut a path of devastation through communities of color over the past year. Like the murder of George Floyd and acts of violence that sparked a national reckoning on race last year, inequalities in health care are rooted in a set of rules stacked against Black and brown communities. To heal, we must rewrite the rules. One big place to start is Medi-Cal. (Sandra R. Hernández, 3/26)
San Jose Mercury News:
Newsom's COVID Strategy Risks Resurgence And Frustration
As California relaxes restrictions designed to curb the spread of COVID-19 and today greatly increases the number of people eligible for vaccinations, disturbing data indicate Gov. Gavin Newsom should slow the respective trains. We all want life to get back to normal, whatever that means, as soon as possible. But we shouldn’t unnecessarily endanger lives, or the state’s recovery, in our rush for freedom from restrictions. We’re seeing a global resurgence of the virus in Europe and South America. In the United States, the rapid decline in daily cases ended in late February and levels are now at those seen during last summer’s surge — and rising. (4/1)
Bay Area News Group:
COVID-19 Recovery Requires Restoring Public Health Investment
One year after Gov. Gavin Newsom issued an unprecedented statewide stay-at-home order in response to COVID-19, optimism for California’s recovery is growing. It’s been a rough year, which was many years in the making. Our state’s COVID-19 experience confirmed the worst fears of public health officials who have long warned California was ill-prepared for such a crisis. We did not have to endure such incredible suffering and loss, and it did not have to be inflicted so unequally onto communities of color. (Colleen Chawla and Dr. Karen Relucio, 3/30)
LA Daily News:
Mental Health Workers, Not Police, Should Responses To Mental Health Crises
Our national, state and local governments have failed us. They have failed to create a mental health system that gets people the care they need. In the wake of this failure, police have become our default go-to. But trying to solve a public health crisis with a law enforcement response has proven ineffective and deadly. Twenty-five percent of all individuals killed in police-involved shootings since 2015 had a known mental illness. And longstanding racial disparities place African Americans like Miles at the greatest risk when police are called to the scene. (Taun Hall, 4/1)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Frequent 'Antigen Testing' Can Resolve Stalemate On School Reopening
For the past several weeks, 11 school districts in Merced, Los Angeles, San Mateo, Fresno and Alameda counties have begun piloting a novel COVID screening approach that has the potential to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission in the school setting by 80%-90%. The approach utilizes so-called “antigen tests” to conduct frequent COVID testing of all staff and students on the school campus, with results within 15 minutes so immediate action can be taken to reduce potential spread. The strategy is available, affordable and effective and, in conjunction with handwashing, social distancing and mask wearing, allows parents and teachers to be reassured that the school is the safest environment in the community. (Anthony Iton, 3/28)
Los Angeles Times:
Vaccine Clinics At Schools Would Solve Multiple Problems
But to get students back into the classroom, L.A. Unified has to ease their concerns. To do so, the district should provide vaccines for the low-income families who make up so much of its population.L.A. Unified has offered several times to hold vaccination clinics on its campuses for the wider community. This would be ideal; not everyone can easily get to the larger, more centralized vaccination locations. It would reduce trepidation not solely by protecting people through immunization, but also by encouraging them to visit campuses, feel safe on them and learn about the district’s coronavirus testing program, enhanced academic and mental health programs, and the many planned safety procedures. Maybe they can be persuaded to sign their children up for summer school at the same time. (4/2)