Covid Cases Climbing Again In LA County Schools: Los Angeles County is seeing an uptick in coronavirus outbreaks in schools, likely due to the BA.2 subvariant and recently relaxed covid rules, county Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said Thursday. Countywide, there were 14 school outbreaks reported the week of March 30 through April 5 – more than triple the previous week’s number, Ferrer said. Read more from the LA Daily News.
Goodbye, 40-Hour Workweek?: A bill moving through the state Legislature would change the definition of a workweek from 40 hours to 32 hours for companies with more than 500 employees. Advocates for the idea say it will have myriad benefits for employee health, increasing productivity and even lowering health care premiums. Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
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:
Nancy Pelosi Tests Positive For Coronavirus
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tested positive for the coronavirus Thursday, joining a cluster of cases among the nation’s top officials and after closely mingling with President Biden in recent days. The San Francisco Democrat, who is 82, has no symptoms and is fully vaccinated as well as boosted, her spokesperson Drew Hammill said in a tweet. (Kopan, 4/7)
Los Angeles Times:
Omicron Subvariant XE Is Getting Attention
Even as the highly contagious Omicron subvariant BA.2 is increasingly dominating California and the U.S., an even more potentially contagious subvariant, XE, has attracted the attention of global scientists. Early estimates as noted by the World Health Organization say XE may be 10% more transmissible than BA.2, but it’s too soon to say whether XE will become the next prolific Omicron subvariant that will become another household name. The British government has also noted that data showing XE’s growth rate advantage over BA.2 have not remained consistent, so more data will be needed to assess XE’s likely future trajectory. (Lin II, 4/7)
Marin Independent Journal:
Some Marin COVID Patients Get New Treatment
A small number of Marin residents who test positive for COVID-19 are being prescribed a pill that reduces their chances of severe illness and hospitalization by about 89%, regardless of vaccine status. The medication, Paxlovid, is one of at least six treatments for COVID-19 that have been approved for emergency use in the United States. (Halstead, 4/8)
CIDRAP:
Home Use Of Pulse Oximeters For COVID-19 Not Linked To Better Outcomes
Asking COVID-19 patients to use a pulse oximeter at home to measure oxygen levels was no better than asking if they experienced shortness of breath in determining outcomes, according to new research in the New England Journal of Medicine. (4/7)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
One Week In, Few Have Received Second Booster For COVID-19 In San Diego County
About 14,000 San Diego County residents have received second booster shots for COVID-19 since the federal government approved them for those age 50 and older early last week. Though an additional 5,000 — most with compromised immune systems or under doctors orders — received early fourth shots before broad approval on March 29, the early numbers show that the region has seen no big rush to line up for another coronavirus shot despite government records that doing so will bolster waning immunity. (Sisson, 4/7)
CalMatters:
Vaccine Bills Face Uphill Fight In California
This week, California shifted — in a small but significant way — its approach to the COVID-19 pandemic. Effective Monday, the state Department of Public Health stopped issuing weekday updates on coronavirus data, including test positivity, hospitalizations, deaths and vaccinations. It now publishes those numbers just two days a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays. Some counties have since followed suit with their local dashboards. (Hoeven, 4/7)
Sacramento Bee:
Do COVID Vaccines Cause Hearing Issues? Experts On WHO Find
Ever since COVID-19 vaccines rolled out to protect against the virus that has since reshaped the world, there have been some reports of hearing issues following vaccination, according to the World Health Organization. “Further assessment” is needed on whether reported cases of hearing loss and tinnitus— experiencing intense sounds such as ringing or buzzing in at least one ear — are connected to the COVID-19 vaccines, a WHO newsletter recently published online said. (Marnin, 4/7)
The New York Times:
Federal Appeals Court Reinstates Biden’s Vaccination Mandate For Federal Workers
A federal appeals court on Thursday reversed a decision that had blocked the White House from requiring federal workers to be vaccinated against Covid-19. In September, President Biden said that the vast majority of federal workers had to be vaccinated or they would face disciplinary measures. But a preliminary injunction, instated in January by a federal judge in Texas, stopped the Biden administration from enforcing that mandate. (Lukpat and Hassan, 4/8)
Los Angeles Daily News:
Judge Won’t Stop LA County Supervisors From Assuming Firing Power Over Vaccine-Resistant Deputies
A judge denied a temporary restraining order on Thursday, April 7, that would have kept Los Angeles County supervisors from assuming firing power over sheriff’s deputies and other employees who won’t get vaccinated against the coronavirus. The Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers Association, which represents higher-ranking deputies, asked the judge to clamp down on a law passed Tuesday, April 5, by the supervisors that empowered the county’s personnel director to discipline and fire any employee who won’t comply with the vaccine mandate. (Cain, 4/7)
Modesto Bee:
Modesto Seeks Help In How To Spend $22.9M In Pandemic Relief
Modesto expects to receive in May its second and last $22.9 million payment from the federal American Rescue Plan Act, and city officials have started thinking about how to spend the pandemic relief money. They also want to hear from the public about how the one-time funding should be spent. (Valine, 4/8)
Sacramento Bee:
Thousands Of CA Restaurants Could Get Help From Federal Fund
The House of Representatives wants to keep your favorite local restaurants going, restaurants that have struggled to survive during the two years since COVID-19 ravaged their businesses. So on Thursday, the House voted 223 to 203 to add $42 billion to the federal Restaurant Revitalization Fund as well as another $13 billion to help a variety of small businesses. The fund was established last year, and its $28.2 billion was quickly claimed. In California, 15,988 restaurants got $5.7 billion worth of help. (Lightman, 4/8)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Judge Refuses To Block S.F. Law Letting Some Small Businesses Avoid Back Rent Payments
A judge has refused to block a San Francisco ordinance that will allow some small businesses to avoid paying rent for periods in which they were shut down because of the pandemic. The ordinance, passed unanimously by San Francisco supervisors last July, applies to commercial storefront tenants whose income disappeared during COVID-19 shutdowns. It was challenged by property owners who said it conflicted with state law and with executive orders by Gov. Gavin Newsom. (Egelko, 4/7)
Modern Healthcare:
Medicare Finalizes Policy Restricting Aduhelm Coverage To Clinical Trial Patients
Medicare will only cover Biogen's Alzheimer's therapy Aduhelm during clinical trials, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced Thursday, finalizing a proposal from January. The announcement paves the way for CMS to reduce Medicare Part B premiums. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said last month that CMS was waiting on a final coverage decision for Aduhelm to fully assess its impact on Part B premiums for 2022, which increased 15% from last year, in part because of projected spending on the drug. (Goldman and Deveraux, 4/7)
The New York Times:
Medicare Officially Limits Coverage Of Aduhelm To Patients In Clinical Trials
Ever since Medicare proposed to sharply limit coverage of the controversial Alzheimer’s drug Aduhelm, the agency has been deluged with impassioned pleas. Groups representing patients insisted the federal insurance program pay for the drug. Many Alzheimer’s experts and doctors cautioned against broadly covering a treatment that has uncertain benefit and serious safety risks. (Belluck, 4/7)
NBC News:
Judge Strikes Down Military's Limits On Service Members With HIV
In a landmark ruling, a federal court has ordered the Defense Department to end a long-standing Pentagon policy forbidding enlisted military service members from deploying in active duty outside the continental U.S. and being commissioned as officers if they have HIV. Supporters hailed it as overdue legal affirmation that people receiving effective antiretroviral treatment for HIV are essentially healthy and pose no risk to others. (4/7)
Military.com:
Judge Overturns Military Ban On HIV-Positive Troops Getting Commissioned As Officers
U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema ruled Wednesday that the Department of Defense must reconsider Nicholas Harrison's application to become a JAG officer for the D.C. National Guard without taking into account his HIV-positive status. The ruling also applies to "any other asymptomatic HIV-positive service member with an undetectable viral load." (Toropin, 4/7)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Their 2-Year-Old Daughter Died In Surgery. They Had No Idea The Hospital Was Warned It Couldn’t Handle Her Case
A Chronicle investigation has found that in the weeks before the surgery, John Muir Health leaders discounted warnings from their own staff that the hospital was not equipped to perform such a specialized operation, known as a liver resection. One of John Muir’s medical directors at the time said in an interview that she told a top hospital executive that the surgery would be a “clean kill.” These allegations are reflected in a lawsuit the Jongs filed Wednesday in Contra Costa County Superior Court, seeking unspecified damages. (Gafni and Dizikes, 4/7)
The Bakersfield Californian:
Work Begins On Kern Inpatient Psychiatric Facilities
Construction began Thursday in east Bakersfield on a pair of inpatient psychiatric facilities intended to help meet growing demand from local residents experiencing serious mental illness. When the buildings open sometime next year, 16 adults and, separately, 16 adolescents at a time will be given access to intensive therapy for between two weeks and a month. (Cox, 4/7)
Los Angeles Times:
2nd Former California AIDS Office Employee Sentenced To Prison In $2-Million Fraud Scheme
A former state employee was sentenced Thursday to two years in prison for her role in defrauding the California Office of AIDS out of more than $2 million from 2017 to 2018. Christine Iwamoto is the second former Office of AIDS employee to be sentenced in the scheme after Schenelle Flores, 46, was given a prison term of nearly six years on March 3. Iwamoto was ordered to pay nearly $500,000 in restitution, and Flores was ordered to pay more than $2 million. (Martinez, 4/8)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Fentanyl Test Kits: Now Available In Local Bars
Bay Area residents are being confronted by fentanyl in places you might not expect. A local organization is making fentanyl test kits available in bar bathrooms, just one element of a larger harm reduction strategy that's necessary to fight the Bay Area's growing fentanyl crisis. (Creighton, 4/8)
Los Angeles Times:
Genetically Modified Mosquitoes May Be Released In California
Soon, millions of engineered mosquitoes could be set loose in California in an experiment recently approved by the federal government. Oxitec, a private company, says its genetically modified bugs could help save half the world’s population from the invasive Aedes aegypti mosquito, which can spread diseases such as yellow fever, chikungunya and dengue to humans. Female offspring produced by these modified insects will die, according to Oxitec’s plan, causing the population to collapse. (Peterson, 4/8)
Sacramento Bee:
Sacramento Wants To Curb Gun Violence. What These Cities Did
Downtown Sacramento, where thousands reside and millions visit each year, has seen its share of live entertainment, tourists, buzzy nightlife, city employees — and violence. The shooting on K Street that killed six people, which authorities say stem from a gang dispute, is the worst shooting in the city’s history in terms of deaths and injuries. It’s not the only act of violence the city’s center has seen recently. (Truong, 4/8)
San Francisco Chronicle:
San Francisco Crime Rates Drastically Shifted In The Pandemic. These Charts Show What’s Happening Now
Ask the average Bay Area voter about crime in San Francisco, and it’s likely they’ll say it’s getting worse. In a recent Bay Area Council poll of registered voters, a majority said the Bay was not a safe place to live, an increase from prior years. An additional 65% said they avoid going to big-city downtowns like San Francisco’s because of crime. This public sentiment around crime in the city could soon drive political change: In a separate poll conducted by the same research firm, nearly 70% of likely S.F. voters said they would vote to recall District Attorney Chesa Boudin, who ran on a platform of lowering the city’s jail population and seeking alternatives to harsh sentences for lower-level offenders. (Nielson, 4/8)
Los Angeles Times:
100-Degree Temps On Tap As Heat Wave Comes To SoCal
The punishing heat wave in Southern California will deliver triple-digit temperatures, elevate fire danger and increase the chance of heat-related illnesses Thursday and Friday, officials said. A heat advisory in the Los Angeles area is in effect until 6 p.m. Friday for the coastal plains and valleys, the Santa Clarita Valley and the Santa Monica Mountains. Temperatures could soar at least 15 to 20 degrees above normal, reaching 100 degrees or higher in some areas. (Smith, 4/7)
Los Angeles Times:
Rape Exceptions To Abortion Bans Were Once Widely Accepted. No More
As conservative states enacted stringent abortion bans in recent decades, there was one threshold they were loath to cross: Abortion was nearly always allowed in cases of rape or incest. It was a veneer of acceptance embraced by every GOP president from Reagan to Trump, and even the strongest abortion foes, that a woman should not be required to carry a rapist’s child. Not anymore. (Haberkorn, 4/8)
The Washington Post:
Some Beef ‘Raised Without Antibiotics’ Tests Positive For Antibiotics In Study
A new study in Science magazine identified antibiotics in some of the beef cattle in a USDA-approved no-antibiotics labeling program recognized as a gold standard for restaurants and grocery stores around the country. The study tested some 699 cows at one slaughterhouse that processes “raised without antibiotics” cattle. Most cattle in the study tested negative for antibiotics. However, 10 percent of cattle came from lots where one of the cows sampled tested positive for antibiotics, the researchers found. Additionally, the study found an additional 5 percent of cattle came from lots with multiple positive antibiotic tests. (Reiley, 4/7)
Berkeleyside:
West Berkeley Homeless Occupants Have Three Weeks To Find Housing
Homeless occupants at the last remaining West Berkeley encampment near Interstate 80 have until the end of April to find housing after a federal judge refused to grant lawyers four more months to sort out their housing status. In the decision that came down Wednesday, U.S. District Court Judge Edward Chen ruled that the circumstances of the remaining occupants, when weighed against the dangerous conditions of living next to a freeway, didn’t merit an extra fourth-month preliminary injunction for the encampment. The encampment can remain in the area until April 30. (Yelimeli, 4/7)
CalMatters:
California May Send Checks To Homeless High School Seniors
As efforts to provide a guaranteed income spring up around California, a lawmaker who has pushed for such state-funded pilot programs has set his sights on another population he says should benefit — low-income high school seniors on the brink of adulthood. State Sen. Dave Cortese, a Democrat from Campbell, is sponsoring a bill for the state to give no-strings-attached checks to about 15,000 high school seniors who have experienced homelessness, starting from around the time of graduation to their fall enrollment in college or vocational school or their entry into the workforce. (Kuang, 4/7)
Sacramento Bee:
Sacramento Council Forces Homelessness Vote At The Worst Time
The council is holding a special meeting at 5 p.m. to vote on the “Emergency Shelter and Enforcement Act of 2022,” a ballot initiative that would fundamentally change how Sacramento provides shelter, enforces camping laws and responds to homelessness. The meeting was sprung on the public with almost no notice while the community is reeling from the deadliest shooting in Sacramento history. The timing and process are rotten. And that’s before we even get to the questionable substance and deceptive framing of the measure itself, or the way it was drafted and negotiated chiefly by an unelected city manager and business leaders. (4/6)
Sacramento Bee:
Businesses Coerce Sacramento Leaders To Back Homeless Policy
To call the Sacramento City Council’s vote this week on a sweeping homelessness ballot measure an “approval” or “adoption” seems inaccurate. Extortion. Blackmail. A shakedown. That seems more appropriate. A coalition called “Sacramento for Safe and Clean Streets and Parks” demonstrated its commitment to addressing the homelessness crisis by shoving a ballot measure down the throat of a city mourning its deadliest shooting. With just 24 hours’ notice, City Manager Howard Chan convened a special City Council meeting at which Sacramento’s elected officials basically had two choices: approve a ballot measure negotiated by business interests and city administrators, or reject it and face insolvency if voters adopt a financially impossible alternative. (Yousef Baig, 4/8)
San Francisco Chronicle:
What L.A.'s Brutal Echo Park Homeless Clearing Can Teach S.F.
Despite the clearly troubling optics, the city’s liberal establishment declared the Echo Park Lake displacement to be a success, with Mayor Eric Garcetti claiming it as “the largest housing transition of an encampment ever in the city’s history.” All displaced residents, city officials declared, would be in stable, permanent housing within a year. However, a recently released study by the After Echo Park Lake research collective, of which we are members, dramatically disproves such claims. Our analysis of the city’s own data shows that only 17 of 183 displaced residents are currently in housing. Our ethnographic work has further revealed that more people who were evicted from the park have died (seven) than have been permanently housed (four). Many are waiting in temporary placements with no path to a permanent home. Many more have been expelled from these placements. (Ananya Roy and Sam Lutzker, 4/5)
Los Angeles Times:
Here's How California Can Get More Guns Out Of Dangerous Hands
The dramatic rise in gun violence over the last two years in the United States, as was demonstrated in the deadly shootout in Sacramento on Sunday, demands that leaders do more to keep firearms away from dangerous people. This is no easy task, of course. But California has a system — the only one in the nation — to do so. The Armed and Prohibited Persons System is a state Department of Justice database that tracks firearms owned by people who are banned from possessing them because they’ve been convicted of a felony, are under a restraining order or have a serious mental illness. (4/8)
Modesto Bee:
Don’t Pretend This Isn’t Political, Stanislaus Supervisors
The Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors — an elected, local governing body that is supposed to be nonpartisan — is playing politics. Somebody wants to look good to their conservative constituents, to be able to say they took a stand against liberal, woke power brokers in Sacramento. Somebody wants to proudly proclaim to Valley voters that they aren’t afraid to fight medical tyranny. That sort of thing can play well in an election year like this one. (4/4)
Los Angeles Times:
Congress Says It's Liberalizing Pot Research Laws. What Pot Researchers Really Need Is Money
Despite some recent baby steps, the untangling of the federal government’s enduring and preposterous opposition to cannabis as a medicine or recreational substance is going to take a long, long time. Nevertheless, I was delighted to read that the Senate had recently passed a bipartisan legislation loosening rules about cannabis research, “Cannabidiol and Marihuana Research Expansion Act.” (The strange spelling has an unfortunate historical precedent.) That is, until I spoke to a well-known cannabis researcher and a couple of attorneys who have sued the federal government on her behalf. (Robin Abcarian, 4/6)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Learning To Embrace The Return To ‘Normal’ As Schools Go Maskless
At a recent school musical, where parents and kids gathered indoors for more than an hour, I noticed — to my astonishment — that most attendees in the audience weren’t wearing masks. I shouldn’t have been surprised. Indoor mask mandates in California schools lifted in mid-March, a month after indoor mask mandates (outside of schools) had also been dropped, due to falling cases and hospitalizations. (Vanessa Hua, 4/7)