Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
'My Children Were Priceless Jewels': Three Families Reflect on the Health Workers They Lost
The daughter of an internist in the Bronx, the father of a nurse practitioner in Southern California and the son of a nurse in McAllen, Texas, share how grief over their loved ones' deaths from covid has affected them. (Danielle Renwick, The Guardian, )
Two Variants Identified In LA County For First Time: Two coronavirus variants thought to be more transmissible or resistant to vaccines than their predecessors have been found in Los Angeles County for the first time. Health officials identified one case of B.1.351, also referred to as the South African variant, and three cases of P.1, a mutation first identified in Brazil. Read more from the Los Angeles Times. Continued coverage, below.
A Dangerous Time To Be On the Roads: Pedestrian deaths were up in California last year, preliminary figures show. Traffic deaths were up, too, yet people drove much less during the coronavirus pandemic. The problem: People who did drive went faster on the more open roads. And more people drove impaired. Read more from The Sacramento Bee.
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 Diego Union-Tribune:
State Eases Reopening Guidelines If Hospitalizations Remain Stable
The California Department of Public Health amended its reopening blueprint Thursday, adding local hospitalization rates to the calculus that determines whether or not a county will drop out of its current tier if its case rate spikes. It is a tacit acknowledgement that cases, in and of themselves, just do not mean what they used to before a large percentage of the state’s most at-risk individuals were vaccinated. Studies have increasingly shown that severe illness and hospitalization are much less likely among the vaccinated. (Sisson, 4/8)
Southern California News Group/Daily Breeze:
LA County’s COVID-19 Hospitalizations Remain Below 600
Los Angeles County health officials reported 52 new coronavirus-related deaths and 710 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, April 8. Fewer than 600 remained hospitalized due to the disease and cases among pregnant women declined, official said. The trajectory is being closely watched as the June 15 date approaches for what could be a full statewide reopening in California.Gov. Gavin Newsom has declared that the coronavirus outbreak could largely be over by June. (Littlejohn, 4/8)
The Bakersfield Californian:
County Begins Tracking COVID-19 Variants
The Kern County Public Health Services Department announced Thursday that it will begin tracking COVID-19 variants on its online dashboard that monitors the virus’ progression. There have now been six cases of the B.1.1.7 variant in Kern County, according to an email from the public health department. As of mid-week there were 980 total in California, the news release stated. (4/8)
Capital & Main:
Health Experts: 'A Race Between The Variants And The Vaccine’ Amid A Surge
Despite declining case numbers overall, the grand notion of finally getting past COVID-19 and back to a sense of normalcy in California is suddenly on pause. The goal from health officials is ominously more prosaic than it was a month ago: hunker down to avoid the worst of the possible damage from a cluster of variants of the virus that have the capacity to spread rapidly. “Right now, we are in a race between the variants and the vaccine,” Dr. Sara Cody, Santa Clara County’s chief health officer, told a news conference late last week. “If we cannot get more vaccine supply, and if we can’t get continued adherence to behavioral change, we do anticipate that we’ll have another surge.” (Kreidler, 4/7)
KQED:
After Pandemic Disaster, California Looks To Solve Longstanding Nursing Home Problems
It's been a year of trauma and loss in California's long-term care homes, where thousands of COVID-related deaths occurred. The scourge of COVID-19 helped spotlight longstanding problems in the skilled nursing industry, and advocates across the political spectrum say nursing homes are now at a crossroads, as state and federal lawmakers put forward legislation to support care workers and reform the way these facilities are run. (4/8)
Southern California News Group:
Former Disneyland Annual Passholders Complain About Lack Of Priority Ticket Access For Parks’ Return
Disneyland annual passholders accustomed to VIP treatment will miss out on the biggest perk of them all: Priority access to purchase theme park tickets and make advance reservations for the reopening of Disney’s Anaheim theme parks after a yearlong coronavirus closure. After blaming the death of the four decade-old annual pass program on the COVID-19 pandemic and promising to shower love on former annual passholders, Disneyland has left some members of its most loyal fan base feeling forgotten when it comes to advance reservations and ticket sales for the April 30 reopening of the parks. (MacDonald, 4/8)
The Wall Street Journal:
Disneyland’s Sanitized Reopening Plan Is More Digital, Less Hands-On
When he took over Walt Disney Co.'s theme-park division last May, Josh D’Amaro had an unusual asset: a vacated Disneyland. The 66-year-old Southern California park had been closed since March of last year, when Covid-19 swept across the U.S., and would remain inactive even as Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., resumed operations in July at limited capacity. (Schwartzel, 4/8)
Bay Area News Group:
COVID Economy: California Unemployment Claims Rocket Higher
Unemployment claims in California last week rocketed to their highest level in three months, the government reported Thursday, marking a grim setback for the battered job market statewide. California workers filed 145,400 initial claims for unemployment during the week that ended April 3, an increase of 39,000 from the prior week, the U.S. Labor Department said. Nationwide, jobless claims totaled 744,000 last week, up 16,000 from the week before, according to the Labor Department report. California now accounts for about one of every five of the jobless claims filed nationwide, this news organization’s analysis of the Labor Department report shows. (Avalos, 4/8)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Amid Rise In Violence, Asian American Community Leaders Want S.F. To Help Victims
Asian American community advocates urged San Francisco officials on Thursday to fill gaps in public safety and victim services, especially for non-English speakers, amid a rash of violence. Supervisor Gordon Mar held a hearing Thursday to discuss the alarming attacks over the past year that have left Asian Americans injured and traumatized — and in one case resulted in the death of an 84-year-old Thai man. Mar said he was committed to funding public safety, such as victim services, in the upcoming budget. Using his power as chair of the committee that held the hearing, he tasked multiple departments with creating a citywide violence prevention plan by the end of May before another hearing in June. (Moench, 4/8)
San Francisco Chronicle:
California Vaccine Supply Will Fall 15% Next Week, Just As Demand Is Expected To Surge
California expects to receive fewer doses of coronavirus vaccine for the next two weeks, just as the state is slated to see a surge in demand from millions of newly eligible people starting April 15. The state said its vaccine allocation from the federal government will drop 15%, from 2.4 million doses this week to 2 million doses next week, and dip another 5% the week after that to 1.9 million doses. (Ho, 4/8)
Los Angeles Times:
Long Beach Opens COVID Vaccine Access To Residents 16 And Up
Long Beach has become the latest jurisdiction to throw open the doors for widespread access to COVID-19 vaccines, announcing Thursday that it will start inoculating residents ages 16 and up. “Because of our progress, we feel comfortable and confident that we can begin now vaccinating the general population,” Mayor Robert Garcia said during a briefing. Walk-up appointments will be open for residents from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Saturday, at the Long Beach Convention Center, according to city officials. (Money and Lin II, 4/8)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Facebook Offers Menlo Park HQ As Vaccination Site For Underserved Communities
Many Facebook users have turned to the site during the pandemic to post and look up information about often hard to find vaccine appointments as people scramble for inoculation against the coronavirus. Now the social media giant is making it easier for some South Bay communities to get vaccinated for free on Saturdays at its Menlo Park headquarters, partnering with Ravenswood Family Health Network to distribute shots to underserved communities. (DiFeliciantonio, 4/9)
Los Angeles Times:
Cal State L.A. Vaccine Site Fills Fast After Opening Eligibility
For months they waited for the COVID-19 vaccine. On Thursday, their turn finally came. The mass vaccination site at Cal State Los Angeles opened up to any adult in Los Angeles County — a first for the region — and the lines quickly jammed with teenage college students and young professionals. Some showed up with their dogs, others rode in on skateboards or bikes. Many were with their parents and friends, eager to finally get some freedom from the pandemic. (Ramsey, 4/8)
LA Daily News:
Vaccine-Seekers Being Turned Away As Available Slots At Cal State LA Swiftly Fill Up
A huge surge in demand to gobble up available Johnson & Johnson vaccine blanketed Cal State Los Angeles’ mass immunization site on Thursday, April 8, forcing site managers to turn away people who caught word that the scarce serum was available without an appointment. Through the morning and into the afternoon, hundreds of people lined up early at the site, run by the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the California Office of Emergency Services. Bumper-to-bumper lines of vehicles stretched for blocks to and from the university campus for a one-dose chance to be immunized. (Carter, 4/8)
The Bakersfield Californian:
Drive-Thru Vaccine Clinic To Take Place At BC On Saturday
A drive-thru COVID-19 vaccine clinic will be held at Bakersfield College on Saturday. According to a news release from BC, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines will be distributed. Appointments are available at myturn.ca.gov. (4/8)
Bay Area News Group:
Want A COVID Shot Now? You May Have To Leave The Bay Area
Anxious for a COVID shot? The state will open appointments up to everyone in another week, but you may not even have to wait that long — if you’re willing to drive a few extra miles to get the jab. A handful of vaccination sites, faced with a surplus of shots, have opened their doors wide to all adults, regardless of age, employment status, medical history or where they live. All California adults 16 and older will be eligible starting April 15, but until then, demand for vaccinations and rules for who can get one vary widely from county to county and even clinic to clinic. That means finding an appointment has turned into something of an Easter egg hunt for determined Bay Area vaccine seekers, many of whom are too desperate to wait another week or worry shots will become even harder to come by once everyone in the state is eligible. Plus, the state has confirmed it expects its supply of vaccines to drop in the coming weeks, likely slowing first-dose appointments and adding to the anxiety. (Kendall, 4/8)
Sacramento Bee:
Will Californians Need A Vaccine Passport This Summer? It Depends On Where You Want To Go
This week, both President Joe Biden and Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administrations insisted they have no plans to implement a federal or state coronavirus vaccine passport program, although the concept remains popular in the private sector. A vaccine passport is a physical or digital document that displays whether someone is fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Critics say that such passports are a violation of privacy and an example of government overreach. Supporters point out that federal immigration law already requires that immigrants provide proof of vaccination status for several diseases. (Sheeler, 4/9)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Could You Get A 'Vaccine Passport' To Go To Hawaii? A Program Is In The Works
Hawaii may soon roll out a voluntary “vaccine passport” program that could make it easier for Bay Area travelers to visit the islands if they’re fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The strict travel measures enacted by Hawaii during the pandemic remain firmly in place. Under the Safe Travels Hawai’i program, visitors must either quarantine for 10 days or show a negative coronavirus test before travel. (Hwang, 4/8)
Capital Public Radio/KXJZ:
Homebound Californians Still Lack Options To Get COVID-19 Vaccine
There are an estimated 2 million homebound seniors. Experts say they’ll be among the hardest to reach with vaccine distribution, and health departments and nonprofits are looking for creative solutions. In most counties, people in need of in-home care have been near the top of the eligibility list since early in the vaccine roll-out. But there are likely still thousands of them trying to figure out how to access the shot. “There was a big emphasis on congregate settings where people lived together, and they were easily identifiable,” said Eric Dowdy, chief government affairs officer at LeadingAge California, an advocacy group serving older adults and their care providers. (Caiola, 4/8)
LA Daily News:
Setting The Record Straight On Vaccines
A multi-million-dollar bilingual education campaign to tackle vaccine hesitancy, disinformation, equity, access and fears has begun in South Central neighborhoods, backed by Kaiser Permanente and directed through two established and trusted nonprofits targeting Latino and African American communities. The $5 million grant is strictly for COVID-19 education and outreach nationwide and has become even more important in Southern California as Los Angeles County as millions more people become eligible for vaccine. (Love, 4/8)
Los Angeles Times:
L.A. School Reopenings Amid COVID: What To Know
The Los Angeles Unified School District will begin a phased-in reopening on Monday after more than a year of pandemic-forced school closures. The youngest elementary school students will be welcomed back to campus first. Middle and high school campuses will reopen on April 26. Supt. Austin Beutner has laid out the safety measures that will be in place. (Blume, 4/8)
Los Angeles Times:
Parents Sue LAUSD, Push For Wider Reopening, No COVID Tests
A group of parents — who say their children have been illegally shortchanged by Los Angeles Unified School District’s return-to-school plan — is seeking a court order to force the district to reopen “to the greatest extent possible” within seven days. The lawsuit, filed late Wednesday, asks the court to prohibit L.A. Unified from using a six-foot distancing standard in classrooms, while also seeking to bar the district from requiring students to take regular coronavirus tests as a condition for returning to campus. (Blume, 4/8)
Orange County Register:
Contrary To What Some Parents Heard, There Is No Mandate To Vaccinate Orange County Students
More than 150 parents, falsely convinced that the county planned to mandate COVID-19 vaccines for their teenagers without parental consent, showed up at an Orange County Board of Education to condemn the move. Except there is no such plan. It isn’t legal to mandate the COVID-19 vaccine, and there is no county goal of offering vaccines to minors without their parents’ consent. On Thursday – a day after the impassioned Board of Education meeting – Orange County’s Health director, Dr. Clayton Chau called a press conference to put an end to the rumors. “Nobody can mandate” vaccinations against the virus, Chau said. (Kopetman, 4/8)
Bay Area News Group/EdSource:
Vaccines On Tap For California’s Children, But What Do Parents Say?
Californians as young as 16 are next in line for the Covid-19 vaccine, potentially moving the state another step closer to reopening all schools for full-time in-person instruction. But whether vaccines help to reopen schools depends on whether parents are willing to get their children vaccinated. On April 15 eligibility for the vaccination will extend to Californians 16 and older. That minimum age could drop even lower in the coming months. Last week, Pfizer-BioNTech announced that its vaccine was “100 percent effective” and safe for children as young as 12. The company plans to ask the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to approve the vaccine for use in adolescents age 12-15 before the beginning of next school year. (Lambert, 4/9)
Bay Area News Group:
COVID-19 Vaccines Not Required At CSU Next Fall
California State University will not require employees and students at its 23 campuses, including CSU East Bay and San Jose State, to be vaccinated against COVID-19 this fall. Its decision comes as a small but growing number of colleges and universities are announcing plans to mandate vaccines to restore a sense of pre-pandemic normalcy this fall – but face political and legal challenges. (Krieger, 4/8)
Voice of San Diego:
The Learning Curve: Testing Requirements Dialed Down For California Schools This Year
Last year in the height of the pandemic, schools did not have to administer standardized tests at all. This year, California won’t be test-free, but it will be test-lite. Federal government officials have approved a plan that will allow California schools to opt out of Smarter Balanced statewide tests, which are mandatory in typical school years. Schools will only be allowed to opt out if administering the tests is “not viable,” because of the pandemic, according to a letter from U.S. Department of Education officials to California Department of Education officials obtained by Voice of San Diego. (Huntsberry, 4/8)
San Gabriel Valley Tribune:
Kaiser Workers Protest, Demanding Support During Pandemic
Kaiser Permanente workers held a protest Thursday at Los Angeles Medical Center, alleging the healthcare giant has slashed performance-sharing bonuses and provided scant support to overworked employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. Kaiser workers also held a protest Thursday at the company’s San Leandro Medical Center. The employees are represented by SEIU-United Healthcare Workers West., which includes 58,000 Kaiser employees. (Smith, 4/8)
The Bakersfield Californian:
Hall Ambulance Accepting Applicants For EMT Academy
Hall Ambulance is accepting applications for its next Hall Emergency Medical Services Academy, which starts June 15. According to a news release from Hall Ambulance, the academy will last about 12 weeks. The news release states that EMT students are full-time employees who earn a training-wage and learn everything they need to get started on the job. Training sessions take place at the Harvey L. Hall EMS Academy, an award-winning training facility, and consist of classroom and field-time presented in an accelerated format, according to the news release. (4/8)
Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
Top Santa Rosa Nursing Official Has Helmed Pandemic Safety, Testing And Vaccination Efforts
For Brandi Lazorek, the arc of the coronavirus pandemic across her professional life shows up in one clear way on her car’s dashboard: the odometer reading. She estimates she’s driven thousands of miles between hospitals and health clinics in Sonoma, Mendocino and Humboldt counties — trying to keep the nurses she works with safe, supplied and ready during each new battle in the war against the deadly virus. Lazorek is a Santa Rosa-based chief nursing officer and clinical operations director for Providence Medical Group’s Northern California region, which takes in sites in Lakeport, Ukiah and Eureka. The role has kept her on the road, outside of the strictest shut downs, and in the thick of a rollercoaster pandemic response for more than a year. (Graham, 4/8)
San Francisco Chronicle:
San Francisco Taps A New Homeless Department Chief As It Struggles With Unsheltered
San Francisco has hired a permanent director for its Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, a demanding and crucial position in a city that has long struggled to help its most vulnerable. Mayor London Breed announced Thursday that Shireen McSpadden, the current executive director of the Department of Disability and Aging Services, will take over May 1 and oversee a department with around $600 million in funding to help the city’s more than 8,000 homeless people. (Thadani, 4/8)
Sacramento Bee:
Sacramento, California Opens Homeless Safe Ground Camp
Days after opening its first “Safe Ground” community for homeless individuals, the city of Sacramento this week is launching a second site, this one for people living in their cars, campers and recreational vehicles. The new site is an overflow parking lot near the city’s Sacramento River marina in Miller Park, a mile from the existing initial city-authorized camping site on a parking lot next to the W-X freeway at Sixth and W streets. (Bizjak, 4/9)
Los Angeles Times:
Oceanside Approves Emergency Measures To Clean Up Homeless Camps
The Oceanside City Council unanimously approved an emergency motel voucher program and an anti-camping ordinance this week, both effective immediately and aimed at the tent communities growing along South Oceanside Boulevard and elsewhere. The two actions are designed to work together, staff members said. If the city can offer homeless individuals an available bed and support services, it can ticket them for “camping, sleeping, sitting, lying and storing personal property” in public places if they refuse to leave. (Diehl, 4/8)
Modesto Bee:
Turlock Plans To Sweep Homeless Camp, Offer Shelter Beds
The City of Turlock is set to sweep another homeless encampment on Wednesday, marking its second eviction since an official declared a local emergency on homelessness. Police and outreach workers plan to provide notice and offer services along West Glenwood Avenue one more time Tuesday, said Maryn Pitt, spokesperson for the homeless crisis response. (Lam, 4/9)
CNN:
My Family's Health Scare Taught Me The Value Of Affordable Health Care
I learned what it feels like to have health insurance the day my mother was rushed to the hospital. I remember our fear and worry. I remember my father moving swiftly, decisively. And I remember that there was no question or hesitation to take my mother to the hospital. My father, a construction worker with a sixth-grade education, had health insurance through his union, Laborers' Local 185 in Northern California. It meant we didn't have to make a choice between my mother's health and our family's financial stability. Growing up, my family didn't have much, but we did have access to health care -- and importantly, the peace of mind that comes with it. (Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra, 4/6)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Lots Of Good News On California Pandemic Front, With One Ominous Exception
Because he is likely to face a recall election this fall, everything Gov. Gavin Newsom does needs to be seen through the prism of his political needs. That makes it easy to be skeptical or cynical about his Tuesday announcement that the state of California would largely end pandemic restrictions on June 15 if low COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to be the norm and vaccine supplies are plentiful. Nonetheless, Newsom provided welcome context in his remarks by emphasizing that the present tier system — which places limits on how much counties can reopen based on pandemic metrics — would still be in place June 15 if the numbers get worse. “The data will make that determination,” he said. “It won’t be done on political whim.” (4/7)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Individual And Organizational Efforts Against COVID-19 Must Continue. Here's Why We Can't Let Our Guard Down.
There is welcome news for families, friends and colleagues who have been following public health orders for physical distancing over the past year-plus to protect themselves and others from possible transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. A month ago, on March 8, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued much-anticipated guidelines for individuals fully vaccinated against COVID-19. It allows them to commingle indoors with others who are fully vaccinated and visit with unvaccinated members of another household deemed low-risk for infection — such as children and grandchildren — even without masks or social distancing. (Eyal Oren and Cheryl Anderson, 4/8)
Bay Area News Group:
Vaccine Passports Needed Before Newsom's Reckless Reopening
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s move to reopen the state by June 15 must be accompanied by a vaccine passport system that ensures public gatherings don’t become venues for spreading coronavirus. Sadly, about 25% of adults nationally say they’ll refuse the vaccine. And about 20% of Californians still insist they will probably or definitely not get it. However misguided, that’s their right. But it’s not their right to put the rest of us at risk of a statewide COVID-19 resurgence when the governor lifts restrictions in two months. (4/8)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Newsom's Pledge To Reopen California Rushes Ahead Of The Data
There’s no doubt that Gov. Gavin Newsom’s vow Tuesday to fully reopen California’s economy was driven by data. The question is how much of it was polling data. Newsom’s emphasis on rapid reopening comes as he is fending off a recall attempt, which likely explains why his confidence about the waning coronavirus risk is getting ahead of statistics and experts. The politics of the moment favor lifting the state’s lifesaving but controversial restrictions on business activity, which helped propel the recall effort from the fringes to the mainstream. (4/6)
Voice of San Diego:
Our School Might Be Open, But Kids Are Still Missing Out On A Lot
As a parent of a student of the subject school, I feel Ashly McGlone’s article “One North County School Managed to Open and (Mostly) Stay Open,” is one-sided. It speaks to the positive aspects that the school and the administration have done to offer a hybrid in-person opportunity but not at all mention the reduction of the instruction time and the impact that will have on the goals for the academic year. The questions should have been raised and asked regarding the instructional impact as the students are getting less than half of their instruction time. When will that be made up? How will that be made up? What is the plan to get kids back on track for their academic goals, or are we changing the goals? (Michelle Golding, 4/5)
Bay Area News Group:
Seniors May Need CBD, But We Don’t Know How Safe It Is
For many of us, growing old means establishing a close relationship with physical pain. Muscles ache. Joints creak. Arthritis flares up. If the pain becomes too great, your natural instinct is to seek solutions. Those might come from recommendations, the internet or a local store. There, you might hear about CBD – or cannabidiol – which is derived from cannabis. Currently, there are a variety of CBD oils, gummies and supplements – and claims (thus far unsubstantiated) that they can cure a wide range of maladies, including pain. So, what’s the harm in trying CBD? (Danielle Piomelli, 4/8)
LA Daily News:
California Legislature Needs To Improve, Preserve End Of Life Option Act
Almost two years after I had first met her, she came to my clinic one final time. Lying down on a gurney, her right eye was covered with a shield and her blonde-brown hair was limp and shorter than before. Her body was half-covered with a soft green blanket that complimented her now one visible eye. She was no longer the feisty young woman I had cared for over the past two years, trying to find a cure for the disease that was ultimately going to kill her. (Chandana Banerjee, 4/6)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
San Diego's Sexual Health Programs Need Better Resources To Be Sustainable, Now And Post-Pandemic
We’re more than a year into the pandemic and COVID-19 has impacted nearly every facet of San Diegans’ lives. As our communities combat SARS-CoV-2 transmission across the city, we are simultaneously, and quite literally, in the fight of our lives against sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and HIV in the region. For the last five years, STDs have been on the rise in San Diego. So much so that in 2018, a study by AIDSVu found that residents of the San Diego metropolitan area were diagnosed with chlamydia at a rate of 656.5 per 100,000 people — bestowing America’s Finest City with the No. 1 chlamydia rate among major cities in the American West. (Susan Little, 4/7)
Los Angeles Times:
Living In An Encampment Shouldn't Put You First In Line For Homeless Housing
Homeless encampments have gotten a lot of attention in the last couple of weeks in Los Angeles. The city has about 41,000 homeless people, but encampments with dozens or even hundreds of inhabitants have particularly raised the ire of neighborhoods that see them — to varying degrees of accuracy — as magnets for trash, crime or fire, and as eyesores on sidewalks and in parks. In the days since the Echo Park Lake homeless encampment dwellers were moved out and the property fenced off, residents in several other neighborhoods have called for city officials to disband camps in their areas. (4/8)