Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Watch: The Politics of Health Care in California
California Healthline senior correspondent Angela Hart discussed the most pressing health care issues in California with the nonpartisan group Democracy Winters in mid-November, touching on a variety of issues, from the state’s effort to transform its Medicaid program to its plan to produce generic insulin. ( )
Covid Stress Has Aged Teenagers' Brains Faster Than Normal, Study Finds: A Stanford University study published Thursday found that stress from the covid-19 pandemic prematurely aged adolescents’ brains, making them more like those of peers about three years older. Read more from Bay Area News Group and USA Today.
Cannabis Edibles Blamed For 10 Ailing Students: Ten Los Angeles students appear to have overdosed on cannabis edibles Thursday at Van Nuys Middle School in the San Fernando Valley, officials said. The students were in mild to moderate distress, and some were taken to hospitals. Read more from AP and the LA Daily News.
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
Sacramento Bee:
California Sees COVID-19 Numbers Rise To Start December. Is A Winter Surge Inevitable?
As California enters its third December of the coronavirus pandemic, several key indicators of COVID-19 spread are again surging. (McGough, 12/1)
San Francisco Chronicle:
California COVID Cases, Hospitalizations Rising At Same Rate As Prior Surges
California is seeing a sustained rise in coronavirus cases and hospitalizations, with numbers climbing at the same alarming rate that the state experienced ahead of previous COVID-19 surges. Nearly a year to the day after the first case of the omicron variant in the United States was identified in a San Francisco resident, the daily number of newly reported cases in the state has climbed to 5,466, up 157% from a month earlier. More worryingly, new hospital admissions of patients with confirmed COVID are at 3,793, up 133% over the same period, according to health department data published Thursday. (Vaziri and Kawahara, 12/1)
Times Of San Diego:
COVID-19 Cases Jump More Than 25% In November, Exceeding 10,000
Local COVID-19 cases will surpass 10,000 for the month of November, far exceeding the 7,482 cases recorded in October. San Diego County health officials reported Thursday that they recorded 3,455 new cases in the seven-day period that ended Monday. (12/1)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
San Diego Hospitals Starting To See More Patients With COVID-19
As December arrives, coronavirus-related hospitalizations are on the rise in San Diego County, mimicking trends at the state and national level. (Sisson, 12/1)
Orange County Register:
Coronavirus: Here’s How Many Patients Are In Hospitals With COVID-19 As Of Nov. 30
The California Department of Public Health’s COVID-19 dashboard for every county in the state is reporting an uptick in positive patients hospitalized in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Bernardino counties. (Snibbe, 12/1)
Los Angeles Times:
L.A. County COVID Surge Raises Prospect Of Indoor Mask Order
Coronavirus case and hospitalization rates have risen dramatically in Los Angeles County, which on Thursday reentered the medium COVID-19 community level for the first time since the end of the summer Omicron wave. The increasing rates of hospitalization — which are so rapid they are coming as a surprise to officials — raise the prospect of a return to an indoor mask mandate in L.A. County in the coming weeks, based on previously established criteria by local public health officials. But it remains uncertain whether that threshold will be met. (Lin II and Money, 12/1)
CNBC:
Long Covid Costs Patients An Average $9,000 A Year In Medical Expenses
Long Covid has affected as many as 23 million Americans to date — and it’s poised to have a financial impact rivaling or exceeding that of the Great Recession. By one estimate, the chronic illness will cost the U.S. economy $3.7 trillion, with extra medical costs accounting for $528 billion. (Iacurci, 12/1)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Long COVID May Cost The U.S. Economy $3.7 Trillion
About 23 million Americans are living with long COVID, which could cost the U.S. economy trillions of dollars, according to estimates by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed by CNBC. Up to 30% of Americans who have gotten COVID-19 have developed long-haul symptoms, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (Vaziri and Kawahara, 12/1)
The Desert Sun:
Western Riverside County Child Dies From Flu-Associated Illness
Riverside County Public Health announced Thursday that a child from western Riverside County is the first reported flu-associated death in the county this year. (Sasic, 12/1)
The Bakersfield Californian:
Public Health: Flu, RSV And COVID-19 Circulating At 'Higher Than Usual' Levels
The Kern County Public Health Services Department, citing the state's Department of Public Health, on Thursday warned that flu, respiratory syncytial virus and COVID-19 are "circulating at levels higher than usual for this time of year and are expected to continue to increase." (12/1)
Modesto Bee:
Do I Have Cold, Flu, RSV Or COVID? Here Are Viruses In CA.
It’s inevitable — you’re either the one coughing and sneezing or you’re hearing sniffles and the blowing of noses from across the room. Wintertime brings unpleasant illnesses, and this time around there are several viruses that are circulating in California. How do you know if your congestion is the common cold, flu, COVID-19 or respiratory syncytial virus, better known as RSV? (Truong, 12/1)
FedScoop:
VA Admits To Improperly Disclosing COVID-19 Vaccine Data For 500,000 Staff
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has admitted that it failed to adequately protect COVID-19 vaccination status data for about 500,000 of its employees. Following an internal investigation by the VA’s Data Breach Response Service, the agency removed a spreadsheet containing personal details including vaccination status, according to a notice sent to the agency’s bargaining unit employees that was obtained by FedScoop. Federal Times first reported about the data breach. (Krishan, 11/30)
Roll Call:
VA Health Care Funds, Military Vaccine Rule Gum Up Omnibus Talks
Democrats were prepping a counteroffer on a fiscal 2023 omnibus framework Thursday, as negotiators contended with a range of divisive issues, such as how to treat veterans medical care spending and the military’s requirement for servicemembers to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. (Quigley, McPherson and Krawzak, 12/1)
San Francisco Business Journal:
Blue Shield Of California Plans Layoff Of 373 Across State, 150 In Sacramento Region
Blue Shield of California is planning a layoff of hundreds of employees across the state next month, the bulk of whom are in the Sacramento region, according to state records. (Hamann, 12/1)
USA Today:
Pediatric Surgery Is Less Common For Children Of Color, Study Finds
Latino, Black and Asian children are less likely to undergo elective surgeries compared to white children, according to a recent study. The study, published in the Journal of Pediatric Surgery, analyzed data on more than 200,000 children from a national health survey of parents. Roughly 10,000 of those children reportedly underwent surgery. (Hassanein, 12/2)
The Hill:
HHS Allows Those Living With Hep B, HIV To Join Public Service
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) on Thursday announced it will be expanding eligibility for the U.S. Public Health Service (USPHS) Commissioned Corps to include people who have chronic hepatitis B and HIV. (Choi and Weixel, 12/1)
San Francisco Chronicle:
S.F. Reported Baby Overdose: What Are The Protocols For Giving Children Narcan?
A report that San Francisco paramedics administered Narcan to a 10-month-old boy who ingested fentanyl raises questions about use of the overdose medicine on children. Why would paramedics think to use Narcan for a child? Is that safe? Did they have other options? (Echeverria, 12/1)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Will A Baby’s Reported Fentanyl Overdose Wake Up SF Leaders?
City Hall leaders said they are outraged by the reported fentanyl overdose of a baby at a Marina playground Tuesday and vowed to step up San Francisco’s response to its escalating drug crisis in light of the disturbing incident. Officials said they could not independently confirm all the reported details of the incident, which is still under investigation. (Morris, Moench and Vainshtein, 12/1)
Sacramento Bee:
Yuba Sheriff: Jail Inmate Died Of Fentanyl Poisoning
A Northern California jail inmate died last month of fentanyl poisoning, sheriff’s officials announced following the completion of a toxicology report. The inmate, identified as Matthew D. Perez, suffered a medical emergency at the Yuba County Jail in Marysville on Nov. 2, the Yuba County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release. (McGough, 12/1)
Stat:
'Tranq' Is Leaving Drug Users With Horrific Wounds. It's Spreading.
The volunteers were handing out the staples of harm reduction: safe injection and smoking kits, condoms, and Narcan, the opioid overdose reversal medication. Down the line, they were distributing hats, socks, coats, and blankets to the people who use drugs who came to this outreach event on a recent Saturday, a bright, cold morning a few days before Thanksgiving. Just before the final table, where two mothers who had lost children to overdoses were passing out sandwiches, was evidence of the latest evolution in the increasingly dangerous U.S. drug supply. A wound care station. (Joseph, 12/2)
Axios:
Year-End Package Could Increase Access To Addiction Treatment
A bipartisan bill to increase access to treatment for opioid addiction has a good chance of being rolled into a year-end package during the lame-duck session, congressional aides tell Axios. Advocates point to federal data showing only one in 10 people with opioid use disorder receive medication for it. (Sullivan, 12/2)
CapRadio:
City And County Of Sacramento Reach ‘Long Overdue’ Deal On Addressing Homelessness
Following years of criticism that the city and county of Sacramento haven’t worked close enough to solve the region’s homelessness crisis, the two local governments on Thursday announced what one official described as a “long overdue” deal to coordinate efforts to fight the growing problem. Called the Homeless Services Partnership Agreement, the deal would fund up to 600 new homeless shelter beds and pay for joint city-county outreach teams to visit encampments. Those teams for the first time would include mental health professionals who could diagnose people on-the-spot and refer them for mental health or addiction treatment. (Nichols, 12/1)
Sacramento Bee:
Sacramento Homeless Agreement Calls For Shelter, Services
The city and county of Sacramento finally have a deal outlining each agency’s responsibilities for addressing homelessness, potentially ending a long-running impasse between them. (Clift, 12/1)
San Francisco Chronicle:
California's Winter Storm Is Deadly To SF's Homeless Population
Aly May and Rico Mallida sat cross-legged inside their waterlogged tent in a Tenderloin alleyway early Thursday, warming their hands over a small flame burning an eye-stinging mix of wax and hand sanitizer. “Last night was one of the coldest I have spent in San Francisco,” said May, 32, her thin frame bundled in several coats. (Mishanec and Lee, 12/1)
WHIO TV:
988 Mental Health Hotline Back Online After Widespread Outage
The nation’s new 988 hotline, intended to help anyone experiencing a mental health emergency, was out of service for several hours Thursday, the Associated Press reported. The hotline is now back up for those in crisis. Those who were trying to reach the line for help with suicide, depression, or other mental health crises were greeted with a message that says the line is “experiencing a service outage.” (12/2)
The Washington Post:
Parents allege ‘overly punitive’ Stanford discipline led to soccer star’s suicide
The lawsuit comes as college students report suffering higher rates of depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation. At least nine Stanford students have died by suicide since 2019, the complaint said. It argued that the prestigious university’s high-achieving students have perfectionist tendencies that result in heightened pressure and stress. (Shammas, 12/1)
Bloomberg:
Holiday Stress Is Surgeon General Vivek Murthy's Next Challenge
Murthy on Dec. 1 announced a series of online sessions in partnership with Calm, a mindfulness app. Called “Mindfulness Tools,” the series of five YouTube videos are designed to target holiday stress and loneliness, among other sources of chaos and instability. Murthy said stressors such as loneliness and instability far predate the Covid-19 pandemic, which only exacerbated existing pain points. (Adegbesan, 12/1)
Los Angeles Times:
Anti-Vaccination Propaganda Is Threatening Your Health
In the modern world and our modern society, there can be no excuse for an outbreak of measles. The disease can be lethal for young children, but they can be protected by a vaccination administered to 1-year-olds that is more than 93% effective. Yet America is once again facing a measles surge. In Columbus, Ohio, an outbreak in daycare centers and schools is now at 44 cases and has been spreading rapidly. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention counts 55 cases nationwide this year, as of Nov. 24. That’s the highest total since 2019, following a pattern that points to an even larger outbreak in coming months. (Michael Hiltzik, 11/30)
East Bay Times:
Examine The Causes Of Nation's Youth Mental Health Crisis
The tragedies keep mounting, here and across the country. Yet despite the long-term decline in youth mental health prompting the U.S. surgeon general’s declaration last December of a crisis, little attention has been paid to the underlying causes of this growing national epidemic. (David Labaree and Deborah Malizia, 12/2)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
State, Federal Governments Must Do More In Fentanyl Crisis
If and when the fentanyl epidemic finally crests and recedes, historians will look back in amazement at how long it took government at all levels to ramp up a response to the deadliest drug crisis in U.S. history. (12/1)
Los Angeles Daily News:
‘Housing First’ Is A Failed Approach To Chronic Homelessness In California
Every poll shows that Californians list homelessness as a top concern, and the posturing by politicians has reached theatrical proportions. (Susan Shelley, 11/30)
The New York Times:
Homelessness In California Is Dire. Here's How You Can Help.
There are now about 174,000 people in the state without a place to live, according to a recent analysis by CalMatters, and the number is rising at an alarming rate, even while California’s overall population has recently declined. (Farhad Manjoo, 12/2)
CalMatters:
Will California Meet The Moment On Homelessness?
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is fond — perhaps overly so — of the phrase “meet the moment.” It translates roughly into willingness to handle pressing issues and, of course, he uses it mostly to describe his own resolve. (Dan Walters, 11/30)