San Francisco Chronicle: U.S. Public Health Emergency Renewed For The Last Time
Xavier Becerra, Secretary of Health and Human Services, on Thursday renewed the COVID-19 public health emergency order in the U.S. for what is expected to be the last time. (Vaziri, 2/9)

CNN: HHS Secretary Sends Letter To State Governors On What's To Come When Covid-19 Public Health Emergency Ends
On Thursday, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra sent a letter and fact sheet to state governors detailing what exactly the end of the emergency declaration will mean for jurisdictions and their residents. (Howard, 2/9)

KQED: How To Find A Free COVID Test Near You In 2023 (Because It's Getting Harder)
Finding it harder to get a COVID-19 test lately? You’re not alone. California's pandemic state of emergency is set to end on Feb. 28, and President Biden recently announced that the federal emergency status for the nation will end May 11. (Johnson, 2/9)

Capital & Main: The Untold Story Of COVID’s Impact On California’s Mental Health
The pandemic’s effect on Americans’ mental health was almost axiomatic. From the beginning, the uncertainty about COVID 19’s spread and ever-rising death toll, paired with lockdowns that left tens of millions jobless or facing severe income cutbacks, produced waves of anxiety and depression across the country — at levels four times those reported in 2019. (Kreidler, 2/9)

CalMatters: Hunger Spike Feared As Food Stamp Boosts End In April
Food banks across California are bracing for a feared spike in hunger amid inflated prices after a pandemic-era boost in food aid ends in April. March is the last month CalFresh recipients will get the additional benefits, as the federal government cuts off the “emergency allotments” that have kept food stamp allowances higher than usual for nearly three years now. (Kuang, 2/9)

Times Of San Diego: Weekly COVID-19 Cases Dip To 1,714 As County Prepares To End Emergency Declaration
COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations are currently on the decline in the county. For the week ending Feb. 4, 2023, the local COVID-19 report shows: 1,714 COVID-19 new cases reported in the past seven days. The region’s total is now 978,824. (2/9)

The Hill: CDC Adds COVID Vaccine To Routine Immunization Schedule For Kids, Adults 
COVID-19 vaccines are now included among the routine shots recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for children, adolescents and adults. The 2023 list includes shots for the flu, measles mumps and rubella, polio, and other inoculations. (Weixel, 2/9)

Axios: Australian Researchers Find Protein In Lung That Blocks COVID Infection
Australian scientists announced Friday they've discovered a protein in the lung that sticks to the COVID-19 virus like Velcro and forms a natural protective barrier in a person's body to block infection. (Falconer, 2/10)

Los Angeles Times: California's Wet Winter Could Mean More Ticks This Year Or Next
“The longer and more rain usually means ticks are out for longer,” said Dan Salkeld, an ecologist at Colorado State University and a scientific advisor for the Bay Area Lyme Foundation. “Having a good rainy wet season is going to be good for ticks.” (Toohey, 2/9)

Scripps: Norovirus Spreading Across The US, CDC Data Shows
Cases of norovirus are climbing in the U.S., according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. At the beginning of the year, state health departments reported 25 outbreaks. That's nearly double the amount of outbreaks reported at the beginning of 2022.While higher than in 2022, the CDC says the latest numbers are still consistent with trends over the last decade. The agency notes that the peak season for norovirus is from December to March. (2/9)

NBC News: Norovirus Spreading In 2023: Symptoms And How The Virus Transmits
Norovirus appears to be at a seasonal high, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The rate of norovirus tests coming back positive, averaged over three weeks, exceeded 15% at the end of last week. That’s the highest recorded since late March 2022. (Varinsky, 2/9)

CBS News: U.S. To Test Shots Against Bird Flu Outbreak, As Biden Administration Weighs Poultry Vaccinations
Federal scientists are gearing up to test the first vaccines in poultry against bird flu in years, as Biden administration officials say they have now begun weighing an unprecedented shift in the U.S. strategy to counter the growing outbreak. The move comes amid mounting concern over the threat posed by the ongoing spread of highly pathogenic avian influenza over the past few years, which has devastated flocks of wild and commercial birds around the continent. (Tin, 2/9)

AP: In GOP-Held Florida, Biden Vows No Cuts To Social Security
With an eye toward the 2024 campaign, President Joe Biden took direct aim at Republicans who have floated cuts to Social Security and Medicare — telling an audience in Florida on Thursday that he would create a “nightmare” for anyone who dreamed of trying them. Venturing into a state defined by its growing retiree population and status as the unofficial headquarters of the modern-day Republican Party, the president sees a chance to use Social Security and Medicare to drive a wedge between GOP lawmakers and their base of older voters who rely on these government programs for income and health insurance. (Kim, Boak and Peoples, 2/10)

The Hill: McConnell Says Sunsetting Social Security, Medicare Is A ‘Rick Scott Plan’ Only 
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-K.Y.) said in an interview on Thursday a proposed initiative to sunset Social Security and Medicare was not a “Republican plan,” but one proposed and supported only by fellow Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.). Scott, who was unsuccessful in his run against McConnell for the top seat in the National Republican Senatorial Committee, proposed a plan in 2022 to sunset all federal legislation after five years, forcing Congress to reauthorize them. (Oshin, 2/9)

CNN: Fact Check: Sen. Rick Scott Keeps Repeating A Debunked Claim About Biden And Medicare
Scott made the claim both in an interview with “CNN This Morning” co-anchor Kaitlan Collins on Thursday morning and in a television ad he released online on Wednesday. The ad came out the morning after Biden used part of his State of the Union address to warn Americans about Scott’s proposal to require “all” federal laws, which would include Medicare, to expire after five years if they are not renewed by Congress; Biden repeated this warning in a speech in Tampa on Thursday. (Dale, 2/9)

NPR: Medicare Announces Plan To Recoup Billions From Drug Companies
Medicare's historic plan to slow prescription drug spending is taking shape. Thursday federal health officials released proposed guidance that outlines the first of a pair of major drug price reforms contained in the Inflation Reduction Act. Those reforms are projected to save Medicare roughly $170 billion over the next decade. President Joe Biden touted the effort underway earlier this week in his State of the Union address. "We're taking on powerful interests to bring your health care costs down so you can sleep better at night," he said. (Walker and Gorenstein, 2/9)

Stat: Generics Makers Fought Drug Price Reform, But May End Up Benefiting
Generic drugmakers lobbied hard against Democrats’ new law empowering Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices. Giving the government such power seemed like an admission that generic medicines don’t do enough to keep costs down. Now that the changes are law, however, industry experts and lobbyists acknowledge the package is more of a mixed bag for generics makers like Teva and Sandoz, not an existential threat. (Wilkerson, 2/10)

Stat: Senate Panel Passes Drug Patent Reforms, But Not Without Dissent
The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday passed legislation to prevent drug companies from gaming the patent system to delay competition from cheaper generics, but members in both parties said they still have concerns about the reforms. (Wilkerson, 2/9)

San Francisco Chronicle: 'A Ticket To Nowhere': Thousands Are Brought To S.F. Hospitals Involuntarily. Then What Happens?
Dr. Scott Tcheng was shocked to hear the number: People suffering from mental illness in San Francisco were brought to city hospitals on temporary, involuntary holds more than 13,600 times over a recent 12-month period. The emergency room doctor who works at several hospitals sees people struggling with mental illness or drug-induced psychosis return repeatedly, sometimes brought against their will. Tcheng knew the number for involuntary holds would be high – but not that high. (Moench, 2/9)

The Bakersfield Californian: County Tries New Ways To Address 911 Calls 
In an effort to reduce response times and cut costs post-pandemic, Kern County’s public health providers are introducing new methods to help people who call 911. (Donegan, 2/9)

Berkeleyside: Pharmaca Closing Stores After Walgreens Buys Pharmacy Chain
The Pharmaca on Solano Avenue in Berkeley is closing after an acquisition deal that will shutter all 22 of the pharmacy chain’s stores in California, including the location in Oakland’s Rockridge neighborhood. Both the Berkeley and Rockridge locations are closing their pharmacies Thursday and their retail operations by Feb. 25. (Furio, 2/9)

Reuters: U.S. Investigating Elon Musk's Neuralink Over Hazardous Pathogens 
The U.S. Department of Transportation said on Thursday it is investigating Elon Musk's brain-implant company Neuralink over the potentially illegal movement of hazardous pathogens. (Levy, 2/9)

San Diego Union-Tribune: NuVasive Acquired By Rival Globus Medical In $3.1B Deal 
Long-time San Diego spine surgery technology company NuVasive is being acquired by rival Globus Medical in an all-stock deal valued at $3.1 billion. (Freeman, 2/9)

Los Angeles Times: Woman Died From Fentanyl Overdose While At Riverside County Sobering Center, According To Lawsuit 
Melissa Bauman, who had grappled with drug addiction for years, was ready to get clean when she called her mother for help last summer. Karri Ryder said her 24-year-old daughter had started using fentanyl, a highly potent synthetic opioid. The two agreed that Bauman should get help at a sobering center. A few days after Bauman checked into a Riverside County rehab center, Ryder learned her daughter was found dead in her dorm room. Bauman died from an apparent overdose, according to a wrongful death lawsuit filed against the facility on Wednesday. (Solis, 2/9)

CapRadio: Sacramento’s Stopgap Homeless Shelter Closed Amid This Winter’s Storms — And May Not Reopen
An outdoor homeless shelter that was considered a stopgap in Sacramento’s efforts to provide immediate relief for unhoused residents has been shut down since early January. Its future remains in limbo. For much of the past year, the Miller Regional Park safe ground, located west of Interstate 5 near downtown along the Sacramento River, allowed people experiencing homelessness to legally camp in one of 60 tents or live in their vehicle in dozens of available parking spaces. In a city where shelters are typically full, it was a go-to spot for people in need because it typically had extra capacity. (Nichols, 2/9)

Los Angeles Times: Exide Lead Cleanup Leaves Fear And Frustration In Its Wake
California’s largest and most expensive environmental cleanup has failed to properly remove lead pollution from some homes and neighborhoods near a notorious battery recycler in southeast Los Angeles County, leaving residents at continued risk, a Times investigation shows. Six years after the California Department of Toxic Substances Control embarked on a massive remediation effort around the shuttered Exide plant, numerous homes targeted for cleanup have been left with concentrations in excess of state health standards. (Briscoe, Garrison and Ylanan, 2/10)

USA Today: US Suicide Rate Increases To Pre-Pandemic Levels: CDC
Suicide rates increased and disparities widened in 2021, returning to pre-pandemic rates after two years of decline, a federal analysis found. Notably, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analysis found the rate of suicide among American Indian and Alaska Native people increased 26% from 2018, followed by Black and Hispanic people, who saw 19.2% and 6.8% increases respectively. (Hassanein, 2/9)

U.S. News & World Report: Suicide Rates Have Risen Among People Of Color
New research shows disproportionate increases in suicide rates have occurred among people of color over recent years, while the rate of such deaths among whites has notably fallen. (Johnson, 2/9)

Los Angeles Times: I'd Braced Myself To Cover Mass Shootings. My First Was In My Own Community
He was walking by himself, in no particular direction. Then the corner of his eye caught the sun and glinted for a moment — an unfallen tear. My colleague had approached him, asking if he lived nearby. He shook his head, replied, “No” and kept moving. “Would you mind if I tried talking to him?” I asked, and she urged me on. It was Jan. 22, and we were in Monterey Park the day after a mass shooting had stolen the lives of 11 people, devastating a mostly Chinese community in the process. (Lin, 2/9)

Capitol Weekly: Developmental Disabilities System Needs Sustained Funding 
With a critically important mission, California’s developmental disabilities services system serves nearly 400,000 individuals or about 1 percent of the state’s population. Through 21 community-based regional centers funded with state and federal dollars, individuals and their families have access to professionals who connect them to services and resources to meet their unique needs. Service for these individuals starts at the regional center, making them the vital link between individuals, their families, and the services they need to support them in all stages of life. (Amy Westling, 2/7)

San Francisco Chronicle: America Is Back To Normal After COVID — Except For This
As last week’s announcement by the Biden administration — that it intends to end the national and public health emergency declarations for addressing COVID-19 — makes clear: when it comes to the pandemic, we are no longer in a state of emergency. Nearly every part of society has returned to normal, with a few exceptions. (Dr. Jeanne Noble, Dr. Shira Doron and Dr. Leslie Bienen, 2/9)

The Mercury News: California Lawsuit May Pave Way For Equitable Access To Housing
Families and individuals, particularly those with low incomes, are increasingly being left behind in a housing marketplace where racial and income discrimination run rampant. Last month, the state of California filed a lawsuit that might just pave the way for ensuring equitable access to housing for all Americans. Earlier in January, California’s Civil Rights Department filed its first-ever lawsuit under the state’s 2020 prohibition against what’s known as source of income discrimination: the practice of refusing to rent to a tenant just because they use a housing voucher or other form of nontraditional income to pay rent. (Jacqueline Waggoner, 2/8)

The Desert Sun: Coachella Valley's Mental Health Crisis Has A Fix; Apply For Funds
The desert region of Riverside County is experiencing a behavioral and mental health crisis. Check that. It’s been experiencing a crisis. For too long. (Leticia De Lara and Conrado E. Barzaga, 2/10)

Los Angeles Times: The Abortion Issue Hurt Republicans In 2022. So Why Would They Double Down In 2024?
At a recent gathering in Orange County, Republican leaders did something strange: They effectively urged the party’s candidates to charge headlong into a political buzz saw. Specifically, the Republican National Committee passed a resolution calling on GOP contestants to “go on offense” on the abortion issue and recommended state and federal lawmakers “pass the strongest pro-life legislation possible,” such as banning the procedure before many women even know they are pregnant. (Mark Z. Barabak, 2/9)