San Francisco Chronicle: California Far Short Of Newsom’s Goal Of 1 Million Vaccinations In 10 Days
As California enters the final stretch of its 10-day sprint to inoculate a million more people against COVID-19, the state is far short of its goal — another potential blow to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s rollout of the coronavirus vaccine. To reach the million-vaccine target that Newsom has touted, health officials would have to get about 500,000 more shots into people’s arms by the end of Friday, quadrupling their pace of recent days. California had already administered nearly half a million doses total when the governor set his goal last week, and as of Wednesday, the total stood at 971,829, according to the state Department of Public Health. (Koseff, 1/14)

San Francisco Chronicle: Five Key Reasons For California’s Slow COVID Vaccine Rollout — And How It Could Be Fixed
California’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout is one of the slowest in the country. As of Thursday, more than 3.5 million vaccine doses had arrived in the state, but only 975,293 had actually been administered, according to the CDC. That’s about 28% of shots used, putting California close to last place in the U.S. At the top was West Virginia, with 74% of available doses already given out. California’s problems have seemed to compound since vaccine efficacies were announced in November and the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines received emergency use authorization from the FDA in December. (Hwang, 1/14)

Bay Area News Group: Soaring Demand Among California Seniors For COVID-19 Vaccines Causes Chaos 
Hours after debuting their respective COVID-19 vaccination appointment offerings on Thursday, two of California’s largest health care providers were inundated with a crush of anxious vaccine seekers, pushing their systems to the breaking point and raising questions about rollout readiness in the state .Sutter Health’s website crashed, and Kaiser Permanente’s phone line warned callers they may face up to four-hour wait times, leaving many of state’s seniors confused and frustrated. (Angst and Geha, 1/14)

The Bakersfield Californian: Hundreds Line Up For Vaccines At Bakersfield Pharmacy Offering Inoculations For Those 65 And Older 
They weren't camped out for rare concert tickets or standing in line for Black Friday deals on flat-screen TVs. Hundreds of gray- and white-haired seniors descended on Express Pharmacy's Brimhall Road location Thursday morning for something that could be a matter of life and death: A COVID-19 vaccine. (Mayer, 1/14)

LA Daily News: L.A. County Strives To Step Up Vaccines, But Seniors Told They’ll Have To Wait Until February 
Public health officials worked to clarify Los Angeles County’s coronavirus timetable on Thursday, Jan. 14, as many seniors found themselves confused over when exactly they could sign up for a vaccine — and why they must wait, likely for another month, for those  shots — after Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Wednesday they could get them immediately. Another 287 people, meanwhile, lost their lives to the outbreak, officials announced. (Rosenfeld and Bermont, 1/14)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. County Tells Providers Not To Throw Away Unused COVID-19 Vaccine
Los Angeles County leaders Thursday evening issued a statement clarifying an apparently confusing rule in the county’s vaccine plan: that healthcare providers should not throw away doses of COVID-19 vaccine that they opened for people who don’t show up for their appointments. “The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health does not condone wasting of any precious vaccine doses and has not and is not directing providers to throw away unused doses,” officials said in the statement. “In fact, we have moved swiftly to set up vaccine clinics on quick turnaround whenever we have learned of potential vaccine expirations.” The statement comes after two TMZ stories about a clinic in Inglewood that provided 150 doses of vaccine to people who didn’t meet the county’s criteria for vaccination. (Cosgrove, 1/14)

The Bakersfield Californian: Kern County Superintendent Of Schools Prepares To Get School Employees COVID-19 Vaccines 
School employees in Kern County are officially next in line to receive COVID-19 vaccinations. It’s been a long wait for some educators — and their students — who haven’t been back in their classrooms for almost a year, but the news is in some ways coming a little sooner than expected. “It’s ramping up fast,” said Kern County Superintendent of Schools spokesman Robert Meszaros. “We thought they wouldn’t be eligible until February.” (Gallegos, 1/14)

Los Angeles Times: L.A.'s Big Bet: Turning Dodger Stadium Into Mass COVID-19 Vaccine Site
The plan goes like this: Anyone eligible for a coronavirus vaccine will be able to drive to Dodger Stadium, roll down their car window and get an injection. About 12,000 people a day will get shots under the ambitious goals for what will probably be one of the country’s largest vaccination sites, set to open Friday at 8 a.m. As California officials rush to set up vaccination “super sites” at Dodger Stadium, Disneyland and other major landmarks in a bid to improve one of the country’s lowest per-capita vaccination rates, they’re facing even bigger hurdles than in the early days of mass coronavirus testing. (Lau and Nelson, 1/15)

NPR: As COVID-19 Ravages His Force, LAPD Chief Looks To Boost Confidence In Vaccine
The coronavirus is taking a heavy toll on the some 13,000 employees of the Los Angeles Police Department. To date, five officers have died due to complications related to COVID-19, and six are currently hospitalized, one in grave condition, according to police Chief Michel Moore. More than 2,000 Los Angeles police personnel have tested positive as of earlier this week. Like elsewhere in the country, the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine is already underway in Los Angeles. In an interview with NPR's All Things Considered, Moore says he is hopeful that police officers will start receiving them in the next 10 to 14 days. But also reflecting national trends, an informal survey by the Los Angeles police earlier this month found that 60% of the 9,500 respondents plan to get the vaccine when it is made available to them, while slightly more than 20% said they would not. Another 13% said they needed more information. (Chang and Pao, 1/14)

Fresno Bee: Can COVID-19 Vaccine Prevent Infecting Others? 
One of the Army’s chief scientists developing a COVID-19 vaccine often gets a question that is being asked by Americans across the country: Once a person is vaccinated, is it safe to visit parents and friends, or could they still infect them? “Unfortunately, we haven’t answered that question yet,” said Dr. Kayvon Modjarrad, director of Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research. “And so we have to operate on the assumption that you still have the ability to still have the virus and transmit, not get the disease, but be sort of a carrier.” (Copp and Wilner, 1/14)

inewsource: New Data Shows San Diego Among Worst Regions In US For COVID-19
New federal data shows San Diego County had the fourth most coronavirus cases and deaths in the past week compared to all other U.S. counties. But before you really panic, we’ll give you some context. The data, published daily by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, includes more than 3,200 U.S. counties and compares their coronavirus testing, case and death metrics. The numbers include all new cases in each county, regardless of how big the counties are. Once you factor in population, we ranked 467th in new infections during the past week. (Castellano, 1/14)

Fresno Bee: Fresno’s COVID-19 Cases Jump Again As Central Valley Hospitals Struggle For Resources
The California Department of Public Health on Thursday reported Fresno County added 627 new COVID-19 cases, bringing its total infections to 78,278 since the pandemic started. The county has recorded 846 deaths related to COVID-19 since March. The county’s 14-day test positivity average stands at 21.1%, according to the state. (Amaro, 1/14)

San Diego Union-Tribune: San Diego County Reaches 2,000 COVID-19 Deaths; Vaccine Trickles Out To Those 65 And Up 
San Diego County crossed yet another grim coronavirus milestone Thursday after reaching more than 2,000 COVID-19 deaths. The county confirmed 53 new deaths, bumping the region’s total to 2,005. That includes a 19-year-old male — the youngest San Diegan to die from the disease. Meanwhile, local health systems are dealing with overwhelming demand for the one tool that could help end the pandemic: a vaccine. (Wosen, 1/14)

San Diego Union-Tribune: UC San Diego Reports Big Surge In COVID-19 Infections Among Students Returning From Holidays 
UC San Diego says that 245 of its students have tested positive for COVID-19 since the winter quarter began on Jan. 4 — the kind of surge the university avoided last fall through a major testing and education campaign called “Return to Learn. ”University data shows that 109 of those students live at UCSD, which has one of the most comprehensive COVID testing programs in academia. The other 136 students are living off campus in the San Diego area. UCSD also says that 61 of its employees have tested positive for the virus. (Robbins, 1/14)

San Francisco Chronicle: California Braces For Highly Contagious New Coronavirus Variants As Vaccinations Lag
A UCSF lab that does genome sequencing for the state is awaiting results on hundreds of samples from recent cases, but so far has not found any of the U.K., South Africa or Brazilian variants in the Bay Area. Nonetheless, experts expect some of the variants will be here soon, if they are not already. Only a small sample of virus cases are sequenced, so the type of virus is not known for most infections. (Sanchez and Allday, 1/14)

Modern Healthcare: California Hospitals Prepare Ethical Protocol To Prioritize Lifesaving Care
California hospitals are preparing the ethical protocol to guide who may get lifesaving care as providers struggle to meet the growing demand sparked by the latest COVID-19 surge. While hospitals have yet to implement crisis-level care rationing, the steady increase of 40,000 new COVID-19 cases a day continues to threaten hospital capacity. Space and staff are stretched, particularly in Southern California, as the state endures a surge 4 to 5 times the size of the spike in summer. (Kacik, 1/14)

Stat: In Los Angeles, Ambulances Circle For Hours And ICUs Are Full 
The situation here is dire. Every minute, 10 people test positive for Covid-19. Every eight minutes, someone dies. Ambulances circle for hours, unable to find ERs that can accept patients. Hospitals are running out of oxygen. ICU capacity is at zero. Patients lie in hallways and tents. Emergency room nurses have more patients than they can handle — sometimes six at a time. (McFarling, 1/15)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Annual MLK Event Celebrates Dr. Wooten's Leadership Fighting COVID-19 
There’s a quote by Dr. Martin Luther King that especially resonates with Dr. Wilma Wooten, San Diego County’s health officer. “Dr. King once said that of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane,” Wooten said Thursday night. Those words have guided her mission to serve the residents of San Diego County, she said. (Lopez-Villafana, 1/14)

San Francisco Chronicle: New State Bill Seeks To Reduce Wait Times For Mental Health Follow-Up Visits
State Sen. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, introduced legislation this week that would require health insurance providers to help accelerate the delivery of mental health care services that advocates say are desperately needed to confront a growing crisis fueled by the coronavirus pandemic. The bill, SB221, would cut down on wait times for patients seeking care for mental health and substance use issues, requiring health plans and insurers to provide timely follow-up appointments. Wiener said the legislation was meant to ensure that mental health is treated with the same urgency as other medical issues. (Mishanec, 1/14)

Bay Area News Group: COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution Efforts Need A Shot In The Arm 
COVID-19 vaccine distribution efforts need a shot in the arm, and we’ll need full coordination and collaboration from our large health care systems to be successful. The sharing of written COVID-19 vaccine plans and timelines from our local hospitals, care providers and other vaccine distributors is essential in these political times when consensus seems rare, we do see consensus around the need to get more Santa Clara County residents vaccinated quickly and safely in order to reduce illness and deaths. We also see consensus that efficient vaccine distribution is a complex challenge due to a variety of factors, some within the county’s control and some not. (Dolores Alvarado and Michele Lew, 1/15)

Bay Area News Group: COVID Vaccination Rollout Is Newsom’s Moment Of Truth 
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s rollout of coronavirus vaccine distribution in California has been disappointing. There have been computer glitches. Shortages of people to administer the vaccines. Sudden discoveries about the time it takes to administer each individual dose. All predictable. All remedied by better planning. What there hasn’t been is a vaccine supply shortage. California has distributed only 28% of the doses received, placing it 44th worst of 50 states. Only 2% of the California population has received a shot. Nearly a month into this, that doesn’t cut it. (1/13)

Fresno Bee: Normal Life In Fresno Requires Mass COVID-19 Vaccinations 
Don’t know about you, kind reader, but I’m ready to resume normal life. Or at least some semblance of how things were before coronavirus turned us into a society of mask-wearing, hand-scrubbing shut-ins. It would be nice to eat restaurant food inside the actual restaurant. Visit my 81-year-old father, who lives alone. See live music being performed. Attend a Fresno Grizzlies game. Read the facial expression of the cashier who rings up my groceries. (Marek Warszowski, 1/14)

Fresno Bee: Fresno County Health-Care Workers Must Lead As Role Models In Getting COVID Vaccines
It was disappointing to learn that only half of Fresno County’s 58,000 health-care workers have signed up to get COVID-19 vaccines. The reason, according to Joe Prado, the county’s community health division manager, is that many of those workers want to see how others react to the vaccines before getting the shots themselves. They aren’t alone. Sheriff’s deputies in San Joaquin County, as well as health workers there, are also waiting to get vaccinated, Sheriff Pat Withrow told the Board of Supervisors. (1/12)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Keeping Indigenous Elders Safe From COVID-19 A Critical Part Of Preserving Culture 
As the number of new COVID-19 infections and related deaths continues to surge, along with the arrival of a more contagious variant of the virus, the most vulnerable and marginalized among us will continue to suffer the most. Eight out of 10 COVID-19 deaths reported in the U.S. occur among adults 65 and older, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Indigenous communities are one of the groups at highest risk from the disease. That specific intersection of Indigenous elders is of particular concern, as they tend to serve and the knowledge and language keepers of their communities. (Lisa Deaderick, 1/10)

Bay Area News Group: No More Fake COVID Lockdowns; Time For A Strict Shelter-In-Place 
With the COVID-19 pandemic raging out of control, hospitals filling up and so many deaths that body bags are in short supply, we must do what we’ve avoided since March. It is time to shut most of the state where the virus isn’t being controlled through other means. (Sen. Steve Glazer and Yaneer Bar-Yam, 1/14)

Bay Area News Group: More Students Are Failing During COVID, Here’s What To Do 
Like many of my high school freshmen, a student we’ll call Andrea appears glum in her Zoom square. She dislikes unmuting to speak and hates “being on camera.” She prefers not to be seen. While she graduated middle school with average grades, she’s on track now to drop out. As an introvert, she finds it hard to ask for help. Because she has yet to make any friends at her new school — we offer few social opportunities or extracurriculars — she cannot turn to classmates for support. (Ward Stern, 1/15)