Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Doctor on Call? Lawmakers Debate How Much to Pay for Phone Appointments
Phone visits became an option for many Medicare and Medicaid patients during the pandemic. Now policymakers are deciding whether they’re worth the money. (Rachel Bluth, )
Shifting Rules About Masks Confuse Business Owners: Businesses in California remain baffled by the changing rules over who needs to wear masks as the state prepares to fully reopen Tuesday. Some business leaders say Gov. Gavin Newsom should step in and order just one set of mask rules for everyone. Read more from AP and the San Francisco Chronicle. More coverage about California’s reopening, below.
Sonoma County Sees Alarming Rise In Covid Cases: Days ahead of the state's reopening, one Bay Area county is reporting an alarming uptick in coronavirus cases. Sonoma County is officially in the orange tier, but over the past week its numbers have slipped closer to red-tier status, including its first covid-related death in two weeks. 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:
States Like California With Strict COVID Rules Fared Better In Pandemic, UCLA Economists Say
Large states such as California that implemented stricter pandemic restrictions had better economic and health outcomes on average than those with less stringent measures, according to UCLA economists. The states’ economies, measured in gross domestic product, declined everywhere in 2020, according to the June 2021 UCLA Anderson Forecast, the widely followed quarterly economic outlook on California and the nation put out by the university’s Anderson School of Management. Large states with stricter government responses like mask mandates and business restrictions, like California and Washington, had smaller declines than those with less strict interventions such as Florida and Texas, the UCLA researchers said. (Echeverria, 6/10)
CalMatters:
California’s Reopening — What Changes June 15?
If all goes as expected and promised, on June 15 our 15-month-long ordeal of public health restrictions, mandates, bans and color-coded tiers to stem the COVID-19 pandemic will finally come to an end. As Gov. Gavin Newsom said in April and reaffirmed in May, next Tuesday is when “we can start to open up…business as usual. ”But as that much-touted date approaches, the governor’s promise of a sudden milestone is colliding with the loophole-ridden gradualism of California labor law, local control and the imperatives of fighting a diminishing — but not defeated — virus that has killed 62,500 Californians and counting. (Christopher, 6/10)
The Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
What To Know About California’s Mask Guidance When The State Reopens
California officially reopens June 15 after more than a year of COVID-19-related restrictions, and the California Department of Public Health released Wednesday its updated mask guidelines for when the state lifts its color-tier system. Residents who are vaccinated will no longer be required to wear masks in most places, according to the health department’s new guidelines. But those who haven’t received the coronavirus vaccine must keep wearing masks in most indoor settings, such as salons, restaurants and shops. Businesses will be allowed by the state to require face coverings or proof of vaccination. (Chudwin, 6/10)
San Francisco Chronicle:
When And Where Do I Need To Wear A Mask In California, Before And After June 15?
We’re less than a week away from the full reopening of California’s economy, which means nearly all COVID-19 pandemic restrictions will soon be lifted. Under the new “Beyond the Blueprint” framework, the state’s mask mandate will change — but some confusion has surrounded the rules, especially for the workplace.Here’s what we know about when vaccinated and unvaccinated people will need to wear masks in California, before and after the new rules take effect June 15. (Hwang, 6/10)
Bay Area News Group:
Q&A: California Reopens Next Week — Can I Trash All My COVID Masks?
California is set to hit a major milestone Tuesday when progress against the deadly coronavirus will allow the state to reopen. But don’t throw the masks away just yet, even if you’re vaccinated. The rules set by local, state and federal governments are not in sync, and another announcement from Gov. Gavin Newsom is expected Friday. But Californians’ new mask-wearing future is coming into focus despite confusion and a beleaguered workplace-safety board’s reversal this week of guidelines it adopted last week after a marathon nine-hour meeting. (Baron, 6/10)
Los Angeles Times:
As California Reopens, Mask-Wearing And Symbolism Change
With California’s full economic reopening days away, there remains one question that has not been fully resolved in the minds of many eager to get back to normal life: To mask, or not to mask? Beginning Tuesday, most of California’s mask rules imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic — covering customers’ trips to the store, the gym and restaurants — will disappear for those who are vaccinated. (Lin II and Money, 6/10)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Did Cal/OSHA Make The Right Call On Masks?
California’s workplace safety board decided recently that workers would still need to wear masks if everyone in a room is not vaccinated. Some industry representatives have said the decision by the state’s Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board would be a burden and ignore progress against the virus. It was also suggested the mandate could slow economic recovery (One concern is the cost of providing masks to workers). (Molnar, 6/11)
Los Angeles Times:
L.A. Teacher Union Pact Requires Masks, COVID Tests In Fall
Masks will remain on for students and staff at Los Angeles schools this fall, and coronavirus testing will continue for all, under a tentative agreement announced Thursday between district officials and the teachers union. The mask mandate would continue regardless of whether employees or students are vaccinated, with rare potential exceptions for students with disabilities. And the coronavirus testing would take place at least once every two weeks. That’s a possible step back from the current practice, which has required testing every week since campuses gradually reopened in April. (Blume, 6/10)
The Wall Street Journal:
Covid-19 Deaths This Year Have Already Eclipsed 2020’s Toll
More people have died from Covid-19 already this year than in all of 2020, according to official counts, highlighting how the global pandemic is far from over even as vaccines beat back the virus in wealthy nations. It took less than six months for the globe to record more than 1.88 million Covid-19 deaths this year, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of data collected by Johns Hopkins University. The university’s count for 2021 edged just ahead of the 2020 death toll on Thursday. (Kamp, Douglas and Forero, 6/10)
LA Daily News:
Delta Variant Of COVID-19 In LA County, But Numbers Remain Low, Health Director Says
The so-called “Delta” coronavirus variant that’s been blamed for massive infection rates in India and case spikes in parts of the United Kingdom has been detected in Los Angeles County since early April, but the numbers have remained low thanks to the overall plunge in virus transmission rates, the county’s public health director said Thursday, June 10. Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer warned, however, that the presence of a variant that is far more easily transmitted from person-to-person than previously identified strains highlights the need to more expansive vaccination efforts. (6/10)
Orange County Register:
Coronavirus: L.A. County Reported 220 New Cases And Seven New Deaths, June 10
Los Angeles County public health officials reported 220 new cases of the coronavirus, bringing the total number of cases to 1,245,771 as of Thursday, June 10. Officials reported seven new deaths linked to the coronavirus, for a total 24,414 deaths since tracking began. There was one more hospitalization reported since Wednesday, decreasing the official count of hospitalizations to 244, with 18% in ICU. (Goertzen, 6/10)
The Bakersfield Californian:
Kern Public Health Reports 24 New Coronavirus Cases Thursday
Kern County Public Health Services reported 24 new coronavirus cases Thursday morning, and no new deaths. That brings the county's case count since the pandemic began to 110,546. There have been 1,400 deaths. Public Health reports that 39,727 people have recovered from the illness, and over 68,300 people are presumed to have recovered. (6/10)
Orange County Register:
Coronavirus: Orange County Reported 40 New Cases And Two New Deaths As Of June 10
The OC Health Care Agency reported 40 new cases of the coronavirus on Thursday, June 10, increasing the cumulative total in the county to 255,570 cases since tracking began. There have been 406 new infections reported in the last 14 days. Two new deaths were reported Thursday. In Orange County, the count of those who have died from the virus is reported at 5,092. (Goertzen 6/10)
AP:
California Debates Public Health Spending As Virus Recedes
California Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to spend the state’s extraordinary budget surplus on correcting the most widespread financial impacts of the pandemic, pledging to give $600 payments to most taxpaying adults while committing to pay off all of their outstanding rent and utility bills. But left out of the governor’s $267.8 billion budget proposal last month: Money to rebuild local public health departments, whose staffing shortages and fragmented funding were exposed by the coronavirus, impeding a more coordinated response to the crisis. (Beam, 6/11)
Orange County Register:
With COVID-19 Under Control In OC Jails, Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Aimed At Cutting Inmate Population
An Orange County Superior Court judge has dismissed an ACLU lawsuit that earlier prompted him to order that the jail population be reduced by half to fight COVID-19. Judge Peter Wilson said Thursday the suit is no longer necessary as the county has achieved the upper hand on the spread of the infection through the jail system. COVID-19 cases, once reaching more than 1,000 at the jails, numbered just one on Thursday. (Saavedra, 6/10)
ABC News:
2 Passengers Test Positive For COVID-19 On 1st North American Cruise Since 2020
Two passengers sharing the same stateroom on board the first North American cruise since 2020 tested positive for COVID-19 on Thursday. All crew and adult passengers on board the Celebrity Millennium had to show proof that they were fully vaccinated as well as provide a negative COVID-19 test prior to or at the time of boarding. The passengers found out they were positive while undergoing testing before disembarking the ship in St. Maarten. (Kaji and Benitez, 6/10)
Bloomberg:
Johnson & Johnson Vaccine’s Shelf Life Is Extended By FDA
Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine can be kept in a refrigerator for four and a half months, extending the shot’s shelf life by 50% as doses languish amid a slowing immunization campaign. The company said in a statement that the Food and Drug Administration adopted the extension based on study data showing the vaccine is stable when refrigerated at 36 to 46 degrees Fahrenheit (2.2 to 7.8 degrees Celsius) for four and a half months. The FDA confirmed the adoption in an email. (Griffin, 6/10)
The Wall Street Journal:
U.S. Suspends J&J Covid-19 Vaccine Shipments As States Face A Surplus Of Expiring Doses
The U.S. government has halted new shipments of the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine, according to state and federal health officials, one of several steps federal agencies are taking that could help clear a backlog of unused doses before they expire. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has stopped making available the one-dose shot to states, the state and federal health officials said. The stoppage is believed to be temporary, some of these officials said. (Hopkins and McKay, 6/10)
NBC News:
Moderna Files For FDA Authorization For Covid Vaccine In Younger Teens, Adolescents
Moderna on Thursday filed for emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration to use its Covid-19 vaccine in adolescents ages 12 to 17. If cleared by the FDA, it will become the second Covid-19 vaccine available in the United States for teens under 18 along with Pfizer-BioNTech's vaccine, which was authorized for adolescents ages 12 to 15 in May. Moderna said in May that results from its clinical trial among children ages 12 to 17 showed its two-dose mRNA vaccine to be safe and highly effective. The trial included more than 3,700 participants. (Weaver, 6/10)
Politico:
Kid Covid-19 Vaccines: 3 Takeaways From The FDA's Big Meeting
With Covid-19 vaccines authorized for adults and teens, shotmakers and regulators are turning their attention to ensuring that the vaccines are safe and effective for younger children. The FDA’s independent vaccine advisory committee grappled Thursday with how to ensure the safety of Covid shots in children as disease caseloads continue to dwindle in the U.S. (Gardner and Foley, 6/10)
CBS News:
CDC Plans 'Emergency Meeting' On Rare Heart Inflammation Following COVID-19 Vaccines
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Thursday that it will convene an "emergency meeting" of its advisers on June 18th to discuss rare but higher-than-expected reports of heart inflammation following doses of the mRNA-based Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines. So far, the CDC has identified 226 reports that might meet the agency's "working case definition" of myocarditis and pericarditis following the shots, the agency disclosed Thursday. The vast majority have recovered, but 41 had ongoing symptoms, 15 are still hospitalized, and 3 are in the intensive care unit. The reports represent just a tiny fraction of the nearly 130 million Americans who have been fully vaccinated with either Pfizer or Moderna's doses. (Tin, 6/10)
Stat:
Officials Flag Rare Myocarditis Cases After Covid Vaccination
Federal health officials said Thursday they’re seeing rare but higher-than-expected cases of a heart issue called myocarditis among adolescents and young adults who received their second shot of one of the mRNA Covid-19 vaccines. The data are preliminary and limited, and experts are still trying to determine if there is indeed a link or if there is no connection at all. Officials from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration also said it was too early to establish a rate for how frequently myocarditis — an inflammation of the heart muscle — might occur, particularly for different age groups. (Joseph, 6/10)
San Francisco Chronicle:
California Vaccine Lottery Winner Thought Call From State 'Was A Joke'
Gov. Gavin Newsom identified one of the first 15 winners of the state’s $50,000 lottery for residents who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 — a man named Tony who said he initially dismissed the news as a gag. “I got the call last Friday. At first, I thought it was a joke, so I ignored it,” Tony says in a clip posted Wednesday evening on the governor’s social media sites. Tony, who didn’t give a last name, woke up to his good fortune after he did some research about the giveaway. (Vaziri, 6/10)
Orange County Register:
Universal CityWalk Is Hosting A Pop-Up COVID-19 Vaccination Site
Come for the vaccine, stay for a doughnut? (Possibly, if you’re early enough.) Universal CityWalk has partnered with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health to host a pop-up COVID-19 vaccination site, which is open from noon-6 p.m. Thursday, June 10-Sunday, June 13, and Friday, June 18-Sunday, June 24. Walk-ups will be available and appointments can be made in advance at curative.com/sites. Self-parking is free for those that make advance appointments. (Fadroski, 6/10)
The Wall Street Journal:
Can Schools Mandate Covid-19 Vaccines For Children? What We Know
Many education officials, public-health officials and parents believe that vaccinating children against Covid-19 will play a key role in resuming normal life in time for in-person learning in the fall. That stance has led some parents to wonder: Will K-12 students be mandated to receive the vaccine to be allowed on campus this fall? (Koh, 6/11)
Sacramento Bee:
Do People Vaccinated Against COVID Shed Coronavirus To Others?
Some are claiming that people vaccinated against COVID-19 can somehow ooze the coronavirus out of their bodies and infect the unvaccinated. But such a claim is far from the scientific truth.Many call it “vaccine shedding.” “In medicine, we don’t say ‘zero’ too often, but there is zero chance for the COVID-19 vaccines to cause you to shed the virus,” Dr. Aaron Glatt, chair of medicine at Mount Sinai South Nassau in New York and spokesperson for the Infectious Disease Society of America, told Health magazine. (Camero, 6/10)
Politico:
Biden Touts ‘Monumental Commitment’ To Send 500M Covid Vaccine Doses Abroad
President Joe Biden on Thursday formally announced U.S. plans to procure and donate 500 million Covid-19 vaccine doses while making his first overseas trip, as part of a speech steeped in the imagery of World War II and other eras defined by their need for urgent collective action. “This is a monumental commitment by the American people,” Biden said in St. Ives, England. “We’re a nation full of people who step up in times of need to help our fellow human beings, both at home and abroad. We’re not perfect, but we step up.” (Niedzwiadek, 6/10)
CNBC:
G-7 Leaders To Pledge 1 Billion Doses Of Covid Vaccines To Poorer Nations
The leaders of the G-7 are expected to pledge a donation of 1 billion coronavirus vaccine doses to poorer nations this weekend as they try to ease concerns over vaccine nationalism. The “most-advanced” economies of the world — as the G-7 defines itself — have been criticized for not sharing more vaccines with countries that have more limited resources. The United States, for example, legislated that it should only send vaccines abroad after it reached a satisfactory level of vaccination within its own borders. The U.K. and the EU have also received similar criticism. (Amaro, 6/11)
Modern Healthcare:
OSHA Releases COVID-19 Healthcare Worker Safety Requirements
Health providers must start paying employees for time to get vaccinated and recover from any side effects under an emergency temporary standard order from the Biden administration. They'll also have to put in physical barriers where social distancing isn't possible. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration's standards put new enforcement teeth on prior recommendations, and may add administrative burden and costs to health systems. (Gillespie, 6/10)
Roll Call:
OSHA Issues Safeguards For Health Workers, But Goals For Others
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration, after months of delay, released standards to protect essential workers from COVID-19 Thursday, but those policies were scaled back significantly to apply only to health care settings. In a major win for corporate lobbyists, OSHA issued separate guidance that offers largely unenforceable recommendations for other high-risk workplaces. (Kopp, 6/10)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Nearly All The Bay Area Is Now In 'Exceptional' Drought Category - And The Outlook's Grim
A persistent lack of precipitation has landed most of the Bay Area in the worst drought category, according to data released Thursday. The U.S. Drought Monitor shows that seven of the Bay Area’s nine counties moved to the “exceptional” drought category in the last week. San Mateo and Santa Clara counties remained in “extreme” drought, the second-worst category, as of Tuesday. (Flores, 6/10)
Marin Independent Journal:
Bay Area's Unwanted Coastal Tourists: Disease-Bearing Ticks
A study of ticks in coastal Northern California found that up to 8% in Marin County carried the pathogen for Lyme disease, a potentially debilitating condition for humans, according to the lead researcher. Moreover, in some spots of Marin, a third of the parasites screened during the study carried the Lyme bacteria or one of two other tick-borne diseases, said the researcher, Dan Salkeld, an ecologist at Colorado State University in Fort Collins. (6/11)
CapRadio:
‘You Can Just Smell It’: Air Quality Monitors To Be Installed In Oak Park, North Sacramento
WALKSacramento, in partnership with Valley Vision, Breathe CA and Green Tech Education, are leading an effort to engage lower-income communities who are at risk because the areas in which they live lack tree cover, experience heavy truck traffic and are in close proximity to freeways — all of which can lead to poor air quality. (Mizes-Tan, 6/10)
Los Angeles Times:
Brain Fog, Dryness: This OB/GYN Wants To Normalize Menopause
A few days after Dr. Jen Gunter learned that she’d made the New York Times bestseller list with her new book “The Menopause Manifesto: Own Your Health With Facts and Feminism” ($18.95; Kensington Books), the obstetrician and gynecologist was back on Twitter and Substack discussing poop, dispelling myths about the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine during pregnancy and weighing in on Naomi Wolf and Christiane Northrup’s ban from social media after they were accused of distributing misinformation about vaccines. Gunter, who is known to her 340,000 or so Twitter followers as its resident gynecologist, has always been unabashed about fighting misinformation about women’s bodies. Given that women’s health and wellness is a billion-dollar business, Gunter is shocked by the silence surrounding menopause. (Boone, 6/10)
CalMatters:
Will Psychedelics Become Legal In California?
Amid growing scientific research into therapeutic uses for psychedelic drugs and a progressive push to soften punishment for drug crimes, California lawmakers are considering a bill to legalize magic mushrooms, Ecstasy and several other hallucinogenic substances. The proposal has set off an intense debate over how far California should go to embrace novel medical treatments and destigmatize drug use without compromising public safety. While research into the potential benefits of psychedelics to treat PTSD, depression and anxiety is becoming increasingly mainstream in academic settings, the bill goes beyond medical applications to allow recreational use of psychedelics. (Garcia, 6/10)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Can Robots Speed Up Drug Discovery? San Diego Firm’s Software Helps Labs Embrace Automation
At Biosero’s Sorrento Mesa headquarters, a mobile robot named Yoda wheels down the hallway to personally escort visitors to the company’s Acceleration Lab. Then Yoda gets to work — picking up and delivering biological assay trays between scanning instruments scattered throughout the lab in a demonstration of how the Biosero’s technology helps speed up drug discovery through automation. (Freeman, 6/11)
San Francisco Chronicle:
S.F. Supervisor Aaron Peskin Says He's Entering Alcohol Treatment After Complaints
San Francisco Supervisor Aaron Peskin said Thursday he is in treatment for alcohol use, a day after The Chronicle asked him to respond to complaints about his behavior, including allegations that he was under the influence during a Board of Supervisors meeting. “After serious consideration, I have decided to enter into alcohol treatment under the guidance of professionals,” Peskin said in a statement. “I stand by my long legislative and civic record but must also take full responsibility for the tenor that I have struck in my public relationships — for that, I am truly sorry.” (Moench, Knight and Thadani, 6/10)
Los Angeles Times:
Homeless Advocates Urge Orange County To Create A Safe Parking Program
For about a year during the COVID-19 pandemic, dozens of homeless people living out of their vehicles parked on Valencia Drive in Fullerton. The street served as a kind of imperfect haven, where people didn’t need to move their vehicles every few days to avoid parking citations or expose themselves to the dangers of parking in an unknown area. Then the city decided to start enforcing parking regulations that it had temporarily halted due to the pandemic. (Brazil, 6/10)
CapRadio:
The Wait Continues For Sacramento’s Year-Round Emergency Shelters To Help Protect Homeless Residents
Despite repeated calls for action and the death of unhoused residents following a powerful storm last winter, Sacramento has yet to open the year-round emergency warming and cooling centers that city leaders said at the time were necessary to protect homeless residents. These barebones facilities offer respite from the elements, plus snacks and water but fewer services than traditional homeless shelters.Unhoused Residents Died As A Storm Ravaged Sacramento And Officials Debated Homelessness Solutions. (Nichols, 6/10)
Los Angeles Times:
How Mike Bonin Plans To Fix Venice’s Homelessness Crisis
After spending weeks reporting on the homelessness crisis in Venice, Times reporters Benjamin Oreskes and Doug Smith sat down with Councilman Mike Bonin, who has represented the area since 2013. In a nearly two-hour interview, he weighed in on how the fights over homelessness have consumed the neighborhood and laid out his vision of how a humane clearing of tents that run along the boardwalk could occur. (Oreskes and Smith, 6/10)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Evicted At Age 10: Her Family Was Forced Out Of Their Home. She Just Wanted To Keep Them Together
The officers arrived on East Princeton Avenue in the early morning, pointing their guns down at the yellow lawn. In her bedroom, the walls scribbled with crayon drawings, Bre-Anna Valenzuela woke to the pounding of a fist on the steel front gate. “Fresno County Sheriff’s Office!” a deputy yelled. “Eviction!” Bre-Anna, who goes by Bre, came to the door, standing behind her grandmother, hugging a baby doll to her chest. She listened as the man explained that they had just a few minutes to leave. She began to pack her things: her school-issued laptop, her favorite Barbie. (Johnson, 6/11)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Cal/OSHA Heeds CDC And Newsom On Workplace Mask Edicts. Bring On June 15!
Gov. Gavin Newsom’s plan to have the state mostly reopen and end pandemic restrictions on June 15 was dealt an unexpected blow last week when the California Occupational Safety and Health Standards Board decided to continue to require mask wearing at factory and office workplaces if all workers had not been fully vaccinated. (6/10)
Sacramento Bee:
Cal-OSHA Has New Guidance For Vaccine, Masks In The Workplace
Follow the science. That’s been the watchword throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Those that follow the facts — be they politicians, regulators, businesses or individuals — are much better off today than those that don’t. As an association that supports California’s 6,000 hotels and their 235,000 employees, the California Hotel and Lodging Association has been acutely engaged throughout the pandemic with federal, state and local health leaders to provide our guests and workers with the best safety protocols that scientific data provides. On June 3, the Standards Board of the California’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal-OSHA), which governs workplace safety rules, made a mockery of its regulatory role by not following science, and, perhaps most importantly, not using common sense. (Lynn Mohrfeld, 6/8)
San Francisco Chronicle:
COVID Infections Are Down. Reopening Is June 15. Why California Is Still In An Emergency
California’s grand reopening is nigh, with just a week left until we ditch the masks and color-coded closures to resume life more or less as we knew it. But don’t make the mistake of assuming that means we’re no longer in the midst of a dire public health emergency. Gov. Gavin Newsom is trying in vain to square these two diametrically opposed signals about the state of the pandemic. He’s hewing to June 15 as the day when his administration will drop its tiered system of business and other restrictions as well as the statewide mask mandate. And yet he acknowledged that he is keeping the state of emergency he declared more than a year ago in place, with all its attendant executive powers, while workplace safety rules will continue to require masks where wholesale vaccination can’t be verified. (6/8)
Sacramento Bee:
Children Need Pediatric And Health Care Even During Pandemic
It’s not unusual to miss a doctor’s appointment every now and then. This has been especially true during the COVID-19 pandemic as people avoid public spaces like the doctor’s office. Studies report a 60% drop in pediatrician visits and similar decreases in children visiting the emergency room — but what if that simple check-in with the doctor actually turns out to be a matter of life or death for a child? Amid the worst health crisis of the century, pediatricians like myself are now grappling with the potentially dangerous consequences of interrupted care. (Lidia Park, 6/9)
Modesto Bee:
United We Stand — In Stanislaus Resolve To Fight COVID Virus
Our championship high school football team was a source of spirit and pride that linked our student body together like family. The Friday night crowds, including parents and friends, added to the roar from the stands. And the song “United We Stand” oftentimes was sung in tribute to this camaraderie. Recently the chorus to this 1970 hit by The Brotherhood of Man came bounding back to me: “For united we stand, divided we fall, and if our backs should ever be against the wall, we’ll be together, together, you and I.” It could very well be the anthem we need right now to unite our country in the battles that divide us, especially in regard to the COVID-19 vaccine. (Lori Coleman, 6/10)
The Mercury News:
State Water Board Choice Is Key To Providing Clean Water For All
California’s drought highlights the importance of an appointment sitting on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s desk – filling the final seat on the State Water Resources Control Board.This is a critical agency appointment at a critical time. The drought highlights many inequities in California water policy. Disadvantaged communities in Stockton face the prospect of a drought summer plagued by harmful algae blooms in Delta rivers. Those algae outbreaks, which can harm children and kill pets, are caused by excessive nutrients and inadequate freshwater flow. Think what it means for a parent to be afraid for their child’s health if they swim in a river on a hot summer day. (Belinda Faustinos and Barbara Barrigan-Parilla, 6/10)
Los Angeles Daily News:
Improve The West LA VA Campus To Better Help Homeless Veterans
Los Angeles County, with a population of more than 66,000 people, is at the forefront of a national homelessness crisis. But LA faces an additional, urgent challenge: more than 3,900 veterans are living on the streets, nearly 1 in 10 of all homeless veterans nationwide. Fortunately, Los Angeles is also home to the West Los Angeles VA Campus, a 388-acre site dedicated to serving the needs of veterans that has enormous potential to create more supportive housing units. (Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu, 6/9)
Los Angeles Times:
To Solve Homelessness, California Should Declare A Right To Housing
Housing should be a human right, ideally one enshrined in the United States Constitution. But that shouldn’t stop the city of Los Angeles from adopting such a right. In fact, the City Council has asked city agencies to research the idea. It’s an idea whose time has come. Across Los Angeles, homeless encampments sprawl on sidewalks not far from million-dollar condos. Among the people in the city who do have housing, most are renters and 50% of those spend more than half their income on rent and utilities. (Carla Hall, 6/6)
Los Angeles Daily News:
California’s Investments In Mental Health Will Alleviate Homelessness
As we continue to come back from the pandemic, we cannot be satisfied with the way things were. Now is the time to address some of the state’s most pressing challenges, including the housing and health needs of the more than 161,000 people experiencing homelessness in California. Homelessness is a complex challenge that requires significant investments in housing and supportive services. Since behavioral health conditions can contribute to homelessness or be worsened by it, responsive health care systems are also needed. Gov. Gavin Newsom’s planned investment of $12 billion to end homelessness will place some 65,000 people in housing, and provide housing stability to more than 300,000 others. As important as that is, the governor’s plan goes well beyond that, expanding the capacity of the behavioral health system to ensure that we have a model of care that is accessible and meets people where they live. (Will Lightbourne and Kim Johnson, 6/10)
East Bay Times:
Why California Needs To House Homeless Youth
Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature have the resources needed to take bold action on youth homelessness. Thanks to significant growth in the state’s economy and federal stimulus funds, California policymakers have funding to create housing for young people who are experiencing homelessness. Not only could we get desperately needed roofs over their heads, but we could also help set them up for success in the future and take tangible steps to prevent chronic homelessness in California down the road. Homelessness amongst young people in California is a critical issue. (Ted Lempert, 6/9)
Los Angeles Times:
My Daughter Fell Off The Mental Health Care Cliff, And I Have To Jump After Her
Our mental health system has failed my daughter. Again. Actually, that’s not true. There is no system, no real help for her. My 20-year-old daughter tried to kill herself three weeks ago. She took a lot of pills all at once and, afraid that wouldn’t do the trick, drove toward the American River to drown herself. Her boyfriend happened to drive past her car and waved her down. That serendipity is the only reason she’s alive today. My family isn’t alone in being affected by the failures of a non-system. Of our rising mental health problems — suicides, homelessness — doctors use the word “tsunami.” On average, says the National Alliance on Mental Illness, one person dies by suicide in the U.S. every 11 minutes. (Jasmine Iolani Hakes, 6/7)
Los Angeles Times:
School Bullying Has Become More Elaborate During COVID
Getting back together with friends in person was one of the main reasons students were excited to return to school after the pandemic lockdowns eased. But not all the returning children were happy to see their classmates. Although the country’s shift to online education had many shortcomings and resulted in learning loss for far too many students, it also had some upsides, one of which was keeping kids away from bullies. Some children could even improve their grades because they didn’t need to worry about facing their aggressors five days a week and could finally concentrate on their studies. As schools reopened, more and more news about bullying (and even suicides resulting from bullying) appeared all across the country. (Yana Pashaeva, 6/7)
Los Angeles Times:
Hold On To Your Post-Pandemic Joy
A week ago, I met a group of friends at a bar for the first time in a year. We were outdoors, in a parking lot. There was traffic going by and our unhoused neighbors had an encampment across the street. Pre-pandemic, my friends and I would not have chosen to meet there, but we drank margaritas and ate chips and guacamole and laughed and talked for hours. Without masks. I was so happy to see their faces I almost cried. (Diana Wagman, 6/10)
Los Angeles Times:
Newsom's State Budget Should Spend On Gun Control
Sacramento’s vault is overflowing with tax money, and a big chunk of it should be spent on efforts to reduce shooting deaths. A tiny fraction of it will be, under plans by Gov. Gavin Newsom and Democratic lawmakers who control the Legislature. But a lot more should. A good place to spend the money would be on boosting local “red flag” programs aimed at seizing firearms from people judged by a court to be potential killers, based on their threats and actions. (George Skelton, 6/10)
Los Angeles Times:
Single-Payer? California Needs Public Option First
You couldn’t design a better stress test for the healthcare system than the COVID-19 pandemic. And on some fundamental levels, the system failed — witness, for example, the racial and ethnic disparities in outcomes that the virus laid bare. Most fundamentally, the disease and the resulting shutdowns caused millions of Californians to lose their jobs, and in many cases, their employer-sponsored health insurance. And there couldn’t have been a worse time to lose one’s coverage than in the midst of a deadly pandemic. (Jon Healey, 6/6)