Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Money Flows Into Addiction Tech, But Will It Curb Soaring Opioid Overdose Deaths?
Experts are concerned that flashy Silicon Valley technology won’t reach those most in need of treatment for substance use disorders. (Brian Rinker, )
California Bill Would Lower Cost Of Abortions: California lawmakers on Thursday voted to make abortions much cheaper for people on private health insurance plans. California already requires private plans to cover abortion services, but insurers are allowed to charge things like co-pays and deductibles. The bill would eliminate out-of-pocket costs. Read more from AP and CalMatters.
Golden State Could Become A Refuge For Trans Families: Transgender youth and their families living in states where legislatures are targeting gender-affirming health care, surgeries, or hormone therapy would be protected from legal action if they come to California, under legislation introduced Thursday. Read more from the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle and KQED.
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
Los Angeles Daily News:
Despite LA County’s Dropping COVID Caseloads, Be Careful Out There, Ferrer Says
While Los Angeles County continues to enjoy relatively low COVID-19 infection numbers and falling hospitalization numbers, the public health director on Thursday, March 17, urged residents to continue exercising caution, including during this weekend’s L.A. Marathon. “I hope a lot of people have an opportunity to go out and cheer on our runners,” Barbara Ferrer told reporters during an online briefing. “I want to commend the organizers of the marathon, as always they’re attentive to really what we consider routine infection-control processes. We encourage people to try to distance as much as possible and if they’re indoors gathering before the run with lots of people, to keep those masks on. (3/17)
Bay Area News Group:
Though Cases Are On The Downturn, Santa Clara County's Health Officer Says To Remain Vigilant
Marking just over two years since Bay Area health officials announced unprecedented shelter-in-place orders, Santa Clara County’s Public Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody said Thursday that despite a steady downward trend of cases, residents should expect and prepare for a COVID-19 “swell” or “surge” at some point in the future. (Greschler, 3/17)
Los Angeles Times:
Study Reveals Likely Reason For ‘Stealth’ Omicron’s Recent Success
The ability to spread more easily from person to person appears to be the superpower that is driving an upstart sibling of the Omicron variant into wide circulation, a group of scientists has surmised. That conclusion about the virus known as “stealth Omicron” is explained in a brief report published this week by the New England Journal of Medicine. It’s based on the team’s finding that the virus, whose official name is BA.2, is only slightly better than the dominant BA.1 at evading the protective effects of COVID-19 vaccines. (Healy, 3/17)
CapRadio:
People With 'Medium COVID' Are Caught In A Gray Area Of Recovery With Little Support
Waves of fatigue. The inability to smell milk that has gone bad. A racing heartbeat. These are just a few COVID-19 symptoms that can linger after an initial coronavirus infection. Though they may not always amount to the debilitating cases of long COVID-19 that can leave people bedridden or unable to perform daily functions, it's very common to take weeks to fully recover — a condition I've been thinking of as "medium COVID. "I've been reporting on COVID-19 since the coronavirus pandemic started, and I thought I knew what an infection would be like for a young, otherwise healthy person like me. I knew there was a risk for long COVID-19, even with mild cases, but in my mind, there were two types of COVID-19: run-of-the-mill cases that didn't last much longer than their isolation periods required, and long COVID-19, which was relatively rare. (Feldman, 3/17)
Sacramento Bee:
Getting COVID—Even a Mild Case—Increases Diabetes Risk, Study Finds
Catching COVID-19 can heighten a person’s chance of getting a diabetes diagnosis afterward — even if the infection didn’t result in hospitalization, according to a new study. The research comes two years after a pandemic was declared and joins a growing body of studies seeking to understand the coronavirus’ long-term health effects. Already, roughly 37 million people in the U.S. are living with diabetes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Marnin, 3/17)
CIDRAP:
Moms Spread COVID-19 To Newborns Less Than 2% Of Time, Data Show
SARS-CoV-2 is transmitted from mother to baby before, during, and after childbirth about 1.8% of the time, and vaginal births and breastfeeding do not raise the risk, finds a meta-analysis today in BMJ. ... Of the 800 COVID-positive fetuses or babies with outcome data, 20 were stillbirths, 23 died during the first 28 days of life, and 8 were early pregnancy losses; 749 babies (93.6%) were alive at the end of follow-up. (3/17)
Fox News:
More COVID Deaths Reported In US Counties With Lower Internet Access: Study
U.S. communities with limited internet access had higher COVID-19 mortality rates during the first full year of the pandemic, according to researchers. In a study published earlier this month in the journal JAMA Network Open, University of Chicago authors wrote that for places with more limited access between 2.4 and six deaths per 100,000 people could be prevented, depending on whether they were rural, suburban or urban. "Adopting an asset-based approach, we believe this finding suggests that more awareness is needed about the essential asset of technological access to reliable information, remote work, schooling opportunities, resource purchasing and/or social community. Populations with limited internet access remain understudied and are often excluded in pandemic research," they noted. (Musto, 3/17)
NPR:
How To Tell If You Have Long COVID
Waves of fatigue. The inability to smell milk that has gone bad. A racing heartbeat. These are just a few COVID-19 symptoms that can linger after an initial coronavirus infection. Though they may not always amount to the debilitating cases of long COVID-19 that can leave people bedridden or unable to perform daily functions, it's very common to take weeks to fully recover — a condition I've been thinking of as "medium COVID." I've been reporting on COVID-19 since the coronavirus pandemic started, and I thought I knew what an infection would be like for a young, otherwise healthy person like me. I knew there was a risk for long COVID-19, even with mild cases, but in my mind, there were two types of COVID-19: run-of-the-mill cases that didn't last much longer than their isolation periods required, and long COVID-19, which was relatively rare. Instead, like so many Americans, I found myself caught somewhere in between. (Feldman, 3/17)
Los Angeles Times:
Poll: 58% Of L.A. Unified Teachers Want To Keep Masking
More than half of Los Angeles Unified teachers who responded to a union poll want to continue the district’s indoor mask mandate, and union leaders have proposed lifting the requirement at schools where at least 75% of staff and students are vaccinated. The tally was 58% for keeping the requirement and 42% for ending it, according to an update the union sent to members Thursday morning. The survey was taken as the district and union are negotiating the future of masking and coronavirus testing in the nation’s second-largest school system. (Blume, 3/17)
The Sun:
Southern California Parents Of Young Kids Worry As COVID-19 Protocols Disappear
As the mother of four who got the coronavirus vaccine shortly after becoming eligible, Krissy Brownell scheduled appointments for her 6- and 8-year-old children the week they could get the jab. Now to inoculate the other two. With an immunocompromised 2- and 4-year-old in her Los Alamitos home, Brownell has waited, obsessively, for drug makers to present and federal health officials to OK a COVID-19 vaccine for the approximately 18 million children younger than 5 in the U.S. (Whitehead, 3/17)
ABC7 San Francisco:
Disabled Californians Call On Gov. Gavin Newsom To Reinstate Mask Mandate On Shelter-In-Place Anniversary
A group of disabled Californians and seniors called on Governor Gavin Newsom to reinstate the indoor mask mandate on Wednesday to protect the most vulnerable populations. The coalition of high-risk Californians made the plea on the two year anniversary of the date Bay Area public health leaders announced the shelter-in-place order to slow the spread of coronavirus. (Glover, 3/16)
AP:
Moderna Seeks FDA Authorization For 4th Dose Of COVID Shot
In a press release, the company said its request for approval for all adults was made “to provide flexibility” to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and medical providers to determine the “appropriate use” of a second booster dose of the mRNA vaccine, “including for those at higher risk of COVID-19 due to age or comorbidities.” (Miller, 3/18)
NPR:
Moderna Seeks Approval For Second COVID-19 Booster Shot For Adults
Dr. Eric Topol, the founder and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, told NPR's Rob Stein that there is enough evidence to move forward with another booster dose. "We need to move on this because [there] are a large group of people who have lost their protection against severe illness from Omicron and future variants," he said. (Archie, 3/18)
Fresno Bee:
Newsom Team In Fresno To Discuss Mental Health, Homeless Plan
Members of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration met with Fresno County health and community leaders on Thursday to discuss a new plan to treat individuals with the most severe mental illnesses, many of whom also experience homelessness. Announced earlier this month, the Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment, or CARE Court, is a new framework designed to provide necessary care to people with mental health and substance use disorders, as well as a path to recovery. (Montalvo, 3/17)
CalMatters:
California To Funnel Billions Into Children’s Mental Health
Amanda Arellano felt a heavy weight pressing down on her chest. It was May of 2021, and the teenager struggled to breathe. Maria Arellano rushed her 17-year-old daughter to the pulmonologist. Amanda has cerebral palsy, autism, epilepsy, asthma and a heart murmur. With COVID on the prowl, they couldn’t be too careful. This wasn’t an asthma flare-up, the doctor told them. This was anxiety. (Wiener, 3/17)
Modesto Bee:
What Modesto Area Gets From $1.5 Trillion DC Spending Bill
Help is on the way for Northern San Joaquin Valley homelessness projects, mental health services, young people in crisis and more. The local projects are part of the $1.5 trillion spending bill President Joe Biden signed into law Tuesday. It gets specific about projects in Stanislaus County and other parts of Rep. Josh Harder’s current congressional district. Local members of Congress submit such projects, which used to be called “earmarks” and often were criticized as wasteful pork. They’ve since been rebranded as “community project funding.” (Lightman, 3/17)
San Francisco Chronicle:
San Francisco Issues Dire Warning After Spike In Fentanyl Overdoses Among People Using Cocaine
San Francisco health officials issued a dire warning Thursday following what they said was a recent spike in fentanyl overdoses, specifically among people who ingested the powerful opioid when they thought they were using cocaine. Over the past two weeks, the city’s health department said it was alerted to three fatal fentanyl overdoses in San Francisco among people “who intended to use only cocaine but were unintentionally exposed to fentanyl.” (Whiting, 3/17)
AP:
California Mother's Conviction For Fetal Death Overturned
A California court has overturned the conviction and 11-year prison sentence of a woman for causing the death of her unborn child through drug use, the state’s top prosecutor said Thursday. A judge in Kings County Superior Court on Wednesday reversed the conviction of Adora Perez, who pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter in 2018 to avoid a charge of murder of a fetus. The original murder charge was ordered reinstated. (3/17)
Voice of OC:
Unheard: Orange County Shuts Out Deaf Residents From Public Meeting Broadcasts
Orange County cities systematically shut out hard of hearing residents from broadcasts of public meetings by failing to provide closed captioning in real time. Only one of the 31 Orange County cities who responded to Voice of OC questions – Tustin – currently offers real time closed captioning – typed by a person in real time during the online live stream of their public meetings. (Elattar, Biesiada, Demuth and Bass, 3/17)
Voice of OC:
Accessibility Accommodations For OC City Council Meetings In Real Time
Here’s a breakdown of the accommodations Orange County cities offer residents who are hard of hearing or deaf to attend a city council meeting or watch the meeting from home. Voice of OC spent a year working with Chapman University students to survey Orange County cities and found that most don’t offer the service of closed captioning for residents that want to watch the meeting remotely. (Elattar, Biesiada, Demuth and Bass, 3/17)
Los Angeles Times:
Amid Housing Crisis, UCLA Becomes First UC To Guarantee Beds
It’s just 35 miles between UCLA and Whittier, the hometown of Albert Hsu. The first-year Bruin could have commuted and saved $14,000 a year in campus housing and meal plan costs. But that was not even a consideration, because Hsu wanted the classic college experience of independent dorm life, new friends, group study sessions — and, at UCLA, the choice of more than 1,200 student organizations. All of that, Hsu said, enriches him personally and helps him academically. “Friends are a source of moral support, and club activities help you release stress,” he said. “So I didn’t want to commute. I wanted that full college experience.” (Watanabe, 3/17)
Voice of San Diego:
Housing Subsidies Can't Keep Pace With Surging Rents
Seven years ago, Daniel Palmer was relieved to get a Section 8 voucher after more than a decade of waiting. He moved from his car into a one-bedroom apartment in North Park. Now the 61-year-old is uncertain how much longer he can hold onto his home and fears he could end up homeless again. (Halverstadt, 3/17)
Los Angeles Times:
Rental Assistance In California: How To Apply, Deadlines
If you missed rent payments because of the pandemic, you have only two weeks left to apply for state help in paying what you owe. California’s Housing is Key program will pay all of the rent debt that eligible renters have run up since April 2020. Landlords can apply too if their tenants meet the program’s criteria and provide the necessary paperwork. The state announced this week, however, that the program will stop accepting applications on March 31. Alex Traverso, a spokesman for the state Department of Housing and Community Development, said the program is running short of funds, which is why it’s shutting down. (Healey, 3/17)
San Francisco Chronicle:
CDC Needs To Fix Its Muddled Guidance On Masks In Schools Before A BA.2 Wave
The best way out of this school masking quagmire is through bolder leadership from the CDC. When the CDC finally updates the school-specific guidance, it should forthrightly acknowledge that school is safe and that harms of prolonged masking of children outweigh any benefit for students residing in low and medium risk areas. However, even if it doesn’t, there is another path forward. (Jeanne Noble, Leslie Bienen and Margery Smelkinson, 3/18)
Sacramento Bee:
Rocklin Sixth Grade Science Camp Turns Into COVID Nightmare
The sixth grade science camp was a big deal for everyone. Canceled once due to COVID concerns, the three-night stay in Pollock Pines was highly anticipated among Rock Creek Elementary School students who had weathered the pandemic without such activities for nearly two years. A group of about 80 students, teachers and chaperones departed the Rocklin school for the Sly Park Environmental Education Center on the morning of Tuesday, Jan. 4. The plan was to stay until Friday. But the camp didn’t last that long. (Hannah Holzer, 3/13)
Los Angeles Times:
What China's COVID Lockdowns Say About The Pandemic's Next Stage
Two years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, China has placed many areas — including two of its largest cities, Shanghai and Shenzhen — back into lockdown for its worst outbreaks since 2020. This is an ominous development in a country that has, so far, effectively controlled the pandemic virus that first emerged within its borders. The mainstay of the Chinese pandemic control policy has been its “zero COVID” approach of using aggressive lockdowns, widespread asymptomatic testing, prevalent masking and vaccination. China has relied on Chinese-made vaccines, produced either by inactivating the SARS-CoV-2 virus or by using a benign adenovirus (a common virus type) as a vector. (Saad B. Omer, 3/18)
Sacramento Bee:
Sacramento County Should Keep Motels For Homeless Open
Sacramento County did the right thing last week by reversing course on the imminent closure of three motels housing more than 300 formerly homeless people. Following criticism aired at the supervisors’ meeting Tuesday, the leaders of the largest government in the region decided to extend the housing program known as Project Roomkey. (Robin Epley, 3/15)
East Bay Times:
Mandate Water Conservation Rules In California
What is Gov. Gavin Newsom waiting for? California is experiencing historically horrific drought conditions. The past three years are on pace to be hotter and drier than conditions during the peak of California’s 2013-15 drought, considered the most severe in state history dating back to 1850. And Californians learned Tuesday they are failing miserably at meeting the state’s voluntary conservation goals. (3/18)
East Bay Times:
Federal Law Enabled Sexual Abuse Of Women At Bay Area Prison
A recent Associated Press investigation detailed how allegations of rampant sexual abuse of women inmates at the federal correctional institution in Dublin were largely ignored while the victims were often sent to solitary confinement for reporting the offenses. The story was shocking — not for its revelatory insight but rather because the abuse is still happening. (Bobbie Stein, 3/17)