Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Scientists Seek Covid Treatment Answers in Cheap, Older Drugs
Philanthropies are funding studies of cheap, existing medications like the antidepressant fluvoxamine as covid treatments. But early hype about hydroxychloroquine and other repurposed drugs leaves researchers leery of hasty conclusions. (Esther Landhuis, )
All Californians 16 And Up Eligible For Vaccines Starting April 15: Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Thursday that the state would do away with its vaccine eligibility tiers earlier than anticipated. People 50 and older will get a head start, with vaccines opening to them April 1, state officials said. Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle, Sacramento Bee and Los Angeles Times.
Oakland Schools Hit Roadblock As Many Teachers Refuse To Return: More than a dozen Oakland elementary schools and preschools will not reopen as planned Tuesday after the majority, if not all, of the teachers opted not to return until required to do so in mid-April, despite an $800 incentive and prioritized vaccinations. Read more from the 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
San Francisco Chronicle:
Alameda County In Talks To Run Oakland Coliseum Vaccination Site After Feds And State Leave
Alameda County is in discussions with state officials about keeping the Oakland Coliseum mass vaccination site going once its planned eight-week run ends in early April, county officials said Wednesday. The talks focus on what it would mean to transition the site to county management in terms of getting vaccine supply and operational capacity, county spokesperson Neetu Balram said. (Bobrowsky, 3/25)
Orange County Register:
Two Undocumented Immigrants Denied Vaccine, Prompting Reminder That Vaccines Are For Everyone
At least two recent incidents in which undocumented women in Southern California were denied COVID-19 vaccinations prompted activists and others on Thursday to point out that such denials run counter to public health advice – and drew an apology from Rite-Aid, the pharmacy chain involved in the denials. “It is unacceptable, absolutely abhorrent, that any for-profit entity, or any other entity, would deny vaccination to any human being simply because they do not have immigration status,” said Angelica Salas, executive director of the L.A.-based Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights. (Kopetman, 3/25)
Bay Area News Group:
Warriors Players, Staffers Received COVID-19 Vaccine This Week
A dozen members of the Golden State Warriors received a vaccine for COVID-19 Wednesday, including head coach Steve Kerr and forward Draymond Green. The Warriors received their vaccines at Kaiser Permanente San Francisco in Mission Bay, around the corner from Chase Center. Those who participated received the one-shot Johnson & Johnson vaccine. (Goldberg, 3/25)
San Francisco Chronicle:
First Case Of Immune-Resistant Variant From Brazil Found In The Bay Area
Santa Clara County has identified its first coronavirus case caused by the P.1 variant that is partially resistant to antibodies and has been fueling a deadly surge in Brazil, public health officials announced Thursday. It’s the sixth P.1 case reported in California, and the first in the Bay Area. All of the cases have been reported in the past 10 days. The Santa Clara County case was identified in a person who tested positive in mid-March after traveling outside California but within the United States. Of the five other cases, four were in Southern California. (Allday, 3/25)
Los Angeles Times:
L.A. COVID-19 Test Samples Show 'Variants Of Concern'
Most of the coronavirus samples analyzed in Los Angeles County last week were found to be variants that are believed to spread more readily, officials said. While the recent round of screenings comes with caveats — the sample size of 73 is a fraction of the new infections that are being confirmed countywide each day, and the specimens themselves were not randomly selected — it indicates that some viral mutations are continuing to circulate countywide. (Money and Lin II, 3/25)
Sacramento Bee:
Sacramento County May Hit Orange COVID-19 Tier By Late April
Sacramento could advance into the orange tier of COVID-19 restrictions in about a month, the county’s public health officer said Thursday. “My best guess estimate is that probably sometime late April we will be able to meet the criteria for the orange tier,” Dr. Olivia Kasirye said on a Zoom call with reporters Thursday morning. Kasirye said there are a number of variables that could impact the timeline for moving into that tier level, which would loosen capacity limits for indoor businesses, as well as at outdoor sports events and live performances. (McGough, 3/25)
Bay Area News Group:
San Mateo County Residents Call For Apology After COVID Data Error
North Fair Oaks residents demanded and received an apology Thursday from a San Mateo County supervisor and the county’s health department after this news organization reported that an error in publicly reported data for months dramatically undercounted the number of COVID-19 cases in the majority Latino community. In a letter sent to the Board of Supervisor on Thursday, residents also called for a change in how the community’s council is managed by the county, as well as more investment in North Fair Oaks and other unincorporated communities, and for a memo to be sent to all county employees “emphasizing that all communities need to be treated equally, with utmost respect, consideration, and quality of service.” (Castañeda, 3/25)
Bay Area News Group:
COVID Economy: California Unemployment Claims Drop Below 100,000
Unemployment claims in California dropped last week, falling below 100,000 for the first time since late February, but claims remain far above what they were before coronavirus-linked business shutdowns began more than a year ago, the government reported Thursday. California workers filed about 95,900 first-time claims for unemployment during the week that ended on March 20, which was a decline of 13,400 from the prior week, according to a U.S. Labor Department report. (Avalos, 3/25)
Capital Public Radio/KXJZ:
Another $282M In No-Bid Pandemic Contracts To Major Newsom Contributor UnitedHealth
While Gov. Gavin Newsom says the light at the end of the pandemic tunnel is growing brighter, California remains under a state of emergency. That means his administration wields the power to award contracts without the normal competitive bidding process in response to COVID-19. And the money continues to flow to a major Newsom contributor: UnitedHealth. The state awarded over $221 million in no-bid contracts this year alone for UnitedHealth subsidiary OptumServe to help with vaccine delivery, according to recently released contract documents. Another no-bid agreement from last year — this one for testing — was extended by $61 million, according to the documents. (Rodd, 3/25)
Bay Area News Group:
COVID: Schools Partially Reopen, Parents Say Not Enough
Parents in several school districts including Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High, Cupertino Union and San Francisco Unified, have even mounted recall efforts against school trustees over dissatisfaction with reopening plans. On Thursday the California Teachers Association, representing public school teachers who have resisted reopening efforts out of safety concerns, released the results of a poll it commissioned that indicates those dissatisfied parents are a vocal minority. (Woolfolk, 3/25)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Judge Denies San Francisco's Request To Order Schools To Reopen To All Students
A San Francisco Superior Court judge on Thursday denied the city’s request for an emergency court order requiring the school district to bring all students in all grades back by the end of April. Judge Ethan Schulman wrote in his ruling that the request was made pointless by several recent developments, including the approval of a plan to bring younger students, as well as more vulnerable older students, back to classrooms. (Talley, 3/25)
Los Angeles Times:
O.C. Fair Will Return This Summer In A Slimmed-Down Version To Allow Social Distancing
With COVID-19 rates falling and more people getting vaccinated, the Orange County fair will return for in-person fun this summer. The board of directors governing the state fairgrounds voted unanimously Thursday morning to bring the beloved summer event back, with several major adjustments, after it was canceled last year. (Pinho, 3/25)
Bay Area News Group:
Bioscience Firm With COVID Test Expands In Silicon Valley
A fast-expanding life sciences firm with a new COVID test has found more elbow room in Silicon Valley with a new lease, brokers said Wednesday. Talis Biomedical has leased space in the Redwood LIFE office park in Redwood City, brokers with Newmark, a commercial real estate firm, said. Cushman & Wakefield, a commercial real estate firm, is seeking tenants for the life sciences campus. Fresh from an initial public offering of its stock that raised $245 million, Talis Biomedical says it has a rapid and accurate testing system to detect SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. (Avalos, 3/24)
Los Angeles Times:
USC Payout On Gynecologist Sex Abuse Claims To Top $1 Billion
USC has agreed to pay more than $1.1 billion to former patients of campus gynecologist George Tyndall, the largest sex abuse payout in higher education history. The huge sum was revealed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court as lawyers for a final group of 710 women suing the university told a judge they had settled their claims for $852 million. (Hamilton and Ryan, 3/25)
CBS Los Angeles:
Largest Of Its Kind: $852 Million Settlement Reached In Lawsuits Over Ex-USC Gynecologist George Tyndall
Attorneys representing over 700 women who claim they were sexually abused by George Tyndall, a former University of Southern California gynecologist, announced an $852 million “global settlement” of lawsuits against the university Thursday. “This is the message I want to send today,” said Allison Rowland, a survivor. “Powerful people at powerful institutions can and must be held to account.” (3/25)
The New York Times:
U.S.C. Agrees To $1.1 Billion Settlement In Gynecologist Abuse Case
The University of Southern California on Thursday announced that it will pay more than $1.1 billion to the former patients of a campus gynecologist accused of preying sexually on hundreds of patients, marking what university officials called “the end of a painful and ugly chapter in the history of our university.” The staggering sum — a combination of three sets of settlements with hundreds of alleged victims of Dr. George Tyndall — sets a record for collegiate sex abuse payouts, compensating a generation of young U.S.C. women. (Hubler, Arango and Hartocollis, 3/25)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Santa Clara County Votes To Provide Free Menstrual Products In Public Bathrooms
The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday to stock at least half of all public bathrooms in the county with free period products. The vote marked the county’s decision to preemptively adopt AB367, also known as the Menstrual Equity Act. The bill, inspired by similar legislation in Scotland and authored by Assemblymember Cristina Garcia, D-Bell Gardens, would make access to menstrual products a right, requiring all California middle and high schools, community colleges, public universities and municipal buildings to stock 50% of bathrooms with free items. (Arredondo, 3/25)
San Francisco Chronicle:
How To Speed Up California's Vaccination Effort
California’s vaccination effort has grown more costly and convoluted but not much more effective. With federal vaccine supplies expected to increase and the state still struggling to administer shots at an average pace, the most promising course is to make most Californians eligible for vaccination as soon as possible. Gov. Gavin Newsom recently turned over the laggard vaccine rollout to insurance giant Blue Shield, a generous supporter of his campaigns and causes dating to his San Francisco days. The no-bid contract appears to have made an immediate impact on the state’s bottom line. (3/25)
Los Angeles Times:
Vaccination For One Is Vaccination For All
It’s become a set piece in certain precincts of social media: complaints that people are getting vaccinated under false pretenses. In a recent issue of Airmail, the posh online magazine, one writer reported that a “fresh-faced” assistant at her hair salon had recently urged her to get the COVID-19 vax as he had, though he wasn’t “technically” eligible. “It’s kind of like being pressured to take drugs,” Ashley Baker wrote. She further cited a friend who had landed a shot by citing her childhood asthma as a comorbidity. Baker wasn’t convinced. She saw entitlement and the itch to party. (Virginia Heffernan, 3/26)
San Jose Mercury News:
How We Can Lower COVID Hospitalization, Fatality Rates
The scientific and medical communities widely agree that using repurposed drugs and therapies is the fastest and most efficient way to attack new diseases. Yet in this pandemic, medical authorities and drug companies have spent little effort on testing, research or approval of repurposed drugs. Thousands upon thousands of people may have died as a result. At the onset of the pandemic, l created the COVID Early Treatment Fund with a dedicated group of volunteers. Our team raised more than $5 million to fund research into repurposed drugs. We were inundated with requests from researchers with ideas about existing drugs that might work against COVID. One such drug that showed impressive results is fluvoxamine, a generic antidepressant. It has proven to be extremely effective in small randomized trials and in clinical use. (Steve Kirsch, 3/24)
Sacramento Bee:
Quick Action Can Protect Asian Residents From Racist Hate
A white gunman targeted three metro Atlanta massage parlors last week and killed eight people, including six Asian women. Many Asian American and Pacific Islanders have been candid about how last week’s horrific tragedy has devastated their communities and incited terror. “I go to the store and am fearful of everyone,” Sacramento resident Barbara Tanaka wrote in a letter to The Sacramento Bee. “I resist the urge to flee when I see white people walking in my … neighborhood.” (3/24)
San Francisco Chronicle:
S.F. Finds A Way To Build Homeless Housing Cheaper And Faster. A Powerful Opponent Is Fighting It
Near a sports bar, bail bond offices and taco trucks sprouts one solution to the puzzle that is San Francisco’s devastating homelessness crisis. This fall, 145 people who have struggled with chronic homelessness will move into a new permanent supportive housing development rising across the street from the hulking Hall of Justice in the South of Market neighborhood. These are folks who’ve been living on the city’s streets for more than a year and suffer from some mix of mental illness, drug or alcohol addiction and developmental disabilities. (Heather Knight, 3/20)
Berkeleyside:
Social Housing Can Ensure That Everyone Has Access To A Home.
For half a century, California has run a failed market-based experiment where needed affordable housing isn’t built, rent stabilization is outlawed and undermined, and market-rate housing is out of reach for a large segment of our community. Our failure to fund, build, protect, and maintain an adequate supply of affordable housing has resulted in growing homelessness and housing insecurity, and in the displacement of low-income communities and communities of color. We see the results in Berkeley, where nearly 1% of residents are unhoused at any given time, and the diversity and cultural fabric of our community are challenged. (Sophie Hahn and Kate Harrison, 3/24)
Los Angeles Times:
To Fully Understand Echo Park Lake Closure, Go Back 50 Years
Even amid a COVID-19 pandemic that has hit Los Angeles and its neighborhoods like a brick to the head, you’d be hard-pressed to find a place more grim in the city right now than Echo Park. For nearly two years, a homeless colony with hundreds of inhabitants has been growing steadily along the banks of Echo Park Lake. That colony will be forcibly cleared this week in response to the demands of the neighborhood’s wealthier homeowners and renters, who have grown tired of the park’s deteriorating condition. As a recent petition signed by more than 4,000 neighborhood residents put it: “WE — THE CITIZENS OF ECHO PARK — WILL NO LONGER TOLERATE OUR LAKE BEING DESTROYED!” (Matthew Fleischer, 3/23)
Los Angeles Times:
Less Secrecy On Echo Park Lake Closure
Who’s to blame for Wednesday night’s clash at Echo Park Lake? There was never going to be an easy way to clear a public park where 100 to 200 homeless people were encamped — not when there is a dearth of housing for them and a raging pandemic that makes it unsafe for homeless people to be wandering the streets. And who knows if the city could have avoided the confrontation between 200 demonstrators and several hundred Los Angeles police officers as contractors began fencing off the park. But one thing did not have to happen: the exasperating lack of communication to the public by Mayor Eric Garcetti and Councilman Mitch O’Farrell about why the park was closing and exactly when. (3/25)
Los Angeles Times:
C'mon President Biden, End The Reefer Madness
In vast stretches of this country, it’s now legal for an adult to buy and use marijuana. But that perfectly legitimate activity can still get you fired from your job. A few White House staffers learned that the hard way recently. The Daily Beast reported that dozens of White House staffers have been suspended, asked to resign or assigned to remote work due to past marijuana use. White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki tweeted on Friday that five workers were let go, though she told the Daily Beast that “there were additional factors at play in many instances for the small number of individuals who were terminated.” (Kerry Cavanaugh, 3/19)