Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Search for a Snakebite Drug Might Lead to a COVID Treatment, Too
Human clinical trials are scheduled for a drug that could prevent some of the 100,000-plus deaths from snakebites worldwide each year. The same drug may also help people suffering from COVID-related acute respiratory distress. (Jim Robbins, )
As Your Election Stress Kicks Into Overdrive, So Does Your Brain: If concentrating right now feels impossible, that’s because in some cases, it really is. Research has shown that the frontal cortex — the part of our brain that we use for working or doing tasks — is also involved in what psychologists call “off-task mind wandering” and worry. “This mind-wandering tends to happen when there’s something important and unresolved,” said Sonia Bishop, an associate professor at UC Berkeley who studies how anxiety impacts the brain. Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
LA County Sees Jump In COVID Cases: Los Angeles County logged 2,065 new coronavirus infections Thursday, a single daily case count one health official said hasn’t been seen in the region for months. Health officials are warning: The disease is still spreading, and residents need to take precautions to keep the number of infections from climbing further. Read more from the Los Angeles Times.
Jump below for more coronavirus crisis news from other California counties.
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
Health Affairs:
What Biden’s Election Would Mean For The Affordable Care Act
In what otherwise appears to be a status quo election, what does a Biden victory mean for the Affordable Care Act (ACA)? This post attempts only a tentative first pass at an answer. This post is limited to the coverage expansion of the ACA and does not discuss the pandemic response, Medicaid, Medicare, prescription drugs, or other key health care issues affected by a Biden presidency. (Keith, 11/5)
The Hill:
Election Results Underscore Different Views On Coronavirus
Heading into Election Day, Democrats hoped for an overwhelming victory that would serve as a repudiation of President Trump, and with it his handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Instead, while Democratic nominee Joe Biden leads the Electoral College and looks like the favorite to get to 270, a victory will not be in such a sweeping fashion. (Sullivan, 11/6)
NPR:
Many Places Hard Hit By COVID-19 Leaned More Toward Trump In 2020 Than 2016
Support for President Trump increased in 2020 in many of the U.S. counties that lost lives at the highest rate to COVID-19, according to an NPR analysis. Of the 100 counties with the highest COVID-19 death rates per capita, 68 had a higher proportion of votes cast for Trump this cycle than they did in 2016. This includes both Republican-leaning counties and counties that supported Joe Biden. (McMinn and Stein, 11/6)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Elevated Case Rate Pushes San Diego County Ever So Close To The Purple Tier
An out-of-bounds score in the state’s weekly reopening report creates the possibility that San Diego County could fall to the most-restrictive tier in the COVID-19 ranking system next week. Released by the California Health and Human Services Agency on Wednesday, the weekly scorecard lists San Diego County with 7.4 coronavirus cases per 100,000 residents. That number is slightly greater than the limit of 7, the demarcation point between the red and purple tiers of the state’s COVID-19 risk-ranking system. (Sisson, 11/4)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
San Diego County's Daily COVID-19 Numbers Show Significant Spike
New coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are on the rise in San Diego County, according to the latest COVID-19 tracking report released by the local public health department Thursday. For the first time since Aug. 8, the daily number of new cases announced has surpassed the 500 mark, landing at 530 in the latest update. Current hospitalizations came in at 317. It was the first time since Aug. 25, according to county records, that the number of confirmed and suspected COVID-19 patients filling beds on a single day was greater than 300. (Sisson, 11/5)
Capital Public Radio/KXJZ:
Several Northern California Counties See COVID-19 Uptick, Predict Backslide In Reopening Tiers
A rise in COVID-19 cases is causing some Northern California counties to move backward in the state’s tier system for reopening. Local health officials say they’ve been focused on lowering case rates in accordance with the state’s so-called Blueprint for a Safer Economy, which allows for counties to reopen or expand certain business sectors if they can reduce their rates below a certain threshold. But when the state announced the weekly tier assignments Wednesday, only Colusa County was approved to move forward through the system — from the red (substantial) tier to the lower orange (moderate tier). (Caiola, 11/5)
Sacramento Business Journal:
Covid-19 Surge Left Hospitals Short-Staffed
As state and national health officials worry about an incoming third surge in Covid-19 cases, local health facilities are already beginning to prepare their staffing ranks. ... Staffing continues to prove troublesome for health care facilities, even months into the pandemic. The Sacramento region already had a shortage of registered nurses before Covid-19, Kuar said. (Alvarez, 11/5)
Modesto Bee:
Stanislaus Reports 75 New COVID-19 Cases, 404th Death
Stanislaus County added 75 new cases Wednesday, nearly twice the level needed to stave off tighter restrictions. The number should average 40 if the county is to avoid moving back into the purple tier in the state ranking system. It has the tightest rules on business and other activities. The county announced another death Wednesday, for a total of 404 residents lost to the pandemic. (Holland, 11/5)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Detainees And Inmates Worry About New COVID-19 Cases At Otay Mesa Detention Center
Otay Mesa Detention Center is facing its second COVID-19 outbreak of the pandemic after the virus first swept through the facility in the spring, infecting more than 200 people in custody and leaving one man dead. The facility holds Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees who are waiting for immigration court cases or their deportations as well as U.S. Marshals Service inmates who are waiting for their trials or sentencing in federal criminal cases. Between the two groups in custody, the facility currently has more than 40 cases, according to information from ICE and U.S. Marshals Service. (Morrissey, 11/5)
Los Angeles Times:
Fresno County Board Of Supervisors To Quarantine After Staff Member Tests Positive For Coronavirus
The Fresno County Board of Supervisors was instructed this week to quarantine at home after a staff member in the county’s downtown offices tested positive for COVID-19. According to reporting by the Fresno Bee, the person who contracted the virus is a county supervisor. About 30 employees were asked to work from home for 14 days beginning Thursday. So far, none of the county supervisors are showing symptoms. (Reyes-Velarde, 11/5)
Fresno Bee:
Fresno County Supervisors Positive COVID-19, Quarantined
The Fresno County Board of Supervisors and its staff were told to quarantine after someone at the downtown administrative building tested positive for coronavirus. County spokesman Jordan Scott said about 30 employees were instructed to work from home for the next 14 days after receiving a report of one positive case of COVID-19 among those who work on the third floor in the County Hall of Records. (Anteola, 11/5)
LA Daily News:
Would You Take A Rapid COVID-19 Test To Get Into Disneyland?
Industries and institutions around the globe have begun administering rapid COVID-19 tests as a way to more fully reopen businesses and societies inside coronavirus-free bubbles while continuing to track the virus in real time. Which raises the question: Would you be willing to take a rapid COVID-19 test in order to get into a theme park? (MacDonald, 11/5)
LA Daily News:
Trader Joe’s Reports 1,250 COVID-19 Cases, 2 Deaths In Employees Nationwide In 8-Month Period
Monrovia-based Trader Joe’s announced Thursday that 1,250 of its 53,000 employees nationwide tested positive for COVID-19 within the past eight months, with two deaths reported in which coronavirus was suspected of being a contributing factor. The neighborhood grocery store chain — which has 514 stores in 42 states and Washington, D.C. — said the rate of its workers who have been infected during the pandemic is about 2.4%. (11/5)
Sacramento Bee:
Sacramento County To Offer Free Flu Shots. Why It’s A Practice Run For A COVID-19 Vaccine
Sacramento County will offer 1,000 free flu shots in the parking lot of Sleep Train Arena in Natomas on Saturday, part of a major push by health officials to reduce the number of people who get the flu this season. Health officials locally and nationally say the stakes are higher this winter for public health than in many years past. Doctors and public health officials nationwide are urging everyone to get a flu shot this year to prevent a tidal wave of both COVID-19 and seasonal influenza cases from overwhelming medical facilities over the fall and winter. (Bizjak and Anderson, 11/5)
The Bakersfield Californian:
Dignity Health Offering Additional Free Flu Vaccine Drive-Thru Clinics
Dignity Health Mercy & Memorial Hospitals will be hosting additional free drive-thru flu vaccine clinics throughout Kern County in the coming weeks. The clinics will be held in Arvin, Lamont, Shafter and Bakersfield on various dates. Also in attendance at the Arvin and Lamont clinics will be the Kern County Latino COVID-19 Task Force which will be providing free community COVID-19 testing. (11/4)
Sacramento Bee:
Kings Host Blood Donation Drive At Golden 1 Center
A row of a dozen blood donation beds lined the concourse of Golden 1 Center on Thursday morning. The sani-cloths were purple (probably by coincidence) and Red Cross workers wore purple nitrile exam gloves while classic rock greeted blood donors, who had their temperatures checked when they walked through the open door to the arena. If there’s one thing the Sacramento Kings have plenty of, it’s unused space at Golden 1 Center. That space allows visitors to walk through the doors to the arena without touching anything during the coronavirus pandemic. (Patrick, 11/5)
The Bakersfield Californian:
Bakersfield Planning Commission Approves Transitional Care Facility For Contentious Coffee And Stockdale Intersection
The Bakersfield Planning Commission approved a proposal to develop a transitional care facility on the corner of Coffee Road and Stockdale Highway late Thursday night. Originally, a developer planned to construct a five-story dormitory at the intersection, but strong community outcry killed stopped progress. Now, a new developer, Pursue Health, hopes to construct a 170-bed care center that will be used to transition people from hospitals to their homes. A community meeting over the past year appeared to have swung support behind the new proposal. (Morgen, 11/5)
Orange County Register:
Mental Health, Suicide-Prevention Campaign Targets Middle-Aged Men, Youth And LGBTQ Community
A new public service campaign in Orange County to take the stigma out of seeking help for mental health issues and substance abuse disorders will target middle-aged men, youth, and the LGBTQ community — high-risk groups that might be even more emotionally vulnerable under the stress of the pandemic. County health officials unveiled the $2.4 million “Stigma Free OC” effort at a news conference Thursday, Nov. 5, and spoke about the need to raise awareness of resources and remove self-imposed barriers to seeking help. Members of the public are asked to join a pledge of support that already has 1,300 signatures. (Walker, 11/5)
LA Daily News:
Cedars-Sinai Study Suggests Potential Of Anti-Inflammatory Drug To Treat COVID
A study released Thursday by Cedars-Sinai raises the prospect that anti-inflammatory drug therapies being used to treat inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) may help patients recover from coronavirus. The study, led by researchers from Cedars-Sinai, found that an enzyme that helps COVID-19 infect the body also plays a role in inflammation in patients with IBD. (11/5)
The Bakersfield Californian:
Planning Commission Approves Housing Project For Homeless Women Near Panama Bluffs
The Bakersfield Planning Commission approved a conditional use permit for the Casa Esperanza Transitional Home for Women & Children on Thursday night. Speaking passionately, commissioners rejected concerns brought up by neighbors, saying the house would likely be a net benefit to the city. (Morgen, 11/5)
Bay Area News Group:
Milpitas Backs Off Plans To Sue Over Permanent Housing For Homeless People
In a split vote, the Milpitas City Council decided Wednesday to drop plans for a potential lawsuit to stop a hotel in the city from being converted into permanent supportive housing for people who are currently homeless, but the project could face more hurdles. The council, in a special closed session meeting Wednesday morning, voted 3-2 to reverse their decision from just two weeks ago to pursue litigation to stop Santa Clara County’s plans to convert a 146-room Extended Stay America hotel into 132 studio apartments with supportive services on site. (Geha, 11/5)
Bay Area News Group:
California Must Act Now To Counter Third Coronavirus Surge
Coronavirus data suggests that California and the Bay Area are exiting the calm and entering the third surge of the deadly disease that has taken root elsewhere in the country. As a state and a region, we can slow the spread. But that means learning from our past mistakes and doubling down on preventive measures — being more vigilant than ever with our hand-washing, social distancing, mask-wearing and avoidance of groups and crowds. (11/6)
Los Angeles Times:
Coronavirus Today: A Virus That Knows No Bounds
The COVID-19 pandemic has proven itself to be a border-defying affair — and that’s a dangerous reality that feels especially true for Americans living on the border itself. Residents of El Paso are suffering from one of the biggest coronavirus outbreaks in the country. The city and surrounding county, with a population of 840,000, reported 3,100 new cases Wednesday — topping the previous daily record by more than 1,000. The 1,041 hospitalized patients and 311 in intensive care also broke records. (Amina Khan, 11/5)
Modesto Bee:
California Must Reduce Jail And Prison Populations To Fight COVID-19 — And Racism
A California Court of Appeals recently ordered the San Quentin State Prison to halve its inmate population by transferring or releasing people like the petitioner in the case, Ivan Von Staich — a 64-year-old incarcerated man with respiratory problems who tested positive for COVID-19 after sharing a cell so small that he could touch the walls with his hands. The court cited the Eighth Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment in concluding that these conditions were “morally indefensible and constitutionally untenable.” (Bruce Western and Emily Wang, 11/6)
Bay Area News Group:
Vaccine Politics Will Soon Replace Election Politics
Heading into Tuesday’s U.S. general election, speculation was rife as to whether a Joe Biden victory might herald a big leftward shift, or what kind of chaos a second term for President Donald Trump would bring. The immediate task for either president, however, is likely to be more mundane and less ideological — and guaranteed to displease most Americans. The issue that is likely to dominate political discussion for some while, even before Jan. 20, is how to handle and distribute new coronavirus treatments. These debates will be all the more pressing because it now appears that winter will bring a big uptick in cases, hospitalizations and, unfortunately, deaths. (Tyler Cowen, 11/5)
San Francisco Chronicle:
The Bay Area’s Black Populace Is Hesitant To Trust A COVID-19 Vaccine. It’s Because Of Trump
There’s a palpable fear in the Black community about the intersection of government and medicine, and it’s one that goes back generations. When Black people were slaves in this country, Black women were given painful gynecological surgeries for research without their consent. In the 1930s, Black men were part of the Tuskegee Syphilis Study, where they were told they were getting free medical care but instead were denied therapy for their syphilis for decades. Our fear is based in logic and perspective. (Justin Phillips, 11/5)
Bay Area News Group:
Ending California’s Digital Divide Must Be Part Of COVID Strategy
California leads the world in tech innovation, yet thousands of our children are doing their school work in fast food restaurants and library parking lots because they don’t have internet access at home. And seniors, about half of whom don’t have smartphones or home broadband, are missing medical appointments because they can’t connect to telehealth services. COVID has exposed the painful reality of the digital divide, where people with money and tech know-how get what they need and everyone else gets left behind. People of color, the poor and those who live in rural places are getting the short end of the digital stick — with grave consequences for racial and economic equity if we don’t do something about it. (Angela Glover Blackwell and Tom Steyer, 11/4)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Undocumented Families Are Facing A Health Crisis. Elected Officials Must Act And React.
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed numerous vulnerabilities in our “safety net” that had long been failing under-resourced communities across our county — lack of access to adequate health care, lack of affordable housing and an inadequate response from our government that has cost too many lives, to name a few. Many failings could have been avoided had our elected officials worked harder to enact equity-focused policies and initiatives in the years leading up to 2020. As offices change hands or incumbents reclaim seats, I hope our elected officials take this as a wake-up call and take action. (Nancy Maldonado, 11/4)
Stat:
A Public Scorecard Can Help Hold Safety-Net Providers Accountable
California regulators announced last month plans to evaluate whether safety-net patients face improperly long waits to see medical specialists in Los Angeles County, the nation’s second-largest public health system. That investigation — which aims to determine whether these wait times violate managed-care standards — raises fundamental questions about the quality of care for safety-net patients nationwide, in the midst of a pandemic that disproportionately affects the most vulnerable people. (Michael Hochman and Michelle Levander, 11/6)