Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Youthful Advisers Help Shape a Mental Health Program for Their Peers
Officials are enthusiastic about the Allcove initiative, modeled on an Australian program. But it will need to show effectiveness and find funding. (Mark Kreidler, )
Santa Cruz Is First California County To End Mask Mandate As Covid Cases Fall: Santa Cruz County has lifted its mask mandate because of decreasing rates of covid-19 transmission. The county has hit moderate levels of transmission as defined by the CDC. Read more from the Santa Cruz Sentinel and SF Gate.
Newsom Signs Conservator Reform Law: Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday signed into law the so-called #FreeBritney bill, legislation designed to tighten loopholes in the state’s legal guardianship laws that critics say have led to the exploitation of many Californians, including pop star Britney Spears. “California’s conservatorship system is failing people from every walk of life, whether they are a global superstar … or a family unsure of how to take care of an elderly parent,” said Democrat Evan Low, the bill’s author. Read more from Politico.
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
The New York Times:
California Mandates Boost Vaccination Rates Among Health Care Workers
As California’s requirement that all health care workers be vaccinated against the coronavirus took effect on Thursday, major health systems reported that the mandate had helped boost their vaccination rates to 90 percent or higher. In New York, another mandate that began this week compelled thousands of hospital and nursing home workers to get shots. And at several major corporations, executives reported surges in vaccination rates after adding their own requirements. Until now, the biggest unknown about mandating Covid-19 vaccines in workplaces has been whether such requirements would lead to compliance or to significant departures by workers unwilling to get shots — at a time when many places were already facing staffing shortages. So far, a number of early mandates show few indications of large-scale resistance. (Hubler, 9/30)
The Bakersfield Californian:
COVID-19 Vaccination Deadline For Health Care Workers Arrives, And Not All Took The Jab
A survey of several Kern County hospitals and health care providers reveals a patchwork of answers to the question “Are staff vaccinated against coronavirus?” as the state’s deadline for workers to receive the shot passed Thursday. The Californian contacted several health care facilities; some revealed the inoculation status of their staffs, others declined to comment. Yet others shared information about religious or medical exemptions granted to employees. (Desai, 9/30)
Santa Cruz Sentinel:
Santa Cruz Health Care Worker Vaccine Rates Have Jumped Since Mandate
Updated inoculation data yielded promising news in Santa Cruz on Thursday, the day of a major COVID-19 deadline for health care workers across California. Details provided by the county indicate that since the Sentinel’s check-in with health care providers the day before it was mandated they be fully vaccinated against the novel coronavirus, the number of vaccinated health care workers has increased across the board. On Aug. 5, the Department of Public Health announced a new vaccine requirement for employees at hospitals, skilled nursing facilities and other similar health care-driven facilities. (Hartman, 10/1)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Some Health Care Workers Come Forward At Last Minute As Vaccination Mandate Arrives
Sharp HealthCare and Scripps Health, two of San Diego County’s largest health care providers, reported last-minute increases in vaccination numbers Thursday as a few stragglers came forward with proof of inoculation or signed up to get their shots on the day that the state’s mandate for all health care workers took effect. It’s a big group of highly paid professionals. According to state data, 9.2 percent of San Diego County’s 1.42 million civilian jobs are in the health care sector. That’s approximately 133,000 people countywide. (Sisson, 9/30)
Modesto Bee:
Modesto-Area Hospital Workers Face COVID Vaccine Deadline
Hospital owners in Stanislaus County said the vast majority of their employees have complied with a state mandate for health care workers to be vaccinated against COVID-19. That leaves an undetermined number of health care employees who are not vaccinated and raises concerns the state mandate could have the effect of worsening staffing shortages at hospitals. (Carlson, 9/30)
Los Angeles Times:
COVID Vaccine, Testing Rules For Universal Studios, Six Flags
Visitors 12 and older to Universal Studios Hollywood and Six Flags Magic Mountain soon will have to show proof before entering that they’ve either been fully vaccinated for COVID-19 or have recently tested negative before entering. The new requirement, outlined in a recently issued Los Angeles County health order, starts Oct. 7 — meaning it will be in effect during the busy weeks leading up to Halloween. (Money, Lin II and Martín, 9/30)
Monterey Herald:
Monterey Bay Aquarium To Require Proof Of Visitor Vaccinations
Citing the need to protect children who cannot yet be vaccinated, the Monterey Bay Aquarium will require all visitors 12 and older to show proof of a COVID-19 vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test that was conducted within 72 hours of a scheduled visit starting Nov. 1. “We’re especially committed to protecting the health of children under the age of 12, who make up a significant portion of our attendance and are not yet eligible to be vaccinated,” the aquarium stated in a Thursday news release. (Taylor, 10/1)
Bay Area News Group:
West Contra Costa Unified Joins Other School Districts In Mandating COVID Vaccines For Students
West Contra Costa Unified’s school board on Thursday established a requirement that all students ages 12 and older be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. In a series of decisions, the board voted 4-1 to mandate vaccinations for all eligible students, as well as staff, volunteers and outside vendors. Trustee Jamela Smith-Folds cast the dissenting vote on all three proposals, citing discomfort with the district’s level of preparation to implement the mandate. (Mukherjee, 10/1)
Modesto Bee:
Stanislaus State Students Return To Classes On Turlock Campus
California State University, Stanislaus, will welcome students and staff back to campus for in-person classes Friday, one day after the systemwide deadline to report full vaccination for COVID-19. The fall semester began Aug. 23, but nearly all classes were moved online as the delta variant caused a surge in COVID-19 cases in Stanislaus County. In her fall welcome address, Stanislaus State President Ellen Junn said the delay would provide students, staff and faculty more time to meet the CSU’s vaccine requirement, which applies to anyone who intends to step on campus. (Isaacman, 9/30)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Can Faith Leaders Move The Needle When It Comes To The COVID-19 Vaccine?
As anticipation built late last year over COVID-19 vaccines, so did Curtis Chang’s angst. He was talking to a CEO of a health organization when he realized the person didn’t have a clue about the religious considerations for rolling out the shots to the general public. Mark of the beast? What’s that? (Dolbee, 9/30)
San Francisco Chronicle:
How COVID Vaccination Rates Stack Up Against Newsom Recall Votes In Each California County
Politics and COVID-19 vaccination rates are strikingly correlated in the U.S., with redder states generally having lower vaccination rates than bluer ones. That’s true within California, as evidenced by the connection between vaccination rates and the election this month — ultimately unsuccessful — to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom. (Galbraith and Kopf, 9/30)
The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat:
Where To Go, What To Know About COVID-19 Vaccine Booster Shots In Sonoma County
A third COVID-19 vaccine now is available to about 135,000 Sonoma County residents, but there are a few things to know before walking into a local clinic or pharmacy to receive the shot. Who is eligible? To be eligible for a booster shot, residents must have received their second Pfizer dose at least six months ago, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A third dose is not yet available to those who received the Moderna or Johnson & Johnson vaccines. (Chudwin, 9/30)
Sacramento Bee:
Sacramento County Reports Handful Of Child COVID Deaths
Between two and four Sacramento County children have died of coronavirus during the pandemic, data in a recent report from the local health office to county leaders showed, compared to nearly 2,200 COVID-19 deaths among adults. One of the child deaths happened in February 2021, according to a presentation by the county health officer during Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting. Local health officials have not publicly disclosed juvenile COVID-19 deaths, citing privacy protocols. (McGough, 9/30)
AP:
Justice Kavanaugh Tests Positive For COVID, Has No Symptoms
The Supreme Court says Justice Brett Kavanaugh has tested positive for COVID-19.The high court said in a press release Friday that Kavanaugh has no symptoms and has been fully vaccinated since January. Kavanaugh and all the other justices had a routine coronavirus test ahead of Friday’s ceremonial investiture for Justice Amy Coney Barrett. (10/1)
San Francisco Chronicle:
California's Eviction Moratorium Ends Today. What's Next?
For weeks, state leaders have insisted that it’s time for the emergency eviction moratorium to end as payments accelerate from a $5.2 billion federally funded COVID-19 rent relief program. While patchwork state and local programs got off to a slow and confusing start, lawmakers stress that California tenants with pending rent relief applications — as well as those in areas with stronger local eviction bans, like Oakland — will continue to be shielded from certain eviction proceedings through early next year. But more than one million Californians are behind on their rent, according to a Public Policy Institute of California analysis of U.S. Census surveys, and tenant advocates say they’re still receiving frantic phone calls from many who are terrified of falling through the cracks as the 18-month moratorium finally lifts. (Hepler, 9/30)
The New York Times:
Biden Signs Short-Term Spending Bill, Averting Government Shutdown
The president signed the stopgap bill on Thursday Racing to avoid a government shutdown at midnight, President Biden signed a spending bill on Thursday evening that extends federal funding through early December and provides emergency aid to support both the resettlement of Afghan refugees and disaster recovery efforts across the country. The president’s signature came after lawmakers hastily cleared the measure in both chambers earlier in the day. The Senate’s vote was 65 to 35; the House’s was 254 to 175. (Cochrane, 9/30)
Los Angeles Times:
House Cancels Vote On Infrastructure Bill
Speaker Nancy Pelosi canceled a vote late Thursday on President Biden’s infrastructure bill, leaving a key part of his signature domestic agenda in limbo amid deep Democratic infighting. Democrats plan to continue their work on Friday. Pelosi (D-San Francisco) had promised centrist Democrats that the House would vote on the infrastructure plan Thursday regardless of whether work was complete on the second, larger portion of Biden’s agenda — a multitrillion-dollar expansion of the nation’s social safety net programs. (9/30)
Politico:
Democrats Dial Back Drug-Pricing Plans To Win Over Moderates
Top congressional Democrats are acknowledging for the first time that they’ll have to scale back their drug pricing plans to win centrist votes for their giant social spending package. Leadership may drop efforts to have the government directly negotiate the prices for medicines in private insurance plans and make fewer drugs subject to negotiations in Medicare, among the changes under consideration. (Ollstein and Wilson, 9/30)
Modern Healthcare:
HHS Kills Trump-Era 340B Rule Targeting Community Health Clinics
The Health Resources and Services Administration has formally rescinded a proposed rule targeting community health clinics participating in the 340B Drug Pricing Program. The regulation, which President Donald Trump's administration proposed last year, would have required community health centers pass on the 340B discounts they get for insulin and Epi-Pens directly to patients. HRSA is pulling the regulation because of the "excessive administrative costs and burdens that implementation would have imposed on health centers," the agency wrote in a notice published in the Federal Register Thursday. (Hellmann, 9/30)
AP:
Ban On 'Surprise' Medical Bills On Track For Jan. 1 Rollout
The Biden administration on Thursday put final touches on consumer protections against so-called “surprise” medical bills. The ban on charges that hit insured patients at some of life’s most vulnerable moments is on track to take effect Jan. 1, officials said. Patients will no longer have to worry about getting a huge bill following a medical crisis if the closest hospital emergency room happened to have been outside their insurance plan’s provider network. They’ll also be protected from unexpected charges if an out-of-network clinician takes part in a surgery or procedure conducted at an in-network hospital. In such situations, patients will be liable only for their in-network cost sharing amount. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 9/30)
Los Angeles Times:
Court OKs Biden Administration To Keep Expelling Families For Now
A federal appellate court Thursday temporarily granted the Biden administration permission to continue the use of a public health order to quickly expel migrants with children stopped along the U.S. border. In a brief ruling, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit granted the administration’s request to stay a lower court’s ruling blocking the expulsion policy. (Castillo, 9/30)
CNBC:
Senators Say Facebook Used Big Tobacco Playbook To Exploit Kids
U.S. lawmakers from opposite sides of the aisle agree on virtually nothing these days. The exception is when the topic is Facebook. Republicans and Democrats grilled Antigone Davis, Facebook’s global head of safety, on Thursday, in a hearing before the Senate Commerce subcommittee on consumer protection. Antigone, who testified by video, was called to answer questions about Instagram’s impact on the mental health of teens and Facebook’s efforts to build more products targeting children. (Rodriguez, 9/30
CBS News:
Facebook Executive Says Company Doesn't Profit Off Underage Users
Facebook's global head of safety defended the company against accusations it harms children's mental health in a Senate hearing Thursday, pushing back against claims that the social media giant exploits young users for profit. The hearing before the Senate subcommittee on Consumer Protection, Product Safety and Data Security marked the first congressional testimony by a Facebook executive since a recent Wall Street Journal investigation found the company was aware its products harmed underage users. The paper cited internal Facebook research showing the company's products made body image issues worse for a third of teenage girls and prompted suicidal thoughts in 6% of all teenage users. (Bidar, 9/30)
NBC News:
Senator's Office Posed As A Girl On Fake Instagram Account To Study App's Effect
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said his office had created a fake Instagram account to pose as a 13-year-old girl to research what the app is like for teens and how it could potentially affect their mental health. "Our research has shown, in real time, Instagram's recommendations will still latch on to a person's insecurities, a young woman's vulnerabilities about their bodies and drag them into dark places that glorify eating disorders and self-harm," Blumenthal said during a Senate hearing Thursday titled “Protecting Kids Online: Facebook, Instagram, & Mental Health Harms." "That's what Instagram does," the senator said. (Rosenblatt, 9/30)
Sacramento Bee:
CalPERS, Covered CA Work To Expand Care At Doctors’ Offices
Three health care industry heavyweights will work together to improve the quality of the day-to-day care that Californians receive at their doctor’s offices as part of a pilot program they announced Thursday. The goal, they say, is ensuring that patients can get the care that they need from the doctor’s office responsible for their primary care, said Crystal Eubanks, senior director of care redesign at Purchaser Business Group on Health, so that means the primary care doctor’s practice likely will have to expand their teams to meet patient demands. (Anderson, 9/30)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Regents Give UC San Diego Permission To Begin $2.5B Overhaul Of Its Hillcrest Medical Campus
University of California Regents on Thursday gave UC San Diego permission to begin a $2.5 billion reconstruction of its medical campus in Hillcrest, a project that includes replacing a major hospital that has served the region since the 1960s. A six-floor outpatient pavilion and a garage capable of holding 1,850 vehicles will be built during the first phase of the project, which will fully get underway in October or November. (Robbins, 9/30)
Los Angeles Times:
Hedge Fund Investor Boosts Psychedelic Therapy Startups
A psychedelic renaissance has bloomed in the business world. Money has begun flowing into companies intending to monetize psychedelic therapy as new research has increasingly shown that blowing one’s mind can alter it for the better. This scientific and commercial excitement rests on research showing that psychedelics can supercharge mental health treatment for PTSD, depression, anxiety, addiction, and other chronic ailments of the mind, enabling patients to dive deep, confront their traumas and — a rarity for mental illnesses — return healed. That goes for synthetic chemicals such as MDMA and ketamine as well as plant-derived drugs such as psilocybin (the active ingredient in magic mushrooms), the South American plant brew ayahuasca, and the West African root-derived substance iboga. (Dean, 9/30)
AP:
Big Drop In US Teen Vaping Seen With COVID School Closures
Teen vaping plummeted this year as many U.S. students were forced to learn from home during the pandemic, according to a government report released Thursday. U.S. health officials urged caution in interpreting the numbers, which were collected using an online questionnaire for the first time. But outside experts said the big decrease in electronic cigarettes use is likely real and makes sense given that young people often vape socially. “They found a dramatic drop from last year and it’s hard to imagine that doesn’t represent a real decrease in use among high school and middle school students,” said Dr. Nancy Rigotti of Harvard University, who was not involved in the research. (Perrone, 9/30)
Fox News:
CDC Issues Warning After Study Finds 2 Million Teens Used E-Cigs This Year
The number of teenagers who have used e-cigarettes has reached 2 million, and more than 80% of those middle and high school students used flavored e-cigs in 2021, according to a study released today by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Since 2014, they have been the most frequently used smoking product among U.S. youth. Of the students that were surveyed, 43.6% of high school students and 17.2% of middle school students have used e-cigs in the past month. Of those students, 27.6% of high school and 8.3% of middle school students admitted to daily use. Flavored e-cigs are prevalent. (Jones, 9/30)
Orange County Register:
New Domestic Violence Resource Center Poised To Address Increased Calls For Help
Laura’s House relocated in June to a building that, once fully developed, will offer four times as much space as the suite of offices occupied in Ladera Ranch the previous 11 years. Not only that, but Laura’s House owns the two-story structure and will save money with a mortgage that is about $7,000 less a month than the lease they once had. A ribbon-cutting on Thursday, Sept. 30, brought supporters together to celebrate the new space in a light industrial park. (Walker, 9/30)
Bloomberg:
New Study Quantifies Vast Undercount Of Police Deaths
More men died of police violence than of testicular cancer, or lymphoma, or STDs in the U.S. in 2019. Depending on where you get your information, that could come as a surprise, or a grave confirmation. A new study published in The Lancet found that a government-run database has undercounted the number of deaths at the hands of police in the U.S. by more than half. That’s unacceptable, said Fablina Sharara, one of the lead authors of the report and a researcher for the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington. “We rely on official statistics for every other cause of death: for cancer, for example, or homicide,” she said. “From our perspective, it's important for the official statistics to be accurate for every cause.” (Holder, 10/1)
San Gabriel Valley Tribune:
Women’s Rights Activists To March In Cities Across Southern California Saturday. Here’s Where
Protesters are set to flood the streets of Southern California this weekend, joining activists across the nation for the fifth annual Women’s March, which will happen in the aftermath of a restrictive Texas abortion law and ahead of a U.S. Supreme Court case on Mississippi’s abortion laws — a key moment that, pro choice advocates say they fear, could overturn Roe v. Wade. The Women’s March is set for Saturday, Oct. 2, with protests planned across the country’s major cities and small towns. (Singgih, 10/1)
Sacramento Bee:
Folsom Marine Injured In Afghanistan On Road To Recovery
Tyler Andrews of Folsom, a Marine critically injured in Afghanistan, is still fighting for his life. Andrews, 23, underwent his 20th surgery this week as part of ongoing treatment for “catastrophic” injuries he suffered as a result of a suicide bomber attack on Aug. 26 at Kabul’s Hamid Karzai International Airport. (Sullivan, 9/30)
Los Angeles Daily News:
California’s Progress Against The Delta Variant And What To Do Next
California is leading America’s emergence out of the latest wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. With relatively high vaccination rates, the Golden State appears to be one of the first states to be coming out of the Delta variant surge. But rather than pop the champagne, policymakers should prepare for a possible winter wave by learning from past mistakes and focusing on a broader range of evidence-based solutions. (Marc Joffe, 9/27)
Modesto Bee:
No, You Don’t Know Better Than Dr. Fauci
As soon as I was eligible, I got my COVID-19 vaccination. After an anxious year of waiting, I felt like a kid on Christmas Day when I got my shots last winter. Having always heard that a great aunt was a victim of the 1918 flu pandemic, I didn’t want to extend that part of my family’s legacy. Vaccinations have been a normal part of life for us baby boomers. Over the years, I’ve gotten vaccinated for polio, measles, mumps, and rubella. More recently, I’ve gotten vaccines for both pneumococcus and shingles. (Marc Medefind, 9/30)
Modesto Bee:
CA Lawmakers Choose Profit Over People, Gut COVID Disclosure
If you’ve heard about COVID-19 outbreaks in nearby businesses, it’s probably because you learned about it from news reporters. Instead of requiring transparency from all California companies, state lawmakers failed workers and consumers by gutting a bill that would have required full transparency whenever there are COVID outbreaks at workplaces. Wouldn’t you like to know if the staff at your local coffee shop or furniture store is having a rash of COVID sickness? (9/29)
Los Angeles Times:
Delusional Reactions To Epidemics Are As Old As Time. COVID Has Been No Different
If anyone should have been prepared for this — this surreal, tragic phase of the pandemic and the derangement of our collective response — it might be me. I am both a red-state native and a historian who studies infectious diseases. In 2017, I wrote that “the risk of a ‘big one,’ a biological event that threatens to break down our public health infrastructure and rattle the foundations of the global order, is out there, lurking.” That same year, I started writing a global history of infectious disease from our primate origins down to … SARS-1 and Ebola virus. The early drafts of the book warned that a new pandemic was inevitable in the future, whether tomorrow or in another lifetime. (Kyle Harper, 9/26)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Millions Of Americans Won't Get Vaccinated Or Wear Masks. 3 Ways Psychology Can Change Their Minds
Across the country, the majority of people are doing what public health guidance has asked of them for the past year and a half: conforming to the behaviors that science shows reduce transmission of the coronavirus — getting vaccinated, wearing a mask and washing their hands. As of Friday, 55% of Americans were fully vaccinated against COVID, a number that will likely jump when temporary authorization is granted to inoculate children ages 5-11. And yet anti-mask wearing campaigns continue to capture the headlines, while anti-vaccine protesters target health clinics and public authorities. Protests against COVID-19 vaccine mandates show no signs of diminishing, and many Americans have gone out of their way to purposefully violate each and every one of the safety precautions that would protect themselves and others from contracting COVID. (Ben Rosenberg, 9/28)
Los Angeles Times:
COVID Vaccines Work, Even If Booster Shots Are Necessary
As President Biden bared his arm Monday for his federally approved booster COVID-19 shot in front of reporters and cameras, he made a point that many corners of the nation should heed. The booster shots are important, he said, “but the most important thing we need to do is get more people vaccinated.” That’s exactly right. At this point, only two-thirds of eligible Americans are fully vaccinated, and when you add in all the children younger than 12 who aren’t yet approved for their shots, that’s a lot of unvaccinated people. (9/28)
San Francisco Chronicle:
How To Have Fun In S.F. During COVID Without Behaving Like You're In Florida
How the hell can we expect people to respect COVID safety protocols when those who set the rules are the ones who refuse to follow them? Mandates may change but mask wearing is going to be with us for a while. We can’t expect all businesses, schools or other venues to be like the DNA Lounge, which decided not to wait for city or state guidance to issue its own mask and vaccination requirements. (Charles Lewis III, 9/30)
Sacramento Bee:
California’s COVID Eviction Moratorium Is Ending Too Soon
If a society’s first duty is to its most vulnerable, California is falling short of a basic obligation. As of Thursday, the state’s eviction moratorium will end with the Legislature out of session, a mountain of crucial rental assistance undistributed and hundreds of thousands of renters facing a deeply uncertain future. The eviction moratorium has helped keep hundreds of thousands of California tenants housed during the pandemic even if they were unable to pay their rent due to COVID-related hardships. The Legislature has already extended the moratorium twice, coming to an agreement in each case just days before the deadline, but no further reprieve is in the works. The expiration of the moratorium means that as of Nov. 1, landlords can begin to sue tenants for any rent owed. (9/29)
San Francisco Chronicle:
California's Homeless Crisis Is Already Out Of Control. Don't Let Evictions Make It Worse
Did California suddenly discover a magic bullet for homelessness? Last we checked in San Francisco, the city still had thousands of people living on the streets with no sustainable path to housing them. We spent $16.1 million to install 262 temporary tents for the homeless, which translates to $61,000 per tent per year. News from the rest of the state looked similarly bleak. That California has discovered a miraculous cure for homelessness, however, seems to be the only conclusion we can draw from the state’s apparent decision to allow its eviction moratorium for nonpayment of rent to end on Sept. 30. Advocates are warning of a “tsunami” of renters ejected from their homes with nowhere to go. (9/26)
Los Angeles Times:
Amid Retirement Stress, Older Americans Face A Peculiar Vise
The COVID-19 pandemic and ensuing recession have hit older workers especially hard. Today’s economy is simultaneously pushing out millions who were counting on their paychecks to survive, while trapping millions of others in jobs because they can’t afford to retire. These seemingly contradictory trends are part of a grim forecast for aging Americans. Older workers (defined as 55 and up) increasingly fear they won’t have a job well into their 60s. Even if they are still employed, that uncertainty undermines a person’s ability to negotiate their deserved pay and proper conditions, even after a lifetime of work. (Teresa Ghilarducci and Christopher Cook, 9/27)
East Bay Times:
California Needs To Solve Its Caregiver Shortage Problem
Nothing clarifies the necessary components of a system like a crisis. The past year of fear, isolation and grief has produced some invaluable lessons about who cares for and about our older adults. After more than a year of managing through the COVID-19 crisis, nonprofit nursing facilities have experienced a lack of access to Personal Protective Equipment, navigated unprecedented resident social isolation and are now confronted with an all too familiar challenge – finding enough compassionate, empathetic and skilled staff to provide older adults with the care they need and deserve. (Jeannee Parker Martin and Cheryl Wilson, 9/29)
The Mercury News:
California Leading The Nation With Universal School Meals Program
Childhood hunger is a major issue in this country — one with wide-ranging consequences in learning, behavior and health. Santa Clara County has emerged as a leader in advocating for a strong, common-sense solution to ensure that every child in our county is ready to learn and thrive: universal school meals. As a country, we have promised every child a free education. Providing students with free school meals ensures that every child is ready to take advantage of that education. Free school meals also help create community — no longer do children need to be divided into “free, reduced, and paid” — they are just our children. Federal meals programs like school meals and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, known as CalFresh in California) are a lifeline for families but do not serve enough people because they do not account for the cost of living in Silicon Valley. (Susan Ellenberg, Tracy Weatherby and Mary Ann Dewan, 9/30)
The Mercury News:
San Jose City Council Should Ban Flavored Tobacco Sales
The San Jose City Council on Tuesday should join Oakland and San Francisco in banning all sales of flavored tobacco products. Tobacco addiction remains the No. 1 cause of preventable death in California. Nearly nine out of every 10 smokers begin smoking by age 18. And eight in every 10 Santa Clara County teen-agers who use tobacco products smoke a flavored tobacco product. This we know. (9/27)