Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Déjà Vu for California Voters on Dialysis
Californians are again being asked to weigh in on a dialysis ballot measure. This one purports to target patient safety, and dialysis industry giants are once again spending big to defeat it. (Samantha Young, )
COVID Strikes Megachurch That Defied Orders: An evangelical megachurch in Los Angeles that has defied L.A. County public health orders and held indoor worship services for the last several weeks has been struck with an outbreak of the coronavirus, public health officials confirmed Thursday. Grace Community Church in Sun Valley has seen three confirmed cases. The church has an estimated attendance of 7,000. Read more from the Los Angeles Times.
In A Pandemic, Death Certificates Are Critical Component: A death certificate is a final marker in someone’s life — an official accounting of the end. Despite their importance, study after study has shown that as many as half of them are wrong. On death certificates, doctors have often blamed heart disease and other chronic conditions for deaths actually caused by viruses, lethal bacteria and other infections — leading health officials to underestimate their role in American mortality. Read more from the Los Angeles Times.
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
USA Today:
'They Are So Well Taken Care Of': Trump Defends Separating Migrant Children From Parents
President Donald Trump said Thursday only immigrants with the “lowest IQ” attend their immigration hearings. His comment came after moderator Kristen Welker asked during the final presidential debate if his administration had plans to reunite the hundreds of children who remain separated from their parents at the border. A recent court filing revealed that parents of 545 immigrant children separated at the border have not been found. ... On stage Thursday, Trump repeatedly accused Biden of building the steel cages during the Obama administration that act as holding pens for migrants who have crossed into the U.S. without documentation. Photos of children separated from their families and held in the facilities under the Trump administration caused a national uproar two years ago. (Jervis, 10/23)
Business Insider:
Trump Falsely Claims Only Migrants With 'Lowest IQ' Appear In Court
During Thursday's presidential debate, President Donald Trump falsely claimed that, of the migrants arrested by US immigration authorities who are released from custody pending their court proceedings, only those "with the lowest IQ" show up for their immigration hearings. "Less than 1% of the people come back. We have to send ICE out and border patrol out to find them," Trump said. "When you say they come back — they don't come back, Joe, they never come back. Only the really — I hate to say this — but those with the lowest IQ, they might come back," he added. Trump's claims refer to an immigration policy often called "catch and release," where immigration authorities have the discretion to release detained migrants who they deem to be a low safety or flight risk, pending their immigration court proceedings. (Sonnemaker, 10/22)
San Francisco Chronicle:
FDA Makes Gilead’s Remdesivir The First Approved Coronavirus Treatment Drug In The U.S.
The antiviral drug remdesivir was approved by the federal government Thursday for use on hospitalized COVID-19 patients, making it the first fully authorized treatment for the coronavirus in the United States. The drug, developed by Gilead Sciences of Foster City, was approved by the Food and Drug Administration, giving doctors official sanction to prescribe it to patients. Trademarked under the name Veklury, it was one of the drugs given to President Trump to treat his bout with COVID and has been used regularly in hospitals under what is known as an emergency use authorization. (Fimrite, 10/22)
Bay Area News Group:
Coronavirus: California Records Deadliest Day Of October, Cases Rise In Bay Area
Counties around California reported their highest total of deaths from COVID-19 in nearly a month Thursday, and in the Bay Area, a majority of counties are reporting more new cases than a week ago, according to data compiled by this news organization. (Webeck, 10/22)
Bay Area News Group:
15th Death Reported In Santa Cruz County Skilled Nursing Facility Coronavirus Outbreak
Another resident of Watsonville Post-Acute Center has died in connection to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak first reported in September. According to Santa Cruz County spokesman Jason Hoppin, the individual died Oct. 15 but due to the necessity to wait for verification of death certificates, the fatality was not reflected on the Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency coronavirus dashboard until Thursday. (Hartmen, 10/23)
Los Angeles Times:
Yolo County Caps Social Gatherings At 16 People
Officials in Yolo County are taking California’s coronavirus restrictions a step further by placing a hard limit on socially distant gatherings. A new health order issued Wednesday said celebrations and get-togethers must be capped at 16 people. The Northern California county, which is primarily rural but includes the university town of Davis and parts of Greater Sacramento, enacted the new rules in an effort to avoid sliding back into the purple tier of the state’s color-coded reopening system, which indicates the highest widespread risk of local infection. (Smith, 10/22)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Meet 5 San Diegans Taking Part In The Historic Search For A COVID-19 Vaccine
From San Diego to São Paulo to South Africa, tens of thousands of volunteers are taking part in clinical trials that could lead to a vaccine for the worst pandemic humanity has faced in a century. There are four such trials in the United States, testing COVID-19 vaccines developed by AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna and Pfizer. San Diego is part of all of them. (Wosen, 10/23)
Los Angeles Times:
Hoag Memorial Hospital In Newport Beach Begins First Phase Of Clinical Trial For COVID-19 Vaccine
There are two reasons Chen Cao decided she would participate in a clinical trial for a potential vaccine for COVID-19: the first being that she was healthy and qualified. The second being, “I’m really sick of COVID right now.” Cao, 25, was the first patient on Wednesday to be dosed in the first phase of a clinical trial testing a vaccine candidate called hAd5-COVID-19. The vaccine was developed in a collaboration between NantKwest, Inc. and ImmunityBio, whose chairman and chief executive officer, Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, owns the Los Angeles Times, the Daily Pilot and other newspapers in Southern California. (Nguyen, 10/22)
LA Daily News:
LA County, City Advancing Plans For Coronavirus Rapid Testing Program
Two months after Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced a coordinated effort to establish wide-scale use of rapid, at-home COVID-19 tests, local health officials are poised to announce details of a pilot program next week that will employ an FDA-approved test and assess the feasibility of its widespread use. “There’s a lot of work that goes into developing plans and implementing these sorts of studies, and we are very excited about the partnership with the city of L.A. and USC that we have made considerable progress over the last two months,” Dr. Paul Simon, chief science officer for the county Department of Public Health, told reporters in an online briefing Thursday. (10/22)
The Bakersfield Californian:
Kern County To Use 'Reverse 911' To Notify Residents Of Nearby COVID-19 Testing Sites
Some Kern County residents can now expect to hear from a “reverse 911” system to inform them of nearby coronavirus testing sites. In an effort to bring down COVID-19 transmission in parts of the county with the lowest socioeconomic scores, Kern officials have decided to notify residents of the presence of two mobile testing units through the county’s ReadyKern emergency notification system. (Morgen, 10/22)
Los Angeles Times:
L.A. Eases Rules For Some Schools To Reopen Under Waivers
County officials have made it easier for elementary schools to reopen for their youngest students under waivers, dropping a requirement for schools to provide a letter of support from employee unions as part of the application, The Times has learned. The decision streamlines the application process and could potentially reopen classrooms to thousands of children, but it’s likely to raise concerns among teachers and other employees about possible exposure to health risks. (Blume and Newberry, 10/22)
Orange County Register:
Garden Grove Unified To Reopen Classrooms In Phases Starting Oct. 28
Garden Grove Unified School District has a new, tiered strategy for reopening its classrooms for younger students. Orange County’s third-largest district has announced it will resume in-person instruction in three phases to help it navigate the coronavirus pandemic and meet the needs of families. (Albano, 10/22)
The Bakersfield Californian:
Kern County Heart And Stroke Walk To Be Held Virtually On Saturday
The annual Kern County Heart and Stroke Walk will be held in a virtual format on Saturday. According to a news release from the American Heart Association, the event’s purpose is to celebrate heart and stroke survivors, raise lifesaving funds and encourage an active lifestyle. “The Kern County Heart and Stroke Walk has always been more than just a one-day effort,” said Ken Keller, 2020 Kern County Heart and Stroke Walk Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Dignity Health - Bakersfield Memorial Hospital. “Many of these teams have been active throughout the year and working to raise funds for American Heart Association. We are grateful to them and to the local business community for the support of healthy lifestyles.” (10/22)
LA Daily News:
California’s Last-Ditch Effort To Stop Abandonment Of Toxic LA County Plant Fails
The state Department of Toxic Substances Control filed its appeal Sunday, alongside an emergency motion to prevent Exide from dumping the site before the matter is heard. Attorneys for the state argued the property poses an “imminent and substantial” harm to public health once Exide stops paying for preventative measures — including an $800,000-a-month tent keeping toxic dust from spreading to neighboring communities in southeast L.A. County — on Oct. 30. (Henry, 10/22)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Trump’s Attack On Fauci Won’t Distract Many Voters From The Real ‘Disaster’
The national resurgence of the pandemic, from which California is one of a few fortunate exceptions, foretells still more suffering that could have been prevented. It also ensures that no amount of government thuggery, yellow journalism or pathogenic barnstorming on the eve of the election can distract American voters from the country’s continuing coronavirus disaster. Hence President Trump’s recent disparagement of Dr. Anthony Fauci, true to his penchant for attributing his own faults to his opponents, as “a disaster.” (10/21)
San Francisco Chronicle:
The Irreversible Monstrosity Of The Trump Administration’s Family Separations
To live under the Trump presidency is to endure more reports of wrongdoing than the human capacity for outrage can reliably accommodate. This week offered a reminder of an atrocity that faded from the headlines — succeeded by so many other scandals and transgressions — even as it continued to wreak its devastation on hundreds of families. Lawyers appointed by a federal court revealed in a court filing Tuesday that they have been unable to reach the parents of 545 immigrant children who were taken from their families during the first year of President Trump’s administration. In just under half the cases, the parents have been located but not successfully contacted; in the remainder, they have not even been found, raising the prospect that hundreds of families separated by the U.S. government may never be reunited. (10/21)
Bay Area News Group:
Will Changes To American Life Become Permanent?
The coronavirus, widespread quarantines, an unprecedented self-induced recession and unchecked rioting, looting and protesting — all in a presidential election year — are radically disrupting American habits and behavior. Rents, home prices and office occupancy rates in major cities, especially on the two coasts, are dropping fast. Techies and young professionals have discovered that they can work from home without paying sky-high housing costs in order to be close to the office. (Victor Davis Hanson, 10/22)
Los Angeles Times:
I’m A ‘No’ On Dialysis Measure Prop. 23 And ‘Yes’ On The Property Tax Breaks In Prop. 19. Here’s Why
Proposition 23 might seem complicated, but really boils down to a simple question: Should kidney dialysis clinics be required to hire an extra doctor to be on hand while patients are undergoing treatment? Never mind that the doctor probably isn’t needed. That’s the official public narrative of Proposition 23. There’s another behind-the-scenes truth about the measure. (George Skelton, 10/22)
Fresno Bee:
What Is The Stem Cell Measure On The Fall Ballot About? Here’s What Is At Stake
California voters a few years ago agreed to dive into stem cell research in hopes of finding cures and treatments for 75 diseases and conditions afflicting people. Proposition 14 on the Nov. 3 ballot would keep it going. Previous funding created more than 1,000 medical projects at 70 institutions across the state. Research has saved and improved lives — curing more than 50 tiny “bubble baby” patients, developing two treatments for otherwise fatal blood cancers, and making strides against diabetes, blindness, paralysis and more. (10/22)
LA Daily News and CalMatters:
A Double Whammy For Jobless Workers
The good news is that California’s economy seems to be inching its way out of the very severe recession triggered by business shutdowns Gov. Gavin Newsom ordered to battle the COVID-19 pandemic. The bad news is that recovery has been very slow, especially in comparison to most other states. While California’s unemployment rate has dipped to 11%, it’s still one of the nation’s highest and in September, 1.6 million fewer Californians were employed than in February, before shutdowns began. Moreover, the official unemployment numbers don’t count about 850,000 California workers who have dropped out of the labor force since February. (Dan Walters, 10/20)
Bay Area News Group and CalMatters:
The Risky Business Of Bringing Children Back To School
District-by-district and school-by-school, some of California’s 6.1 million K-12 students are re-entering classrooms that have been shuttered for months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Most, however, remain locked out and trying, as best they can, to keep up with schoolwork via computer. It’s no secret that children in relatively affluent homes are faring better. Their parents are more likely to work from home, thus more able to help their kids, and/or are hiring private tutors. (Dan Walters, 10/22)