San Diego Union-Tribune: As Deadline Looms, Navy And Marine Corps Prepare To Boot Troops Who Refuse COVID-19 Vaccine 
San Diego-area sailors and Marines on active duty face administrative discharges from the military if they fail to meet the Navy department’s Nov. 28 coronavirus vaccination deadline, according to the latest orders issued by the services. Those orders, issued in separate messages this month, give unit commanders a road map on how to proceed with those who refuse to comply with the vaccine mandate. (Dyer, 10/28)

Roll Call: Pentagon May Not Immediately Fire Vaccine Resisters
Facing criticism that mandates for coronavirus vaccinations could force the Defense Department to fire thousands of civilians, contractors and troops, the Biden administration is signaling that vaccine resisters may get more time to comply. President Joe Biden and administration officials have previously said Pentagon employees and contractors have to be vaccinated or face termination on a series of upcoming deadlines.  ...  Three administration officials in the last couple of days have described the deadlines not as the dates when an axe will fall but rather as the start of an education process designed to convince those who are resisting vaccination to reverse course. (Donnelly, 10/29)

Fox News: Biden Admin Barred From Firing Unvaccinated Employees After DC Judge Issues Injunction
A Washington, D.C., district court judge issued a temporary restraining order Thursday that prevents both civilian and active-duty military plaintiffs from being terminated after they sued the Biden administration over religious exemptions to COVID-19 vaccines. "None of the civilian employee plaintiffs will be subject to discipline while his or her request for a religious exception is pending," District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly ordered, according to a Minute Order obtained by Fox News. The judge also ruled that "active duty military plaintiffs, whose religious exception requests have been denied, will not be disciplined or separated during the pendency of their appeals." (Brown, 10/28)

The Washington Post: Air Force Is First To Face Troops’ Rejection Of Vaccine Mandate As Thousands Avoid Shots 
Up to 12,000 Air Force personnel have rejected orders to get fully vaccinated against the coronavirus despite a Pentagon mandate, and officials say it is too late for them to do so by the Tuesday deadline, posing the first major test for military leaders whose August directive has been met with defiance among a segment of the force. The vast majority of active-duty airmen, more than 96 percent, are at least partially vaccinated, according to data from the Air Force. (Horton, 10/28)

San Francisco Chronicle: Alameda County To Allow Fully Vaccinated People To Remove Masks In Offices, Gyms
Alameda County will allow fully vaccinated people to remove their masks in a limited number of indoor settings — bringing its policies into line with those of San Francisco, Marin, Sonoma and Contra Costa counties. Starting Monday, people in offices, gyms, churches and other indoor venues that host groups of people who gather regularly will be able to remove their masks, provided all are vaccinated and no one has COVID-19 symptoms. (Galbraith, 10/28)

San Francisco Chronicle: In-N-Out Shuts All Contra Costa County Outposts For Indoor Dining After Vaccine Mandate Controversy
In-N-Out has decided to close its five Contra Costa County locations for indoor dining rather than comply with the county’s vaccine mandate. The burger chain told the Contra Costa County health department on Wednesday that its Pleasant Hill, San Ramon, Brentwood, Pittsburg and Pinole restaurants would no longer let customers eat inside, but remain open for takeout and drive-thru orders. (Kadvany, 10/28)

Los Angeles Times: COVID Anti-Vax Teachers, School Workers Lose Jobs In L.A. 
Two teachers, a teaching assistant and a cafeteria manager — all were opposed to the COVID-19 vaccination mandate for Los Angeles school employees. One remains teaching, but lost a beloved position; another was fired outright. An employee who won an exemption is out of work anyway. And yet another gave in to a jab at the last minute, but only because of a family crisis. Their anti-vaccine views are outliers among some 73,000 colleagues, 95% of whom have had at least one shot. But Jamal Y. Speakes Sr., Hovik Saponghian, Angela Karapetyan and Nadine Jackson paid a price for holding to personal beliefs in the face of public-health policy mandates and experts who cite strong evidence that COVID-19 vaccines are safe and effective. (Blume, 10/29)

Southern California News Group: California Charter School Fires 7 Employees For Refusing COVID Vaccine 
Seven employees from Granada Hills Charter who were fired this week for refusing to get their COVID-19 shots are believed to be the first public school employees in California to lose their jobs over such vaccination mandates, an attorney representing some of the workers said Thursday, Oct. 28. The school’s board of directors voted unanimously the day before to fire the employees, who were denied exemptions, including ones based on religious beliefs, according to attorney James Lloyd. (Tat, 10/29)

Bay Area News Group: COVID Outbreak Among Cheerleaders At California High School
The cheerleading team at a Los Angeles County high school has been put on hiatus because it is the apparent center of a COVID-19 outbreak. An email sent to Valencia High School families on Tuesday by principal Pete Getz said 33 cases have been confirmed among students and staff. Most of the infected students are cheerleaders. (10/28)

Bay Area News Group: Schools Officials Tackle Berkeley High COVID Outbreak 
The Berkeley school district said Thursday that seven people at Berkeley High School are isolating at home after testing positive for COVID-19. According to a statement at least five of the seven constitute an outbreak at the school as defined by the city’s public health department, and six “impact Berkeley High School athletics programs,” spokesperson Trish McDermott said. (Kelly, 10/28)

CalMatters: Pandemic Rules, Stress Of College Life Threaten RAs Strikes 
Resident advisers are often the first people students turn to for help navigating the party culture, roommate dynamics, and academic stress that can make college life complicated. But during the COVID-19 pandemic, the role has come with an added risk. For many RAs, being back on campus this year has meant they are now enforcing their schools’ pandemic policies, while navigating the rules themselves. RAs that spoke to the CalMatters College Journalism Network — some anonymously out of fear of reprisal from their universities or to protect the identities of students in their residence halls — described struggling to balance their coursework with the demands of the job. (Luna, Doshi, Rashad and Vargas, 10/28)

Fresno Bee: Fresno, San Joaquin Valley Lag In COVID Vaccination Rates 
It took 10 months from the time when the first coronavirus vaccinations became available for Fresno County to get at least half of its residents fully vaccinated. As of Wednesday, more than 518,000 people were fully vaccinated against COVID-19 out of the county’s overall population of about 1,032,000. Those are people who have received either both shots of the two-dose vaccines from Pfizer BioNTech or Moderna, or a single dose of the one-shot product from Janssen/Johnson & Johnson. (Sheehan, 10/28)

City News Service: LA County’s Ferrer Makes Case For Vaccinating Younger Kids Against COVID-19 
With federal officials likely to approve emergency use of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine for kids aged 5-11 in the coming days, Los Angeles County’s public health director stressed on Thursday, Oct. 28, that children in that age group are susceptible to infection. Barbara Ferrer also said the county will be ready to begin administering pediatric doses of the vaccine as soon as the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issues an emergency use authorization, possibly as early as Wednesday. Ferrer said the county will have about 150,000 doses of the vaccine on hand to begin administering the shots. (10/28)

Los Angeles Times: Analysis: Do We Vaccinate Kids If Pandemic’s End Is Near? 
If this were December 2020, or August 2021, the argument for vaccinating young children against COVID-19 would be easy to make. With case counts surging and hospitals near capacity, giving young kids a jab would be counted on to slow transmission of a virus that’s killing thousands of Americans a day. The risk that inoculation could cause heart inflammation in young kids appears to be minuscule. Countering the coronavirus would clearly win out. (Healy, 10/28)

Modesto Bee: Could COVID Vaccine Be Annual Shot For Immunocompromised?
Some people with weakened immune systems can now receive a fourth COVID-19 shot to boost protection against the disease, which they may not have received enough of the first, second or even third time around, according to updated guidance posted on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. COVID-19 vaccines do a remarkable job in protecting people from severe disease, but evidence shows immunocompromised people may not develop as robust antibody responses — or any at all. And doctors aren’t sure how that translates to protection against COVID-19 for anyone, though data from other vaccines shows higher antibody levels typically equal greater immunity. (Camero, 10/28)

Stat: Biden Abandons His Push To Lower Drug Prices 
The White House is abandoning every single policy idea aimed at lowering prescription drug prices in President Biden’s domestic spending package, it announced Thursday morning. Biden is effectively admitting he can’t overcome deeply entrenched pharmaceutical industry opposition to any change to the status quo, even with broad political support for the effort, and both chambers of Congress in Democratic control. The announcement came as part of an effort from Biden to put together a framework for a major domestic spending package that the entire Democratic caucus in Congress could support. (Cohrs, 10/28)

Politico: Dems’ Drug Pricing Dreams Crash Into Reality In Social Spending Tumult 
Democrats control Washington and their proposal to let the government negotiate drug prices is backed by more than 80 percent of the public. But, like many before them, they have so far failed to prevail over the pharmaceutical industry and pass a plan that directly addresses the price of drugs for most Americans. The sweeping social spending package before Congress remains a work in progress and four industry lobbyists told POLITICO they aren‘t celebrating just yet. But President Joe Biden’s Thursday pitch to Capitol Hill eliminates any effort to crack down on drug prices, a coup for the industry that has spent months pouring millions into lobbying and advertising campaigns. (Ollstein, Wilson and Fuchs, 10/28)

Roll Call: Democrats Vow To Continue Fight On Drug Pricing In Budget Bill
Democrats on Capitol Hill say they are continuing to work toward allowing Medicare to negotiate prices for some prescription drugs in their social spending package, although the provision was left out of a $1.75 trillion framework agreement the White House released Thursday. For weeks, Democrats have been at odds over how to address drug pricing, a longtime party priority, in a budget reconciliation package. While it’s been clear that any effort to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices would likely be more narrow than the policy advanced by House committees last month, the framework only calls for repealing a Trump-era rule requiring pharmacy benefit managers and insurance companies to share drug manufacturer rebates with patients at the pharmacy counter. (McIntire and Clason, 10/28)

Stat: Pelosi Working To Gather Support For Last-Ditch Drug Pricing Policy
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office is working to gather support for a last-ditch proposal to lower prescription drug costs after the White House shunned the issue Thursday morning, according to four sources briefed on the policy. The new policy, which Pelosi’s office is pitching as a collaboration between House Energy & Commerce Chair Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) and Rep. Scott Peters (D-Calif.), would allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices for medications administered by doctors and at the pharmacy counter, after their so-called exclusivity period, granted by the Food and Drug Administration, expires, four sources said. (Cohrs, 10/28)

Stat: Here's How Biden Can Address Drug Prices Without Congress
If President Biden wants major pharmaceutical industry reforms, he may have to achieve them on his own. That’s looking increasingly likely after the White House’s concession on Thursday that it is abandoning its push for Congress to include major drug pricing provisions in its long-debated social spending bill. (Facher, 10/29)

San Francisco Chronicle: UCSF Announces Opening Of $535 Million Brain Research Facility
UCSF on Thursday marks the opening of the Weill Neurosciences Building, a groundbreaking facility that — once all the crates are unboxed — will bring patients, physicians, medical scientists and researchers together under one roof in the hopes of treating brain diseases that have until now proved largely intractable. The 282,500-square-foot building at UCSF’s Mission Bay campus is unlike any other in America for its multi-disciplinary approach, said Dr. Stephen Hauser, director of the Weill Institute for Neurosciences, which was founded in 2016 and will be housed in the new complex. It will be the largest integrated neurology and neuroscience center in the U.S. (Vaziri, 10/28)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Amid Chip Shortage, ResMed Says Medical Devices Need Priority 
ResMed Chief Executive Mick Farrell usually delegates negotiations with suppliers to the San Diego company’s production executives. But amid continuing component shortages, Farrell has been on numerous Zoom calls recently urging semiconductor makers, in particular, to consider placing medical devices — such as ResMed’s ventilators, sleep apnea machines and other respiratory gear — toward the front of the line for shipments. (Freeman, 10/28)

AP: US Lowers Cutoff For Lead Poisoning In Young Kids
U.S. health officials have changed their definition of lead poisoning in young children — a move expected to more than double the number of kids with worrisome levels of the toxic metal in their blood. The more stringent standard announced Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention means the number of children ages 1 to 5 considered to have high blood lead levels will grow from about 200,000 to about 500,000. (Stobbe, 10/28)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Lead Poisoning Fears Prompt San Diego To Prioritize Adding Unleaded Fuel At City Airports 
Mounting pressure from community leaders in Clairemont and Serra Mesa has prompted San Diego officials to prioritize adding unleaded fuel tanks at Montgomery Field in Kearny Mesa and Brown Field in Otay Mesa. Residents say children are vulnerable to lead poisoning and negative cognitive impacts if they live or attend school under the flight paths of those two municipal airports. (Garrick, 10/29)

Los Angeles Times: Poor Neighborhoods Bear The Brunt Of Extreme Heat 
“Thermal inequities,” as scientists call them, checker the landscape of L.A. and other cities as they heat up from climate change. In a recent study that used satellite data from 2013 to 2019, UC Davis researchers found that California’s metro areas have greater temperature disparities between their poorest and wealthiest neighborhoods than any other state in the southwestern U.S. (Barboza and Vives, 10/28)

Los Angeles Times: Low-Income Seniors 'Essentially Trapped' In Chinatown Building As Owner Is Charged For Inoperable Elevators 
The elevators in Cathay Manor, a low-income senior housing complex in Chinatown, haven’t worked in weeks. On Thursday, Los Angeles City Atty. Mike Feuer announced that his office has filed 16 misdemeanor charges against the building’s owners. “It is outrageous that vulnerable senior citizens in a 16-story high-rise are essentially trapped in their units,” Feuer said. (Smith and Do, 10/28)

Sacramento Bee: Sacramento Sobering Center Served 457 People In First Year 
A sobering center in downtown Sacramento, believed to be the first of its kind in California, has served 457 people in its first year. Most were homeless. A former WellSpace community health center at Seventh and H streets has been converted into the Substance Use Respite and Engagement (SURE) center. It’s well-lit and clean, including a lobby, several dark rooms with beds and reclining chairs, a lounge, and staff offices. (Clift, 10/28)

Los Angeles Times: The Journalist Who Foretold The Opioid Epidemic Sounds The Alarm On The Next Wave
[Sam] Quinones’ latest book, “The Least of Us: True Tales of America and Hope in the Time of Fentanyl and Meth,” is — despite its somewhat upbeat subtitle — an equally distressing read. Mexican drug traffickers have figured out how to make more damaging drugs more cheaply, effectively controlling the lives of addicts and communities across the U.S. Quinones cuts the baleful trafficking news with stories about innovative rehab programs, drug courts and addicts who get clean. But these wins look paltry in comparison with the traffickers, who count their victories by the ton or in the hundreds of millions of dollars. (Ryan, 10/29)

San Francisco Chronicle: State Investigating S.F.'s Decision To Reject Turning Parking Lot Into 500 Housing Units
The California Department of Housing and Community Development is investigating whether the San Francisco Board of Supervisors acted improperly when it rejected a 495-unit apartment complex near Sixth and Market streets. On Tuesday, in an 8-3 vote, the board upheld an appeal of the apartment complex at 469 Stevenson St., essentially saying that the project’s 1,129-page environmental study was inadequate and directing city planning staff and the developer to redo it. The broader study could take a year or two, and the Board of Supervisors could still reject the project if they deem that inadequate. (Dineen, 10/28)

Sacramento Bee: COVID Isn’t Going Away. Neither Should Our Caution
Judging by crowded restaurants, airports and NBA arenas, something like post-pandemic life has begun even in parts of California and the country that long avoided activities likely to spread the coronavirus. And yet the accumulation of pandemic deaths is far from ending in much of the state, nation and world. It follows that masks in high-risk locations, booster shots, vaccine mandates, enhanced sick leave and other COVID precautions and policies once regarded as ephemeral could — and should — be with us for the foreseeable future. Far from eradication, a rare fate among the viruses that have afflicted humans, the coronavirus appears to be making a gradual transition from pandemic to endemic. As its repercussions grow more routine, so should our efforts to limit them. (10/27)

San Francisco Chronicle: Not Even COVID Could Teach Americans How To Talk About Death
During the COVID-19 pandemic, we have grown accustomed to the daily tickers counting how many people are dying from the disease. Charts and graphs of the deaths have become omnipresent in our collective psyche. But death largely remains a taboo topic in America. Only about 1 in 3 Americans has an advance directive spelling out their desires for end-of-life care. It seems that as a society, we are content to avoid discussion of how we want to die until such talk becomes necessary. (Sathvik Namburar, 10/27)

The Mercury News: Governor Must Deliver On Testing Unvaccinated State Workers
In July, Gavin Newsom announced a mandate that state workers be vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo weekly testing. It was absolutely the right thing to do in order to quell the pandemic. But, as Californians have too often come to expect, the governor is delivering far less than promised. The Los Angeles Times reported Monday that since the state policy took effect in August, California is failing to test even half of the state’s unvaccinated workers. (10/27)

Southern California News Group: Why In-N-Out Is Wrong About Vaccine Mandates
Vaccine-related temper tantrums like the recent one from In-N-Out serve nobody well. Why can’t this high-profile burger chain — and others in leisure and hospitality businesses — see that in order to put the pandemic in the past, efforts to throttle it should be embraced? The latest business clap-back involves Bay Area regulations mandating restaurant and bar staff check indoor customers’ vaccination status. (Jonathan Lansne, 10/28)

San Francisco Chronicle: Why Making In-N-Out Play Vaccine Police Is Actually Bad For Public Health
Until now, California had been on the right side of COVID-19 risk mitigation. When the virus was raging out of control early last year, and its virulence relatively unknown, the state imposed controversial but effective measures to control infection and hospitalization. As health officials learned more, they throttled back restrictions to find a balance between imposition and safety. But our current requirements and punitive actions suggest that many of California’s health officials may be going off gut feel, or worse — ideology, rather than a calculable risk methodology. (Chirag Asaravala, 10/28)

Sacramento Bee: Old Sacramento Has Become A Symbol For City’s COVID Recovery 
Much is made in Sacramento about the economic engines in the downtown core and midtown area, and how crucial their revitalization is to the city’s post-pandemic recovery. But somewhat unexpectedly it’s been Old Sacramento, the city’s historic waterfront homage to our Gold Rush roots, that’s become a living laboratory of COVID hardship and our ability to recover. The misery of this pandemic has consumed its cobblestone streets. Prolonged stay-at-home orders shuttered storefronts and added new vacancies. Members of the unhoused population found respite in the absence of the hum and hustle, sheltering in alcoves and sleeping on terminus benches. (Yousef Baig, 10/24)

The Mercury News: Use Of Underprepared Special Ed Teachers Harms Children
The number of credentialed special education teachers in California has not kept up with demand, a shortage exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The State Teacher Retirement System reported a 26% increase in teacher retirements in the last half of 2020 compared to 2019. A 2021 study by the Learning Policy Institute indicates districts are filling vacancies with underprepared teachers. The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing reported 60% of first-year special education teachers in 2019-2020 were underprepared to take on the role.  Underprepared teachers assume responsibility for specialized instruction and federally mandated Individual Education Plans, or IEPs, despite having taken little coursework and sometimes not being enrolled in a credential program. This does little to support the academic achievement of special education students who scored 88.1 points below standard in English Language Arts and 119.4 points below standard in mathematics, according to the California Department of Education. (Lisa Simpson, 10/28)

Orange County Register: OC’s Homelessness Approach Isn’t Moving The Needle 
Like most communities across California, Orange County is facing a growing and seemingly intractable problem with homelessness. This is a complex and multifaceted problem that touches on issues ranging from limited housing to mental health, so we don’t expect quick and easy solutions. But how hard is the county really trying? The latest news at the county’s Commission to End Homelessness was somewhat encouraging, although that’s a low bar when it comes to a powerless, unfunded and largely do-nothing commission. (10/27)

Los Angeles Times: The Supreme Court Has To Save More Than Abortion Access In Texas. It Has To Save Itself
After twice refusing to block a blatantly unconstitutional Texas law that bans almost all abortions, the Supreme Court will hear arguments Monday on whether federal courts have the authority to strike down the law. The court could also decide, finally, to halt the law. The court agreed to take two cases challenging the Texas law — one brought by the U.S. Department of Justice and the other by a group of abortion providers. In a rare move, the court also hyper fast-tracked the date for oral arguments — to just 10 days later. The court did not agree to decide the constitutionality of the law. (10/29)

Sacramento Bee: Supreme Court To Decide If States Can Ignore Constitution 
The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Monday in two cases challenging a Texas law that prohibits abortions after the sixth week of pregnancy. The stakes in these cases are great not only for the future of Roe v. Wade but also for the ability of states to violate the U.S. Constitution. No one disputes that Texas’ Senate Bill 8 blatantly violates the Constitution. The Supreme Court has ruled for almost 50 years that states cannot prohibit abortions until a fetus is viable — about the 24th week of pregnancy. Yet the Texas law prohibits abortions far earlier than that. Until and unless Roe v. Wade is overruled, the Texas law is unconstitutional and should be enjoined. (Erwin Chemerinsky, 10/27)

Los Angeles Times: The Texas Abortion Ban Is Already Harming Reproductive Rights Beyond Texas 
On Monday, the Supreme Court will hear arguments on the Texas abortion ban that it has so far declined to block. In the two months since SB 8 was passed, access to abortion in Texas has been severely restricted, and its effects have gone well beyond Texas. (Sylvia Ghazarian, 10/29)