KRON4: Kaiser Strike Reaches 1 Month 
Thursday was the one month mark since thousands of mental health workers at Kaiser Permanente have been on strike. The workers say it’s not about money as that issue has been settled. But they continue to picket because they are demanding Kaiser hire more workers so they can have more time to deal with existing cases and so patients can have their needs met quicker. (Tran, 9/15)

Bay City News: No Agreement Reached Yet As Kaiser Mental Health Worker Strike Reaches One Month 
Thursday marks one month since over 2,000 Kaiser Permanente mental health care workers went on strike to demand increased staffing and improved access to care for patients who sometimes must wait months for therapy appointments. The National Union of Healthcare Workers said in a statement that Kaiser refused to consider their proposal to improve conditions for health care workers and patients during negotiations Wednesday night. (9/15)

SF Gate: Concerns Grow For Patients Amid Bay Area Kaiser Strike
As Kaiser Permanente therapists across Northern California enter the second month of an ongoing strike, a growing number of patients are saying they’ve been unable to get appointments during the work stoppage, despite the HMO’s legal obligation to provide timely access to mental health care. (Bartlett, 9/15)

Sacramento Bee: COVID Testing No Longer Required For CA State Office Workers
Unvaccinated state employees will no longer be required to take weekly COVID-19 tests after Friday, according to a California Human Resources Department memo. The state has been requiring weekly tests since July 2021 for unvaccinated workers and those who declined to provide their vaccination status to try to prevent the virus from spreading in state workplaces. (Venteicher, 9/15)

Bay Area News Group: Want The New COVID-19 Vaccine Booster? No Problem, Unless It's Got To Be Moderna
If you want the new COVID-19 booster that protects against the latest circulating omicron variants, you have lots of options for appointments, except if you have your heart set on Moderna. (Woolfolk, 9/15)

Bay Area News Group: 'Vax My Kids Without My Permission And Expect A Visit From Me And My Rifle': San Ramon Man Convicted Of Threatening State Sen. Scott Wiener
A San Ramon man was convicted Wednesday of threatening State Senator Scott Wiener in an email that made reference to the assassination of another prominent openly gay Bay Area politician. (Gartrell, 9/15)

Los Angeles Daily News: COVID-19 Continues Decline, Monkeypox Shows Signs Of Slowing 
Both monkeypox and COVID-19 cases continue declining across Los Angeles County, health officials said during a Thursday afternoon, Sept. 15, briefing, continuing the trend of positive virus news that has relaxed indoor masking rules on the horizon. (Harter, 9/15)

Reuters: WHO 'Strongly Advises Against' Use Of Two COVID Treatments
Two COVID-19 antibody therapies are no longer recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), on the basis that Omicron and the variant's latest offshoots have likely rendered them obsolete. The two therapies - otrovimab as well as casirivimab-imdevimab, which are designed to work by binding to the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 to neutralise the virus' ability to infect cells - were some of the first medicines developed early in the pandemic. (Grover, 9/15)

Fox News: Marine Corps Rescinds Penalties For Service Members Seeking COVID Vax Religious Accommodations
The U.S. Marine Corps is rolling back strict punishments for service members seeking religious exemptions to the COVID-19 vaccine, including ending involuntary terminations and delays of promotions for those refusing the shot. According to a new "interim guidance," signed Sept. 14 and posted quietly online, the message "amends actions" directed toward unvaccinated Marines whose religious accommodation requests were denied and who appealed the decision. (Laco, 9/16)

The Washington Post: TPoxx Antiviral Should Only Be Given To High-Risk Monkeypox Patients, CDC Says 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued new guidance Thursday recommending that TPoxx, the only drug available to treat monkeypox, be limited to people at high risk for severe disease even as the outbreak that has infected more than 22,000 Americans shows signs of plateauing. ... At a White House monkeypox briefing Thursday, Anthony S. Fauci, medical adviser to President Biden, said resistance is always a risk when using antiviral drugs. He said a recently launched study of TPoxx will track signs of mutation that could lead to resistance. The study is expected to enroll more than 500 patients across 60 U.S. sites. (Sun and Diamond, 9/15)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Pool Patrons Notified, Offered Vaccination After Possible Monkeypox Exposure In Carlsbad 
The county health department is offering patrons of a private swim center in Carlsbad precautionary monkeypox vaccination after an employee working at the facility in early September tested positive. (Sisson, 9/15)

Axios: Monkeypox Awareness Surged Over The Summer
The public has quickly become familiar with monkeypox and how it spreads, but more than a quarter of Americans say they’re not likely to get vaccinated if exposed to the virus, according to a new Annenberg Public Policy Center survey. (Bettelheim, 9/15)

Axios: Health Agencies Work To Address Racial Gaps In Monkeypox Vaccine Coverage
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Thursday launched a pilot program to set aside up to 50,000 doses of JYNNEOS monkeypox vaccine for groups disproportionately affected by the outbreak who've faced barriers accessing the shots. (Dreher, 9/16)

Politico: Biden’s Monkeypox Adviser Is Trying Manage A Virus While Dodging Talk Of Satanism 
Demetre Daskalakis has become caricatured as a tattooed oddity among buttoned-up bureaucrats. The truth is far different. “I wish I were that interesting,” he says. (Daniels, 9/15)

The Hill: Nation Warned To Brace For A Difficult Flu Season
Health experts are warning the nation to brace for what could be an exceptionally severe flu season this fall and winter, as more people who have not built up immunity over the last few years mix and mingle. There are two big reasons why more people could be vulnerable to the flu this year.  The first is that with coronavirus restrictions such as the wearing of masks all but forgotten, people are more likely to come into contact with the flu virus this year than over the last two years.  (Choi, 9/15)

KQED: When Should You Get Your 2022 Flu Shot?
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that, annually, the flu caused 140,000-710,000 hospitalizations and 12,000-52,000 deaths between 2010 and 2020. But the organization says that in the 2020-2021 flu season, only around half of adults got a flu shot. Getting a flu vaccine can prevent you from getting sick with the flu, which is a draining, unpleasant experience even if your symptoms are not severe. And if you do get the flu, having a flu shot can also stop you from getting sick enough to have to go to the hospital (and be exposed to all the COVID risks hospital settings can bring). (Severn, 9/15)

The Atlantic: A Vaccine In Each Arm Could Be A Painful Mistake
At a press briefing earlier this month, Ashish Jha, the White House’s COVID czar, laid out some pretty lofty expectations for America’s immunity this fall. “Millions” of Americans, he said, would be flocking to pharmacies for the newest version of the COVID vaccine in September and October, at the same appointment where they’d get their yearly flu shot. “It’s actually a good idea,” he told the press. “I really believe this is why God gave us two arms.” (Wu, 9/15)

AP: Climate Change Jeopardizes Health Care Services, Report Says 
Dr. Suzy Fitzgerald remembers looking out the windows as wildfire flames surrounded the hospital where she worked. “We had fire in all three directions,” Fitzgerald recalled. “I thought, ‘Oh gosh, this is serious. We need to get these people out.’” Fitzgerald helped with the evacuation of 122 patients from Kaiser Permanente’s Santa Rosa Medical Center on that night nearly five years ago, as the blaze gobbled up homes and buildings across Northern California. The hospital, which had filled with smoke, closed for 17 days. Medical centers around the country say that fires, flooding, heat waves and other extreme weather are jeopardizing medical services, damaging health care facilities and forcing patients to flee their hospital beds, according to a report released Thursday by the House Ways and Means Committee. (Seitz, 9/15)

Modern Healthcare: Healthcare Industry On Defense In Climate Crisis: Report
Greenhouse gases released from the healthcare sector make up 10% of total U.S. emissions, and they continue to grow. According to the report, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gas emissions rose 6% between 2010 and 2018, resulting in the loss of 388,000 disability-adjusted life-years. The House Ways and Means Committee published these findings in conjunction with a hearing on the subject Thursday. (Hartnett, 9/15)

Read the report from the House Ways and Means Committee —

HEALTH CARE AND THE CLIMATE CRISIS: PREPARING AMERICA'S HEALTH CARE INFRASTRUCTURE

Stat: Lawmaker Requests Investigation Into HCA Over Billing Practices
A Democratic House lawmaker with oversight authority is calling for an investigation into the largest for-profit hospital chain in the country, HCA Healthcare. (Cohrs, 9/15)

Bloomberg: US Hospital Losses: 53% Expect To Lose Money This Year, AHA Study Finds
An eight-hour emergency room wait. The closing of a local clinic in a high-poverty area of rural Arkansas. Dwindling maternity wards. These are some of the outcomes of the financial pain US hospitals are feeling as spiking costs dictate sometimes-dire decisions. And it’s not getting any better, according to a report Thursday. (Coleman-Lochner, 9/15)

San Diego Union-Tribune: 'Your Whole Face Lights Up': The Dentists Helping Formerly Homeless San Diegans Smile 
After being in and out of homeless shelters over the years, Danna Adair realized she’d been neglecting her teeth. “I didn’t have any back teeth, so I was using my front teeth to chew, and they were almost gone,” the 60-year-old recalled. “I knew that my teeth were not going to last much longer.” (Alvarenga, 9/16)

Los Angeles Times: Advocates Say Veto Doesn't Shut Door To Safe Injection Sites
In the sweltering heat, activist Soma Snakeoil gripped the microphone and led the crowd outside Los Angeles City Hall in a chant. “They talk! We die!” the crowd shouted. “They talk! We die!” It was International Overdose Awareness Day and dozens of people had gathered downtown to mourn and rage, lighting candles, laying down roses and planting purple flags in the City Hall lawn to remember the dead. At the microphone, harm reduction advocates demanded government action and investment in stopping overdose deaths as the annual toll has exceeded 10,000 statewide. (Reyes, 9/16)

San Francisco Chronicle: What Is Rainbow Fentanyl? The New Opioid Found In The Bay Area
“Rainbow fentanyl,” a brightly color version of the super powerful opioid largely driving the overdose epidemic, has hit the Bay Area, worrying public health and law enforcement experts. While the drug is just as powerful and deadly as other fentanyl on the streets, the so-called rainbow version is marketing ploy to make the drugs look appealing, sometimes resembling the popular cereal Fruit Loops or Skittles candy, experts say. (Ravani, 9/15)

Los Angeles Times: Two High School Students Arrested, One In Connection With Teen’s Overdose Death
Two high school boys were arrested Thursday, one on suspicion of manslaughter for allegedly selling what is believed to be a fentanyl-laced pill that led to the overdose death of a student at Helen Bernstein High School. The student was found in a bathroom at the Hollywood school this week, authorities said. (Blum, Lin and Winton, 9/15)

Axios: America's Fentanyl Problem A Growing Threat For Teens
Fentanyl is posing a growing health threat for teenagers across the nation, and as kids return to schools and colleges, officials warn there's a higher chance they may encounter the drug disguised in forms they might not expect. (Reed, 9/16)

NBC News: Two Powerful Drugs Are Making Their Way Into The Illicit Drug Supply
One is a class of synthetic opioids, called nitazenes, that can be up to 10 times stronger than fentanyl, experts say. Fentanyl is already 50 times more powerful than heroin. On Thursday, the Tennessee Department of Health published data showing a four-fold increase in deadly overdoses linked to nitazenes in the last two years. (Edwards, 9/15)

Stat: The Meth Crisis Is Worse Than Ever, But New Treatments Could Be Near
When it comes to meth addiction, Thomas Robey has long been at a loss. As an emergency room doctor, he treats a steady stream of patients who show up at Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett, Wash., after experiencing a methamphetamine overdose. (Facher, 9/16)

Axios: "Soberversaries" Help Shed The Stigma Of Addiction Recovery
As the pandemic winds down and people try to quit the drinking habits that may have crept up on them, the "soberversary" is emerging as a new holiday-esque milestone — complete with greeting cards, cheekily-worded coffee mugs and a growing social media presence. (Kingson, 9/16)

Los Angeles Times: ‘Sanctuary City’ Against Abortions? Temecula City Councilwoman Proposes Ban
A Temecula city councilwoman proposed during Tuesday’s meeting that the city should become a “sanctuary city” by banning abortions. “Let Temecula be known as a safe haven, not as an abortion sanctuary. Let the world know that Temecula stands for life from womb to tomb,” said Councilmember Jessica Alexander, who proposed the discussion to create a resolution barring abortions. (Lin, 9/15)

EdSource: California School Organizations Urge Veto Of Latest Bill To Remove Lead In School Water
A2017 state law led schools across California to have their faucets tested for lead in a program to reduce lead in school drinking water. A new bill that proposes to remove lead from schools and state buildings, awaiting Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature, now faces opposition from school groups. (Fensterwal, 9/16)

Sacramento Bee: How California’s Free School Lunches Use Locally Grown Food
Alfred Melbourne tromped through Three Sisters Gardens’ half-acre urban farm on a recent Friday morning dressed in black Ray-Ban sunglasses, cut-off shorts and a black tank top showing off his lean build and many tribal tattoos. Hummingbirds flitted through bean plants in West Sacramento’s Broderick neighborhood, next to rows of tomatoes and eggplants poking out from tangled vines. There were bell and serrano peppers, purple and Thai basil, two types of melons and patches of cilantro. (Egel, 9/16)

Los Angeles Times: How California’s CARE Court Will Address Mental Illness 
California has a new statewide approach to treatment for people struggling with serious mental illness: the CARE Court. The program connects people in crisis with a court-ordered treatment plan for up to two years, while diverting them from possible incarceration, homelessness or restrictive court-ordered conservatorship. (Garcia, 9/15)

Los Angeles Times: Long Beach Dockworkers Billed Health Plan For Sexual Services, Feds Say
Eight workers at the Port of Long Beach, a business owner and one of her employees were charged this week in federal court in connection with a scheme to fraudulently bill the dockworkers union’s health plan for sexual services and falsified physical therapy claims, prosecutors said. (Martinez, 9/15)

San Francisco Chronicle: Woman Files Suit Alleging Instagram Addiction Caused Depression, Eating Disorder
A Virginia woman filed a lawsuit against Meta — the parent company of Instagram and Facebook — alleging the company knowingly unleashed a defectively designed product which is “addictive, harmful, and at times fatal to children,” according to court records. In the civil complaint filed on Sept. 4 in San Mateo County, Laura Ashman, 21, of Fredricksburg, Va. said she became addicted to Instagram at age 12, scrolling through the site up to 10 hours per day. That usage, she added, caused her to develop a severe eating disorder and depression. (Umanzor, 9/15)

Sacramento Bee: Fighting A Good Fight: Jesuit’s Jeremy Merz Leads ALS Battle
Jeremy Merz can’t do the things he’d really like to do, tasks and joys his heart and soul crave. The tasks include engaging in lively conversation. Or chasing down his 4-year-old daughter Jordyn with a ball in hand. Or tending to his month-old twin girls. Or debate and discuss the merits of his job in pushing for fairness as a lawyer, or in insurance, or as a lobbyist. (Davidson, 9/16)

CalMatters: Make California A National Beacon For Reproductive Health Care Access 
After the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in June overturning Roe vs. Wade, radical and dangerous forced-birth policies have swept across the nation. More than one-third of U.S. women now live in states with draconian anti-abortion laws that make access to care impossible and put the health and well-being of women and families in grave danger. (Cristina Garcia and Nancy Skinner, 9/13)

Los Angeles Times: Editorial: A National 15-Week Abortion Ban Would Be A Nightmare. Voters Can Make Sure It Doesn't Come True
When the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade in June, striking down a constitutionally guaranteed right to abortion and directing decisions on abortion to be made by the states, Republican lawmakers hailed that approach. But no one — neither abortion rights supporters nor abortion opponents — expected GOP members of Congress to stop the assault on reproductive rights, no matter what they said. And now they have gone further. As if the chaos of a post-Roe nation of restrictions varying from state to state weren’t grim enough, now we have the makings of a nightmare: Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) on Tuesday introduced a nationwide 15-week abortion ban known as the Protecting Pain-Capable Unborn Children from Late-Term Abortions Act. This is a very restrictive abortion ban that is based on the premise that fetuses can feel pain at 15 weeks — a belief soundly rejected by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. (The Times Editorial Board, 9/15)

San Francisco Chronicle: Why I’m Getting A Vasectomy
My partner and I have been together for nearly a decade. We both knew early on, like 1 in 5 American adults, that we wanted to be a child-free couple. (Kevin Frazier, 9/15)

The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat: Close To Home: Protect Health Care For Striking Workers
More than any time in recent history, we have witnessed the remarkable dedication of California’s workers in keeping our economy moving, our children educated, our stores stocked, our farmlands harvested and our patients cared for. (Jim Wood, 9/12)

Los Angeles Daily News: When Will Los Angeles County Align With The State Of California On COVID? 
When will Los Angeles County align with the state of California and drop the requirement for 10-day masking after a “close contact” with someone who has had a positive test for COVID? When Barbara Ferrer feels like it. (Susan Shelley, 9/14)

Los Angeles Times: You Might Need A COVID Booster Yearly. But This Virus Is Still Nothing Like The Flu
Should everyone eligible get the new Omicron-specific COVID booster? Yes, absolutely. But we should not get lulled into the illusion that the fight against COVID is over and now comparable to preventing the flu. The deaths from COVID-19 in the U.S. this year make the case for boosters: Although unvaccinated people remain the majority of deaths, the proportion of vaccinated individuals dying in America has increased (42% of deaths last January and February, compared with 23% in September 2021). (Peter Chin-Hong, 9/14)

Fresno Bee: Our Recommendation On Prop. 29, SEIU's Latest Move Against California Dialysis Clinics
For the third time in four years, California voters are being asked to impose new requirements on dialysis clinics despite the fact that they are already highly regulated and by all available measures delivering competent care. (9/16)

San Francisco Chronicle: Flavored Tobacco Is A Public Health Menace. Yes On Prop. 31
Tobacco use still kills more than 480,000 people in the United States each year. It kills 40,000 people each year in California and drains nearly $10 billion in health care costs from the state’s coffers. (9/15)

Los Angeles Daily News: Prohibition Is A Bad Way To Deal With Flavored Tobacco 
On November 8, 2022, Californians will be able to vote up or down a law prohibiting the sale of flavored tobacco products statewide. The referendum, Proposition 31, would undo Senate Bill 793, a 2020 law that bans the sale of many flavored tobacco products but has yet to go into effect. The prohibited products are vapes, menthol cigarettes, and of special note, fruity and sweet flavorings like sour apple and gummy bear. (William Shughart and Josh T Smith, 9/12)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Substance Use Is Causing Devastation And Suffering In San Diego. Here's Why Street Health Is A Game Changer. 
Four years ago, the Father Joe’s Villages Street Health team encountered a young man in his early 20s who was facing substance use disorder. The team came across this young man on numerous occasions during Street Health sessions. At those times, it learned about his situation and would offer him assistance as he struggled to get back on his feet. (Jim Vargas, 9/8)

Fresno Bee: Clovis Man Backs Law To Protect Organ Donors From Job Losses, Higher Insurance Rates
Every time I renew my driver’s license, I’m asked to decide if I’d like to continue displaying that little pink dot on my license: “DONOR.” I agree to this every time, but have never really paused to think through the implications. (Lainie Esquivel, 9/14)

Los Angeles Times: California Makes It Too Hard For Schools To Shield Kids From Extreme Heat 
As students across Los Angeles Unified School District returned to the classroom, their schools were getting hit with a record-breaking heat wave. I visited one of these schools a few weeks ago and walked around a relatively small playground and eating area. It was asphalted, uncovered — and very hot, even before the heat wave. (Nick Melvoin, 9/16)