Thousands Of Kaiser Permanente Mental Health Workers To Strike Today: About 2,000 Kaiser Permanente mental health workers across the Bay Area and California’s Central Valley plan to go on strike Monday, demanding the health care provider boost staffing to curtail burdensome wait times for patients seeking appointments. Read more from Bay Area News Group, SFGate, CNN, and the San Francisco Chronicle.
In related news about the strike —
Therapy Appointments Are Being Canceled: The National Union of Healthcare Workers has accused Kaiser Permanente officials of illegally canceling or suspending mental and behavioral health services, citing the workers’ strike. Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
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
San Diego Union-Tribune:
'We Had To Fight For Ourselves': With Monkeypox, San Diego's LGBTQ Community Puts Decades-Old Lessons To Work
Four decades after a very different health crisis put a spotlight on the gay community, some San Diegans feel as though they’ve been time-warped back to the 1980s. They’re also calling on the support networks they have built since. (Alvarenga and Wilkens, 8/13)
Slate:
Monkeypox And Kids: The Risk Is Low.
Of the three ways that monkeypox is capable of spreading, direct contact with viral skin lesions is what’s really driving the outbreak. And “direct contact” does not mean just a fleeting touch. “This virus is in the lesions, and it’s on the surface of lesions. You have to rub the lesion enough on somebody so that enough virus finds a break in their skin, or finds a mucous membrane to cross,” says Susan McLellan, an infectious disease specialist at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston. The best way for the virus to do this, McLellan said, is sex. (Requarth, 8/13)
The Hill:
WHO Renames Two Monkeypox Variants To Avoid Geographic References
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced Saturday that it renamed variants of the virus monkeypox as it looks to counter concerns about the original naming conventions. “Newly identified viruses, related diseases & virus variants are given names to avoid causing offence to any cultural, social, national, regional, professional, or ethnic groups, & minimize the negative impact on trade, travel, tourism, or animal welfare,” the WHO said in its announcement. (Mueller, 8/14)
Bloomberg:
Monkeypox Virus: WHO Asks Public To Submit New Name Ideas In Online Portal
The World Health Organization is asking for the public’s help in renaming the monkeypox virus, part of an ongoing effort to discourage harmful misconceptions associated with the current name. “WHO is holding an open consultation for a new disease name for monkeypox. Anyone wishing to propose new names can do so,” the organization said in a statement. (Muller, 8/12)
Stat:
A Monkeypox Drug Was Approved Under The 'Animal Rule.' STAT Explains
Take a look at the list of conditions that have treatments available thanks to what’s known as the “Animal Rule” and you’ll see a rogues’ gallery of plagues you hope never see the light of day. There’s smallpox, anthrax, and, well, the actual plague. (Joseph, 8/15)
Vox:
Why Monkeypox Is A Repeat Of The Data Mistakes Made With Covid-19
The US declared monkeypox a public health emergency this month, but the decision may have come too late. Though states are now required to report cases, and commercial labs have an approved test, a testing bottleneck persists, and cases — which passed 10,000 confirmed cases this week — are likely still being underreported. Any effective public health response to an infectious disease is dependent on having accurate data. If the virus spreads to other populations, such as college dorms — where cases have already been reported — the testing bottleneck could ultimately make it impossible to contain the spread. Reliable demographic information is key to making the right choices for allocating limited tests and vaccines. (Dixon-Luinenburg, 8/14)
Politico:
Monkeypox May Be Here To Stay
It may be too late to stop monkeypox from circulating in the U.S. permanently. The Biden administration was caught off-guard when the CDC confirmed monkeypox in a Massachusetts man on May 18. It was part of the first major outbreak outside parts of Africa where the virus is endemic, an unusual event that quickly spun into a global health crisis. ... Epidemiologists, public health officials and doctors now fear the government cannot eliminate the disease in that community, and they’re warning that they are running out of time to stop the virus from spreading in the U.S. population more broadly. (Mahr, Messerly and Foley, 8/14)
Newsweek:
Dog With Monkeypox Sparks Questions About Human-To-Animal Transmission
A recent report from The Lancet showed evidence that two patients, both male who lived together, contracted monkeypox and most likely gave the virus to their 4-year-old Italian greyhound. ... The report said that 12 days after the onset of symptoms, their dog appeared to have the same scabs and lesions that coincide with monkeypox. Using PCR testing protocol and comparing monkeypox virus DNA sequences from the dog with one of the dog's owners, it was confirmed that the dog had monkeypox. (Mayer, 8/12)
BuzzFeed News:
Here’s What To Know About Monkeypox Risk For Dogs (Or Cats)
It's unclear if the dog has since recovered, but the researchers said more study is needed to better understand how this virus might affect pets and what isolation protocols are necessary to keep pets safe from infection altogether. Dogs and cats can contract other orthopoxviruses, too, such as the vaccinia virus, which is used in the smallpox/monkeypox vaccines, but this isn’t a concern at the moment. It’s unknown if less conventional pets like gerbils, guinea pigs, and hamsters can become infected with the virus. The CDC says domestic adult rabbits can “possibly” be infected, as well as mice and rats. Chinchillas and hedgehogs, other less popular pets, can catch monkeypox. (Camero, 8/12)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Exotic Pets First Brought Monkeypox To The U.S., And 19 Years Later, We Still Barely Regulate Them
Nineteen years ago, a 3-year-old from Wisconsin, Schyan Kautzer, was hospitalized; her small body was covered with a strange rash. Underneath a mop of red hair, her face was warm with a 103-degree fever. A photo from the time shows the girl, wearing a pink Winnie the Pooh shirt, next to her mother, Tammy, who cradles a small pet prairie dog, a gift from Mother’s Day. Barely noticeable is the tiny scab on the child’s index finger where the prairie dog had bitten her. The cause of her sickness? Monkeypox. (Linder, 8/15)
Los Angeles Times:
U.S. Polio Case Sparks Alarms From New York To California
Delays in getting children vaccinated during the COVID-19 pandemic and antivaccination sentiment in general may be fueling the most serious threat of polio in the U.S. in years, raising alarms from New York to California. In the last few weeks, health officials in New York identified the first person in nearly a decade in the U.S. to be diagnosed with polio. The person suffered paralysis. Since then, the polio virus has been found in wastewater not only in two counties in the area where the patient lives but also, as of Friday, in New York City. (Lin II and Money, 8/13)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Polio Threat Virtually Nonexistent To Vaccinated People In Bay Area
Despite concern over a case of polio being found in New York state in July, Bay Area infectious disease experts say the risk to the vaccinated public is virtually nonexistent — although the fact that any case at all popped up underscores the need to make sure people, particularly children, have had their shots. “I’d say there is mild to moderate concern,” said Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, an infectious disease expert with UCSF, but “it all depends on whether or not your kids have been vaccinated or you’ve been vaccinated.” (DiFeliciantonio, 8/13)
Slate:
Wait, Have I Been Vaccinated Against Polio?
The majority of adults in the US are vaccinated against polio, thanks in large part to the fact that most schools have polio vaccine mandates. But the virus can still find places to spread. According to the Centers for Disease Control, Rockland County has a polio vaccination rate of about 60 percent among two-year-olds (the age by which kids should have had three doses). This is much lower than the statewide average of nearly 80 percent, and the national average of 93 percent. In New York City, 86 percent of children between the ages of 6 months and 5 years old have gotten a full course of the polio inoculation. (Docter-Loeb, 8/12)
CBS News:
Did I Get The Polio Vaccine? How To Know If You Are Protected Against The Virus
To double-check which immunizations you have received, the CDC suggests asking parents or caregivers, locating old documents from your childhood, or even asking former schools, doctors and employers, as they may have kept a record of proof of immunization. ... Most adults do not need the vaccine, as they were likely vaccinated when they were children. But the CDC says some adults at higher risk for polio — including health care workers who may be exposed to the virus, lab workers and people traveling to certain parts of the world where polio occurs — may want to consider vaccination. And of course, unvaccinated adults are considered high-risk. (O'Kane, 8/12)
Sacramento Bee:
Sacramento School Districts Finalize COVID-19 Class Rules
With COVID-19 transmission rates on the downturn in California, Sacramento-area schools are finalizing their public health guidelines for the upcoming academic year. Sacramento and Yolo counties this month were downgraded to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s medium COVID-19 risk level for the first time since June 1, joining neighboring El Dorado and Placer counties. Across California, positivity rates and hospitalization numbers have gradually improved in recent weeks. (Hodgman, 8/15)
Long Beach Press-Telegram:
Back-To-School Brings Hope For New, Mask-Free Normal — But Pandemic Concerns Linger
A smattering of Los Angeles County public school districts have already begun their new academic years, with the rest set to do so in the coming weeks, none bigger than LAUSD, which gets underway on Monday, Aug. 15. (Haire, 8/14)
Bay Area News Group:
California High Schoolers Perkier With Later School Start?
On the first day of class after summer break at Santa Clara’s Adrian Wilcox High School, senior Anika Bose had a little spring in her step heading for her 8:45 a.m. first class with a fresh cup of Starbucks in hand. She wouldn’t have had time to grab that cup her freshman year when classes started at 7:30. (Woolfolk and Bagdasarian, 8/15)
KQED:
California Colleges Are Creating Centers To Assist Students With Their Basic Needs
As community college students return to their campuses, many will find one new resource to count on: a hub where they can seek support in meeting their basic needs. Known as basic needs centers, the resources offered differ from campus to campus, but most tend to help students who are experiencing housing and food insecurity. Others also offer other support like paying for auto insurance, finding low-cost medical care, paying for internet and applying for public benefits. (Rosales, 8/14)
San Gabriel Valley Tribune:
Doctors From USC, UCLA Say Mask Mandates For COVID-19 Not Effective, As Debate Goes On
A letter from top-level doctors and researchers arguing against the effectiveness of indoor mask mandates, along with pushback from health departments, cities and business groups, possibly played a role in a surprise decision not to re-institute the mandate in Los Angeles County last month. (Scauzillo, 8/13)
CapRadio:
Coronavirus FAQ: I'm Confused By The New Testing Advice! Do It Once, Twice ... Thrice?
So you had dinner – indoors – with a friend and the next day got a call from your dining companion: "I hate to tell you – but I'm now testing positive for COVID." Uh oh, did you catch it from your friend? Or you wake up in the middle of the night with a scratchy throat, a cough and a feeling that your head is going to float off your neck. Could it be COVID? (Barnhart, 8/13)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
San Diego Becomes First County In Nation To Have All Hospitals Earn Geriatric ER Accreditation
When San Diego resident Susan Nelson, 69, went to the geriatric emergency department at UC San Diego Health last year, she noticed some positive new accommodations that she hadn’t experienced during previous hospital visits. (Mapp, 8/14)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Report Recommends $128 Million 'Down Payment' To Train Thousands More Mental Health Care Workers In San Diego
San Diego’s significantly undersized mental health care workforce is underpaid compared to peers in other California markets and is so burnt out dealing with broken bureaucratic paperwork requirements that 44 percent of current workers say they may seek different jobs in the next 12 months. (Sisson, 8/14)
Bay Area News Group:
Santa Clara County Health Officer To Be Deposed Next Week In COVID-Related Legal Battle
In a highly unusual moment set to highlight the scrutiny of public health orders, Santa Clara County Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody will be deposed Thursday as part of two lawsuits involving a San Jose church that raise questions about the extent to which religious institutions can exercise their freedoms during the pandemic. (Greschler, 8/15)
Stat:
House Sends Drug Pricing Reforms To President Biden’s Desk
Fifteen years later, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is fulfilling one of her first campaign promises. When she first took the speaker’s gavel in 2007, Pelosi promised six policy accomplishments, on national security, energy, education, and health care. She passed six bills within 100 hours of assuming power. The only promise that didn’t become law was allowing Medicare to negotiate for prescription drugs — until Friday, when the House passed a major health care, tax, and climate package by a vote of 220 to 207. (Cohrs, 8/12)
The Wall Street Journal:
Biden Has Passed A Big Piece Of His Agenda. Will It Move Voters?
President Biden has often said that America wanted to see big legislative accomplishments. Now that he has delivered on some of his goals, he will find out if those wins give him a boost with voters. The passage along party lines of the $700 billion climate, healthcare and tax bill in the House Friday capped a run of legislative victories for the Democrats and the White House in recent months that also included bipartisan bills to boost U.S. semiconductor manufacturing, support veterans’ healthcare and address mass shootings. With November’s midterm elections looming, Mr. Biden and Democrats hope to use these victories to appeal to the electorate as they seek to defend their narrow majorities in Congress. (Lucey and Thomas, 8/14)
The New York Times:
A Detailed Picture Of What’s In The Democrats’ Climate And Health Bill
Democrats in Congress have had to scale back their legislative ambitions since last year, but the Inflation Reduction Act, passed by the House on Friday and sent to President Joseph R. Biden Jr. for his signature, is still a substantial piece of legislation, which will make big investments in the environment and health care, and increase taxes on some key groups. This table describes everything in the bill, including the prices. (Paris, Parlapiano, Sanger-Katz and Washington, 8/13)
Axios:
Employers And The Government Will Soon Pay Different Prices For Prescription Drugs
Democrats are on the cusp of their most significant health policy victory since passage of the Affordable Care Act, but the legislative wrangling it took to get here came at a steep cost: The prescription drug pricing reforms included in the health, tax and climate package are limited to Medicare and exclude the millions of Americans with private insurance. (Owens, 8/15)
CNBC:
Passage Of Inflation Reduction Act Gives Medicare Historic New Powers Over Drug Prices
There is no official, publicly available list of drugs that HHS plans to target for negotiations. But Bank of America highlighted some potential Medicare D candidates based on how much Medicare spent on them in 2020, including Eliquis, Xarelto, and Keytruda. (Kimball, 8/12)
The Hill:
When Will Americans Feel The Impact Of The Inflation Reduction Act?
On health care, some provisions take effect next year. Others, like most of the drug pricing provisions, won’t kick in for years. The enhanced subsidies for Obamacare plans are already in effect, and the legislation will extend them for another three years. If the House doesn’t pass the bill, those subsidies will expire on Dec. 31, putting Americans on the hook for major premium increases. (Chalfant and Weixel, 8/12)