Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Facing Recall, Newsom Draws Support from Health Care Allies
California Gov. Gavin Newsom faces a recall election in September, fueled in part by anger over his pandemic policies. The health care industry has ponied up more than $4.8 million so far to defend the first-term Democrat. (Samantha Young, )
Delta Variant Hits Vaccinated Staffers At San Francisco Hospitals: At least 233 staff members at two major San Francisco hospitals, most of them fully vaccinated, tested positive for the coronavirus this month, and most, according to a hospital official, involved the highly contagious delta variant. Read more from The New York Times and San Francisco Chronicle.
In related news —
At Some California Hospitals, Many Health Workers Still Aren’t Vaccinated: Federal data show that almost a quarter of California’s hospital workers remained unvaccinated for covid-19, despite being on the front lines of the pandemic and having easy access to shots. For example, at Redlands Community Hospital, 42% of workers were not vaccinated as of July 16; at Kaiser Foundation Hospital West L.A., 33% were unvaccinated. Read more from Southern California News Group.
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 Francisco Chronicle:
Millennials Are Driving San Francisco's Coronavirus Surge
Coronavirus cases are surging in San Francisco and infections among adults aged 25 to 39 are the main driver of the increase. In May, 25- to 39-year-olds accounted for just over 35% of monthly new cases, but in July, they’re up to 50%. This surge is part of a general spike in the number of coronavirus cases in San Francisco, which has outpaced the statewide infection rate. (Jung, 8/1)
The New York Times:
A New Surge At A Santa Monica I.C.U.
Los Angeles County is recording more than 2,500 new cases daily, and among the unvaccinated, hospitalizations and deaths are mounting. Even in affluent Santa Monica, where about 80 percent of residents are now vaccinated, dozens of people each day are testing positive for the virus, and hospitals like Saint John’s — a 266-bed facility that typically serves the ordinary needs of the beach communities around it — are being inundated again. (Kosofsky and Hubler, 8/1)
Southern California News Group:
LA County’s New Coronavirus Caseload Tops 3,000 Again Sunday, Even Amid Weekend Reporting Lags
Los Angeles County reported 3,045 new cases of COVID-19 and five additional deaths on Sunday, Aug. 1, with officials noting that those numbers may reflect delays in weekend reporting. The number of coronavirus patients in county hospitals continued to spike, too, rising from 1,071 Saturday to 1,096, according to state figures. The number of those patients in intensive care rose from 231 to 236. (8/1)
Los Angeles Times:
Coronavirus Cases Continue Upswing In L.A. County Amid Concerns About Delta Variant
The resurgence of the coronavirus in Los Angeles County, fueled by the highly contagious Delta variant, continued Sunday with 3,045 new cases and five more deaths tallied, according to county public health officials. Authorities cautioned, however, that the latest figures might not be complete because of reporting delays on weekends. (Alpert Reyes, 8/1)
Los Angeles Daily News:
LA County Posts 3,318 New COVID-19 Infections, 11 Deaths; Vaccine Access Expanded On Sunday
With the relentless Delta variant widening its reach in the region, Los Angeles County reported 3,318 new cases of COVID-19 and 11 additional deaths on Saturday, July 31. The number of coronavirus patients in county hospitals continued to spike as well, rising from 1,008 on Friday to 1,071, according to state figures. The number of those patients in intensive care dropped by one to 231. (7/31)
Southern California News Group:
Fueled By Unrelenting Delta Variant, LA County’s Homeless Endure Spike In COVID-19 Cases
With the Delta variant fueling an unnerving rise in coronavirus cases in Southern California, officials reported a corresponding rise in the disease among the Los Angeles County’s unhoused population, on Friday, July 30. Los Angeles County Public Health reported that the number of cases among the homeless has risen by 21% in in a matter of a few weeks. From July 19 to July 25, there were 111 new cases among the homeless and 92 last week, according to a COVID-19 update from the Department of Public Health. (Carter, 7/30)
The Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
Fourth Wave Of COVID-19 Bringing Back Restrictions In Sonoma County
Active coronavirus infections in Sonoma County have blown past the 1,400 mark, the most since March 6, with the vast majority of recent cases among unvaccinated residents. Hospital emergency rooms are once again filled with COVID-19 patients, and administrators are scrambling to staff up to meet the demand as business and political leaders stand on the verge of reimposing mask mandates. (Espinoza, 7/31)
San Francisco Chronicle:
CDC Says The Delta Variant Is As Contagious As Chickenpox. Here's What That Means
The delta variant of the coronavirus is as contagious as chickenpox, according to the Centers for Disease Control — a finding based on a scientific score indicating the transmissibility of a disease. The CDC last week cited its chickenpox comparison in advising that all Americans, including those vaccinated for COVID-19, in areas where the coronavirus is surging again wear masks in indoor public spaces. (Flores, 8/1)
Los Angeles Times:
More L.A. Restaurants Requiring COVID-19 Vaccines Or Tests
A growing number of Los Angeles restaurants are requiring that diners be vaccinated against COVID-19 or show proof of a recent negative test. That comes as new coronavirus cases continue to surge, fueled by the highly transmissible Delta variant, which now accounts for upward of 84% of specimens sequenced in California. (Wigglesworth, 8/1)
Bay Area News Group:
Bay Area Businesses With COVID-19 Outbreaks Rarely Faced Fines
The overwhelming majority of Bay Area workplaces that reported COVID-19 outbreaks never faced any enforcement actions for possible violations of public health orders, a Bay Area News Group analysis reveals. The Bay Area counties that actively enforced COVID-19 orders — and not all counties did — primarily policed businesses that drew customer complaints, public records and interviews with officials indicate. Under state rules, these counties were also collecting information about workplace outbreaks but rarely used that information to investigate potential violators. (Angst and Kelliher, 8/1)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
He Barely Survived COVID-19. Now The Delta Variant Looms
Coronavirus played a nasty trick on David Arellano while he was sleeping. When doctors put him into a medically induced coma on April 13 due to a life-threatening case of COVID-19, the U.K. variant of the virus held sway. But by the time they started weaning him off of sedatives on May 23, the strain gaining dominance was a new version first identified in India called the Delta variant. (Sisson, 8/1)
Modesto Bee:
Stanislaus County Stays Course On Masks As COVID Rises
As COVID-19 cases increase locally and state and federal officials recommend that even the fully vaccinated wear masks in public settings indoors, Stanislaus County is maintaining its current guidelines of stating the fully vaccinated may want to wear one.The California Department of Public Health on Wednesday recommended that the fully vaccinated wear masks in public settings indoors because of the growing presence of the much more contagious Delta variant in the state. (Valine, 8/1)
The Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
Teens Turn Out For Pop-Up COVID Vaccination Clinic In Roseland
Araceli Virrueta, 17, waited awhile before she got her COVID-19 vaccine. “I was afraid it would hurt,” she said Saturday at the Santa Rosa Community Health pop-up vaccine clinic after getting her first of two inoculations. “I wanted to get it, but the last time I got a shot — not the vaccine — it really hurt and (the nurse) didn’t tell me it would. But I got convinced.” (Coates, 8/1)
Cal Matters:
COVID Vaccinations Lag For People On Medi-Cal
Low-income Californians enrolled in Medi-Cal have been vaccinated at far lower rates than the overall population in all 58 counties, according to state data. The disparity reveals a strong economic divide between the vaccinated and unvaccinated throughout California. About 45 percent of Medi-Cal enrollees eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine (those 12 and older) had received at least one dose as of July 18, compared to about 70 percent of all eligible Californians, state officials said Thursday. (Ibarra, 8/1)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Details To Be Worked Out On Biden's Vaccine Requirements For Federal Workers, Military
The regulations are likely to be widely felt in San Diego, a region home to about 110,000 active-duty military members along with an outsized population of federal workers and contractors. The county government itself also ranks as the region’s fifth-largest employer. But details were short Friday on how the latest requirements would play out across varying government institutions. (Davis, 7/30)
KQED:
Eating Inside? This Restaurant Requires Proof Of Vaccination
COVID-19 cases are on the rise again, fueled by the contagious Delta variant. And over the past few weeks, many Bay Area restaurants and bars have responded by requiring customers to prove they've been fully vaccinated before dining inside. Today, we visit one San Francisco business that recently made this decision. (Katayama, Cruz Guevarra and Montecillo, 8/2)
Bay Area News Group:
Delta Surge, Return To School Draw Oakland Families To Vaccine Clinic
Mareme Sambndiaye received both doses of the COVID-19 vaccine months ago, but she wanted to get more information before allowing her 12-year-old daughter, who has severe food allergies, to get the shots. But with the delta variant surging in Alameda County and the upcoming reopening of Oakland Unified schools for in-person learning, Sambndiaye felt the time had come. (Mukherjee, 7/31)
Modesto Bee:
Modesto City School Board Wants Local Control Of Mask Order
Modesto school and county leaders called for local control over school reopening plans this week, but that doesn’t mean coronavirus safety policies are changing. The trustees of Modesto’s largest school district asked the California Department of Public Health for local decision-making power on COVID-19 protocols such as masks. Then the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors voted 5-0 to send a letter to the state in support of the school board’s position. (Isaacman and Valine, 8/1)
Modesto Bee:
What Some Stanislaus School Districts Think Of Seeking Local Control On COVID Measures
Among school districts in Stanislaus County, it looks like Modesto City Schools may be going it alone in pushing the state for local control over some COVID-19 safety measures. The district’s trustees Monday night approved sending a letter to California health officials asking the state to “grant local school districts the authority to develop and deploy COVID facial covering protocols in conjunction with county health officials. Rather than issuing blanket statewide mandates, the state should give districts the power to create COVID plans “tailored to their regions and local conditions,” the letter states. (Farrow, 8/1)
San Francisco Chronicle:
The One Certainty In Bay Area School Reopenings: Uncertainty Will Continue
Bay Area schools are expected to fully reopen this month to in-person learning — throwing open their doors to excited students eager to end months of social distancing and academic isolation and get back to friends, football games, science fairs and rites of passage like prom. But that long-awaited return won’t be what many experts, education officials and families had hoped it would be: normal. (Tucker, 8/1)
The Bakersfield Californian:
Kern Medical To Host Free Back-To-School Vaccinations, Physicals
Free vaccinations and school physicals will be offered for children from 8 a.m. to noon Saturday, Aug. 7 and Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021 at Kern Medical’s Columbus Clinic, 1111 Columbus St. in Bakersfield. Child immunizations, HPV vaccinations and school physicals will be provided, according to a Kern Medical news release. Scheduled appointments are recommended, but walk-ins are welcome. To schedule an appointment, call 661-326-5512 or 661-326-2800. (7/31)
AP:
California Learns Costly Pandemic Lesson About Hospitals
California spent nearly $200 million to set up, operate and staff alternate care sites that ultimately provided little help when the state’s worst coronavirus surge spiraled out of control last winter, forcing exhausted hospital workers to treat patients in tents and cafeterias. It was a costly way to learn California’s hospital system is far more elastic than was thought at the start of the pandemic. Through desperation and innovation, the system was able to expand enough to accommodate patients even during the dire surge that saw hospitalizations top 20,000 and nearly 700 people die weekly. (Thompson, 8/1)
Los Angeles Times:
After Her Botched Surgery, She Pitched A Medical Disclosure Bill. Doctors Are Fighting It
Wendy Knecht figures she’s been failed twice by doctors — once by the plastic surgeon she accused of botching her breast reconstruction, and again by the California physicians lobby fighting a proposed law that would force doctors to alert patients to potential conflicts of interests. Knecht, a Studio City writer and healthcare advocate, was diagnosed in December 2014 with the BRCA2 gene mutation, which has been linked to an increased risk of breast and ovarian cancers. (Christensen, 8/1)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Northern California's Dixie Fire Grows By 3,600 Acres, Now 11th Largest In State History
The Dixie Fire sprawling across Butte and Plumas counties grew by 3,600 acres Sunday, propelled by an abundance of dry fuel and west winds, but fire crews managed to make progress on containment, Cal Fire said. Firefighters began to gain a little more control over the blaze, inching up on containment to 33%, from 32%, as of Sunday evening, officials said. Some of the smoke was dissipating also, and the clearer air allowed fire personnel to use aircraft, which they had not been able to do for a couple of days, East Zone operations chief John Goss said in a virtual news conference Sunday evening. (Talley and Narayan, 8/1)
NPR:
Western Wildfires May Take Months To Contain
Pockets of the West continued to burn over the weekend, as another nine large fires were reported on Saturday in California, Idaho, Montana and Oregon. The 87 fires still active in 13 states have consumed more than 1.7 million acres. Just shy of 3 million acres have been scorched since the start of 2021, with months left in what experts predict will be a devastating fire season. (Jones, 8/1)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Assisted Death Is Legal In California, But Some Patients Die Waiting. A New Bill Could Help
Once unthinkable, assisted death has established itself as a widely accepted option at the end of life since first becoming available to Californians in June 2016. But it remains a rare act: Only about 400 people on average die each year in the state by taking the doctor-prescribed drug. Now, halfway through a decade-long trial run, state legislators are moving to streamline the assisted death process and remove some of the barriers that advocates say have prevented the law from becoming more widely used, particularly among low-income residents and people of color. (Koseff, 8/1)