Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Microbiome Startups Promise to Improve Your Gut Health, but Is the Science Solid?
A raft of startups are charging consumers hundreds of dollars to analyze the microbes in their gut and offer dietary advice based on the results. But scientists say scant research has been done, and as customers of one company have learned the hard way, the experience isn’t always smooth. (Hannah Norman, )
FDA Gives Full Approval To Pfizer’s Covid Vaccine: The Food and Drug Administration on Monday granted full approval to Pfizer-BioNTech’s coronavirus vaccine for people 16 and up, making it the first to move beyond emergency use status in the United States. The decision will set off a cascade of vaccine requirements by hospitals, colleges, corporations and other organizations. Read more from The New York Times, The Washington Post, AP and NBC News.
Pandemic Blamed For Spike In LA’s Homicide Rate: Psychological strain and economic hardship stemming from the pandemic contributed to an increase in homicides in Los Angeles and across California, a report from the Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice says. In L.A., the homicide rate soared 34% in 2020 from the previous year. Read more from the LA Daily News and Orange County Register.
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
Sacramento Bee:
COVID Patients Face New Burdens After Short Hospital Stays
COVID-19 patients are returning home with “substantially worse problems” after short hospital stays of just five days or less, researchers of a new study say. A preliminary analysis of 253 patients of a cohort of 1,300 hospitalized with the disease between fall 2020 and early 2021 shows nearly 85% couldn’t get back to their pre-COVID lives one month after being discharged. (Camero, 8/20)
Bay Area News Group:
First U.S. COVID Deaths Earlier -- And In Different Places -- Than Previously Thought
In a significant twist that could reshape our understanding of the early days of the coronavirus pandemic, death records now indicate the first COVID-related deaths in California and across the country occurred in January 2020, weeks earlier than originally thought and before officials knew the virus was circulating here. A half dozen death certificates from that month in six different states — California, Alabama, Georgia, Kansas, Oklahoma and Wisconsin — have been quietly amended to list COVID-19 as a contributing factor, suggesting the virus’s deadly path quickly reached far beyond coastal regions that were the country’s early known hotspots. (Rowan and DeRuy, 8/22)
Bay Area News Group:
Moraga Police Detective Dies Of COVID-19
Corporal Kevin Mooney, an eight-year veteran with the town police department, died Saturday of COVID-19 and related complications at age 58, authorities said. In a statement Sunday evening, police said Mooney was a former Contra Costa County sheriff’s deputy who worked custody and patrol duties, including city of Orinda patrols. (Kelly, 8/22)
Orange County Register:
Laguna Woods Sees 20 COVID-19 Cases In Two Weeks
Nine more cases of COVID-19 this past week — a cumulative 20 cases in two weeks — have been reported in the city of Laguna Woods by the OC Health Care Agency, likely tied to the highly transmissible delta variant. To date, the total number of cases there have been in the Laguna Woods has reached 467. No additional COVID-19-related deaths have been reported since July 6. (Becher, 8/22)
Modesto Bee:
Stanislaus Unemployment Declines, Delta Variant May Cause Hesitancy
Stanislaus County unemployment continues to fall as the region recovers from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. County-wide unemployment was 8.5% in July, down from 8.9% in June, according to new data from the state’s Economic Development Department. County data is not seasonally adjusted. Meanwhile, state unemployment levels held steady at 7.6%, unchanged from June’s rate. (Karisch, 8/21)
Los Angeles Times:
Ventura County Enacts Indoor Mask Order As Hospitalizations Jump
Ventura County has ordered that people wear masks in indoor public settings regardless of vaccination status, a policy in effect for a majority of Californians. It is the fourth county in Southern California to adopt the mask order; Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Imperial counties have also implemented them. So has much of the San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento County, Santa Cruz County and a number of rural counties in Northern California. (Lin II, 8/21)
Modesto Bee:
Stanislaus Court Requires Employees To Get COVID-19 Vaccine
Stanislaus County Superior Court is among the first in the state to require employees get vaccinated against the novel coronavirus. For the roughly 250 employees of the court, vaccination will become a condition of their employment 45 days after the Food & Drug Administration gives final approval to at least one COVID-19 vaccine. (Tracy, 8/23)
The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat:
Voter Survey Shows Support For Vaccination Requirements In Sonoma County
In Sonoma County, where the Board of Supervisors has just approved a new policy requiring thousands of government employees to get vaccinated or be tested weekly for COVID-19, broad support exists for businesses adopting similar mandates, a Press Democrat survey has found. The newspaper’s exclusive survey of 500 registered Sonoma County voters found 61% of respondents say businesses should be allowed to require vaccine verification for customers and employees, and 31% do not think businesses should be allowed to do so. (Murphy, 8/21)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Uneasiness Persists As Kids Return To School With Delta Variant Spreading
It wasn’t supposed to be this way. August 2021 was to be the start of the first post-pandemic school year, one in which masks, tests and symptom checks would be memories, not realities. But the Delta variant has turned those dreams inside out. As daily new-case totals have remained stubbornly over the 1,000 mark, hospitals have begun reporting workforce shortages, the result of running too long on adrenaline serving some who say that their work was an unnecessary response to an elaborate hoax. (Sisson and Taketa, 8/21)
Modesto Bee:
50 Children/Day Test Positive For COVID In Stanislaus County
In Stanislaus County, about 45 children per day have been testing positive for COVID-19 this month. The coronavirus delta variant more readily infects children than previous versions of the infectious disease. Modesto Mayor Sue Zwahlen mentioned the elevated rate of child infections in a 1-minute, 38-second video Thursday urging people to get vaccinated to protect themselves and also protect vulnerable kids who are not eligible for the COVID vaccine. (Carlson, 8/21)
The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat:
COVID Cases Cloud Students’ Return To School In Sonoma County
On her children’s fifth day of school, Hayat Merouani received a message from Hidden Valley Elementary School that a student had tested positive for COVID-19. Her son, Mohammed, in fifth grade, and her daughter, Maria, a second-grader, both attend the school. They awaited word on whether or not they were considered “close contacts” with the student who had tested positive, and tried not to worry. “I was in shock,” Hayat Merouani said, adding that she hadn’t been too worried about the disease’s impact on her children when the school year began. (Tornay, 8/23)
San Gabriel Valley Tribune:
Coronavirus Testing Expected To Resume For LA County High School Teams In Some Sports, Including Football
The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health made updates to its guidance for youth sports on Friday that indicate that weekly testing will be required for high school sports in the “moderate” and “high risk” categories. Football and girls volleyball are high school sports in those categories that would be immediately impacted as they have already started their fall seasons. The updated guidance also says that masks must be worn at all times for those involved with or attending indoor sports, which includes girls volleyball. (Robledo, 8/22)
The Bakersfield Californian:
When There's A COVID Case At School, Who Is Notified?
The questions came in quickly over the chat box during a town hall meeting held by Lamont Elementary School District on Thursday. COVID-19 infections had cropped up at all four of the district's schools, and 56 attendees showed up for the lunchtime Zoom presentation held by Superintendent Miguel Guerrero. "The kids are packed together during recess and (a lot) are unmasked — so how is the tracing being done then? My concern is those in-between times in between classrooms," wrote Yoshi. (Gallegos, 8/21)
EdSource:
California Universities Reopen In Person; Will Delta Variant Push Students Back To Zoom?
Uncertainty is the new reality tens of thousands of students face this fall as campuses repopulate residential halls, classrooms and other facilities while the coronavirus pandemic rages for yet another academic year. At any point, campuses could shift back to remote learning, if that’s what public health authorities recommend or if a significant outbreak of Covid-19 spreads. Some California State University campuses have already begun fall instruction, but many start Monday. Seven of the University of California’s undergraduate campuses are on the quarter system and don’t start classes until Sept. 23. (Smith and Burke, 8/23)
Bay Area News Group:
‘It Was So Easy To Get It’: International Students Get The Coveted COVID Vaccine As Welcome Back To Bay Area
When Laura Darza came back to the Bay Area to start her junior year at Santa Clara University, she wasn’t just getting a chance to study abroad after a year back home in the Philippines. She also was getting quick and easy access to a COVID vaccine. “It was pretty anticlimactic,” said Darza, who imagined the vaccination process would be an ordeal as it still is in the Philippines. But all she had to do was spend a few minutes booking an appointment online and visit a local CVS. “It was so easy to get it. ”For international students who are returning to the Bay Area for the first time since the pandemic began, guaranteed vaccinations are a unique sweetener for many whose home countries are still struggling to inoculate their residents. They are finding shots at the airport, pharmacies, or even on campus, in stark contrast to most parts of the world, where the lack of vaccine supplies is causing painstaking delays in rollouts. (Oh, 8/23)
Los Angeles Times:
Search On For Driver Who Struck Vaccination Worker In Newhall
Los Angeles County sheriff’s investigators on Sunday were searching for a motorist who drove through a Newhall vaccination clinic, injuring a worker, officials said. The incident occurred about 4:45 p.m. Saturday when sheriff’s officials received reports of a vehicle running over displayed signs and traffic cones at the clinic in the 22900 block of Market Street, authorities said. The driver of the vehicle, a dark gray sedan, also deliberately struck a worker at the clinic with the car’s side-view mirror, causing minor injuries, deputies said. (Hernandez, 8/22)
Los Angeles Daily News:
A Driver May Have Intentionally Hit A COVID-19 Vaccine Worker In Newhall, Sheriff’s Officials Say
A driver hit a worker at a COVID-19 vaccination clinic in Newhall on Sunday, and appeared to do so intentionally, law enforcement officials said. A motive for the apparent attack, which involved the driver hitting the worker with the car’s side mirror at the clinic at a Los Angeles County facility on Market Street at around 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, was not clear. The driver fled the scene after striking the worker and several displays, and has not been located, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said Sunday. (Cain, 8/22)
San Francisco Chronicle:
These 3 Communities Have Some Of The Lowest Vaccination Rates In The Bay Area. Why?
As the delta variant fuels a new wave of infections, The Chronicle visited three ZIP codes with the lowest vaccination rates in the Bay Area to learn why fewer residents there are getting shots and what public health agencies and others are doing about it. (Johnson, Asimov and Ravani, 8/21)
The Washington Post:
How The U.S. Vaccination Drive Came To Rely On An Army Of Consultants
When Gavin Newsom outsourced key components of California’s vaccine rollout to the private sector during the pandemic’s darkest days last winter, the Democratic governor promised the changes would benefit the most vulnerable. His “number one” reason for handing the reins to Blue Shield of California, an Oakland-based health insurance company, was “equity” — delivering vaccine doses to those at greatest risk, many in communities of color, he said in February. But the $15 million contract with Blue Shield, plus another $13 million for McKinsey, did not deliver on that promise, according to state and county officials, as well as public health experts. (Stanley-Becker, 8/22)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Protestors Rally For Gubernatorial Recall, Against COVID-19 Mandates
Demonstrators urged the recall of Gov. Gavin Newsom and rejection of mask and vaccine mandates at a rally that drew about 150 people to Waterfront Park Saturday. “I’m here to lift up the next generation of people that are going to be the prime movers of this movement,” said Morgan Kimbarow, president of San Diego Young Republicans. (Brennan, 8/21)
Sacramento Bee:
Recall candidate Larry Elder wins over Fresno rally with call to end mask mandate and more
Larry Elder, the conservative talk radio host and leading challenger in the state’s race to recall California Gov. Gavin Newsom, hit all of his talking points at a packed rally Sunday at the Paul Shaghoian Performing Arts Center in Fresno. While few alternatives or answers were offered in his speech, Elder hit on water, public education reform, the high cost of living and housing in California, homelessness, policing and other topics as well as COVID-19 vaccination and mask mandates while the state, nation and the world grapple with the coronavirus pandemic and delta variant fueling a surge in cases. (Kuwada, 8/22)
Orange County Register:
Larry Elder Talks Racism, School Choice And Repealing COVID Mandates
Larry Elder doesn’t drink coffee. But if Gov. Gavin Newsom is recalled on Sept. 14, and Elder is elected the next governor of California, he says he’ll repeal statewide vaccine and mask mandates aimed at curbing spread of the coronavirus on day one, before his “first cup of tea.” The conservative radio talk show host made that promise during a rally with some 700 people at a donor’s house in Newport Beach on Saturday evening. (Staggs, 8/21)
Los Angeles Times:
Caldor Fire Burning East Of Sacramento Nears 100,000 Acres
The Caldor fire burning east of Sacramento topped 100,000 acres late Sunday, but fire officials said strong winds that have fanned the flames of the fast-moving fire are expected to weaken over the next few days. The raging wildfire, which ignited Aug. 14, has burned 104,309 acres with 5% containment, officials said. It grew by more than 15,000 acres through Saturday and into Sunday morning, as firefighters faced gusts of winds from 30 to 40 mph. (Wigglesworth and Mejia, 8/22)
Sacramento Bee:
CA Caldor Fire Jumps Highway 50 Amid Red-Flag Winds
The Caldor Fire burning in El Dorado County jumped Highway 50 on a day of high winds and red-flag fire conditions and continues to head northeast Sunday. Southwest winds in Northern California pushed the Caldor Fire further Saturday and ignited a spot fire past the closed highway near Kyburz. (Moleski, 8/22)
Orange County Register:
With Weeks Until Eviction, Orange Officials Insist Mary’s Kitchen Should Go After Years Of Concerns
With less than a month until Orange officials plan to terminate a lease agreement with Mary’s Kitchen, city leaders say there’s little that could be done to change their minds about wanting the soup kitchen to vacate its tucked-away site at the end of West Struck Street, arguing the road culminating in that final notice was long and full of second chances. The nonprofit soup kitchen that started in the 1980s at Orange’s Hart Park was given notice in June to vacate its city-owned location in 90 days. Come mid-September, the property that for decades housed the daily hot meals, showers, medical services and other aid offered by Mary’s Kitchen is expected to be clear. (Sheets, 8/21)