Health Care Settings Won’t Require Masks, Vaccinations As Of April 3: California will drop its mask and vaccination mandates for health care settings next month, the state health department announced Friday. Beginning April 3, health care workers, patients, and visitors will no longer have to wear a mask or be vaccinated to work in facilities that include hospitals and doctors’ offices. The new rules also apply to correctional facilities. Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle and LA Times.
Judge To Fine California Over Suicide Safeguards At Prisons: A federal judge says she will begin fining California potentially tens of thousands of dollars daily after more than 200 prison inmates killed themselves during eight years in which state corrections officials failed to complete court-ordered suicide prevention measures. 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
Los Angeles Daily News:
San Bernardino Mountain Residents Grow Worried As They Can’t Access Medicine, Supplies
Stephanie Milika’a isn’t sure when she’ll get chemotherapy again. Milika’a has breast cancer and was only two weeks into treatment when the blizzard hit her Running Springs home. While Milika’a is due for treatment Thursday, like many others in the San Bernardino Mountains, she’s snowed in and unable to leave except on foot. (Lykke, 3/4)
KVPR:
A Man, Cut Off By Heavy Snow In The Sierra Nevada, Gets His Life-Saving Medication
Sunny skies have given way to spectacular views of the snow-capped Sierra Nevada. Some mountain residents, however, remain snowed-in and cut off from necessities. (Yeager, 3/3)
CNN:
Residents In Southern California Remain Trapped By Snow As Another Round Of Winter Weather Hits The Northern Region Of The State
After back-to-back winter storms overwhelmed many of California’s mountain communities with snow, another round of snowfall is headed to the Sierra Nevada region, while the state’s hard-hit southern San Bernardino County will get a reprieve as some residents who remain trapped by walls of snow are concerned about their dwindling supplies. The Sierra Nevada Mountain Range could see 1 to 3 inches of snow through Tuesday, following a weekend that brought as much as 38 inches of snow over a 24-hour period to Soda Springs in Nevada County and 31 inches to Donner Peak in Placer County. (3/6)
The New York Times:
Record Snowfall In California Leaves Many Stranded
In Madera County, Sheriff Tyson J. Pogue said crews had been evacuating or helping residents who had run out of food, water and fuel, particularly in Bass Lake and North Fork. Some had been taken to American Red Cross shelters. “People have been snowed in to their homes,” he said. “A lot of those residents are trying to get propane trucks up and resupply for the next storm.” (Hauser, 3/3)
San Francisco Chronicle:
“No Guarantee” Virus Will Become Endemic, Prominent Researcher Tells Wachter
In a fireside chat with UCSF’s Dr. Bob Wachter on Thursday, Eric Topol of Scripps Research expressed optimism that the U.S. may be moving toward an endemic state with COVID-19 but noted there is “no guarantee” it will happen. (Vaziri, 3/3)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Coronavirus Levels Remain Stable Nationwide
About 82% of all U.S. counties have low COVID-19 community levels, according to updated figures from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, up from 78% in that tier last week. Another 16% have medium levels, down from 20%, and 2.5% have high levels, compared to 2% in the same period. (Vaziri, 3/3)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
The Pandemic Health Emergency Is Over. Her Debilitating COVID-19 Symptoms Are Not
Since COVID-19 put her in a hospital bed in early December 2020, Yepis, 60, has struggled with nerve pain in her hands and feet. More than two years after she spent six weeks sedated and on a ventilator, she’s still fighting to overcome stubborn symptoms of her illness. (Sisson, 3/5)
San Francisco Chronicle:
All Pandemic Origin Theories Remain Viable, Says WHO
Officials from the World Health Organization on Friday said that all COVID-19 origin theories remain viable despite recent U.S. reports promoting the idea that the deadly virus originated in a lab in Wuhan, China. “If any country has information about the origins of the pandemic, it is essential for that information to be shared with WHO and the international scientific community,” Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a press briefing. (Vaziri, 3/3)
The Washington Post:
In Calif. Speech That Draws Protests, DeSantis Stokes Fight Over Pandemic
As he moves toward entering the 2024 presidential race, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis made a pilgrimage to the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library on Sunday, where the Republican accused leaders in blue states such as California of being “lockdown politicians” and charged that the nation’s coronavirus crisis created “a great test in governing philosophies.” (Reston, 3/5)
Daily Breeze:
McOsker Introduces Motion To Speed Up 911 Call Response In Los Angeles
The Los Angeles City Council could move to address delays in 911 emergency wait times, after Councilmember Tim McOsker introduced a motion on Friday, March 3, while a separate motion he and a colleague submitted asks for a report on hiring and training practices for “unarmed crisis response-related” service calls. (Littlejohn, 3/4)
Los Angeles Times:
Complaints Have Dogged L.A. County Condom Program
In December, Spider Davila pleaded with a Los Angeles County employee for help. “Can you let them know that we are out of condoms,” wrote Davila, who works for Community Health Project LA, which provides condoms and other health supplies on the streets. The group had turned to a county program that provides free condoms to be handed out by businesses and community groups, but its emails were going unanswered. (Alpert Reyes, 3/3)
California Healthline:
Virtual Or In Person: Which Kind Of Doctor’s Visit Is Better, And When It Matters
While there are no hard-and-fast rules about when to opt for a telehealth visit versus seeing a doctor face-to-face, physicians offer guidance about when it may make more sense to choose one or the other. (Andrews, 3/6)
California Healthline:
Despite Pharma Claims, Illicit Drug Shipments To US Aren’t Full Of Opioids. It’s Generic Viagra.
The FDA has long blocked the importation of cheap medicine, agreeing with pharmaceutical manufacturers that it opens the door to opioids. The agency’s own data shows that rarely happens. (Galewitz, 3/6)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Psychiatric Help Added To Outreach Team. 'Being Homeless Is Traumatic'
“Being homeless is traumatic,” she continued. “Having to sleep with one eye open at all times. You don’t know if your stuff is going to be stolen, if you’re going to be stabbed in the middle of the night. Now they’re not sleeping, and it can lead to hopelessness and depression.” (Warth, 3/6)
Sacramento Bee:
American River Parkway Plan Moves The Homeless With Loophole
The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a new plan last week to manage natural resources on the American River Parkway — a plan that the director of regional parks said would give the county more flexibility to move homeless people from one part of the parkway to another. When asked what shuffling homeless people around will accomplish, Kentral Pierce, who’s lived on the parkway for 10 years and has been relocated multiple times, had a one-word answer: “Nothing.” (Lange, 3/6)
Voice Of San Diego:
VOSD Podcast: San Diego's Detox Bed Deficit
This week on the VOSD Podcast, senior investigative reporter Lisa Halverstadt joins hosts Andrea Lopez-Villafaña and Andrew Keatts to talk about her latest story on the detox bed deficit. (John, 3/3)
Bay Area News Group:
Fentanyl Crisis: Bay Area Schools Step Up Training For Narcan, Some Won't
As state and local officials voice growing concern about the fentanyl crisis — and the U.S. attorney general says the Justice Department is focusing “enormous urgency” on the deadly drug — high schools in nearly a dozen Bay Area districts are still not prepared to save an overdosing student, according to a survey by the Bay Area News Group. (Nickerson and Prodis Sulek, 3/5)
The Bakersfield Californian:
Nabokov, Naipaul ... And Narcan? Kern Libraries' Naloxone Program Still Going Strong
Since October, Beale Memorial Library and its 22 branches have stocked and distributed free naloxone kits to the public. Librarians wholly agree it was the right move. Parents, Travis said, are still a little apprehensive. (Donegan, 3/5)
San Francisco Chronicle:
As Parents' Rights Efforts Grow, California Focuses On Kids' Autonomy
California lawmakers want to make it easier for children over 12 to access mental health treatment without a parent's permission. They also want to let 16- and 17-year-olds get treatment for opioid addiction. (Bollag, 3/3)
Fresno Bee:
Clovis Parents Pledge To Keep Fighting For Their Students With Severe Medical Needs
Parents say they won’t give up on the fight to get Clovis Unified to help transport their children to the only facility in the area that provides the particular medical services their students require. (Thornton, 3/5)
Los Angeles Daily News:
Are Southern California Students And Teachers Breathing Clean Air?
Studies have linked dirty air inside of schools — particularly in communities with dirty air outside of schools — to a variety of health conditions and learning delays. It’s also known that a proven, cost-effective way to clean up school air is to improve a school’s ventilation system. (Staggs and Kopetman, 3/5)
The Bakersfield Californian:
City Council To Hear Options To Improve BPD Response Times To 'Serious Concern For Life' Calls
Bakersfield Police Chief Greg Terry addressed the public's outcry over officers' response times to "serious concern for life" calls and vowed to explore alternatives to sending officers to less urgent incidents. (Desai, 3/4)
USA Today:
Is There An Alternative To Statins For High Cholesterol? Bempedoic Acid Just Passed A Key Test
More than a quarter of Americans over 40 take medications to lower their cholesterol, most of them statins. But not everyone can tolerate statins or wants to. Now a new study confirms that bempedoic acid, approved in 2020, not only lowers cholesterol, but also reduces the risk for heart attack and stroke. (Weintraub, 3/4)
NPR:
Diabetes And Obesity Are On The Rise In Young Adults, A Study Says
Diabetes and obesity — two risk factors for heart disease — are on the rise among young adults in the U.S., according to a newly published study of about 13,000 people ages 20 to 44 years old. The prevalence of diabetes climbed from 3% to 4.1%; obesity shot up from 32.7% to 40.9%, based on the study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association on Sunday, which uses data from 2009 to 2020. (Bowman, 3/6)
ABC News:
Eating Disorder Experts Are Worried About Ozempic
The popularity around weight loss drugs like Ozempic is worrying eating disorder experts, who say the conversation risks making recovery harder and could put others at risk of developing disorders. "My fear is that there is now a belief that anyone can and should achieve a certain body shape and size with the help of these medications, so there's going to be an even greater drive towards a certain body type," said Tracy Richmond, director of the eating disorder program at Boston Children's Hospital. (Wetsman, 3/6)
CNN:
'Keto-Like' Diet May Be Associated With Heart Disease, According To New Research
A low-carb, high-fat “keto-like” diet may be linked to higher levels of “bad” cholesterol and double the risk of cardiovascular events such as blocked arteries, heart attacks and strokes, according to new research. “Our study found that regular consumption of a self-reported diet low in carbohydrates and high in fat was associated with increased levels of LDL cholesterol – or “bad” cholesterol – and a higher risk of heart disease,” lead study author Dr. Iulia Iatan with the Healthy Heart Program Prevention Clinic, St. Paul’s Hospital and University of British Columbia’s Centre for Heart Lung Innovation in Vancouver, Canada, said in a news release. (Hassan and LaMotte, 3/6)
The Washington Post:
Regular Laxative Use Correlated With Higher Dementia Risk In U.K. Study
Regular laxative use may be correlated with dementia, according to research published in the journal Neurology in February. The study looked at a cohort of 502,229 British adults participating in UK Biobank, a long-term initiative that gathered extensive genetic and health information from 40- to 69-year-olds in England, Wales and Scotland between 2006 and 2010. The participants had no history of dementia. Researchers compared those who reported no regular laxative use with those who said they used laxatives most days of the week for the past four weeks in surveys. (Blakemore, 3/4)