Report: California Teaming Up With Civica Rx To Make Insulin: California plans to partner with Civica Rx, a nonprofit generic drug company, in the state's effort to produce its own low-cost insulin, according to two people familiar with the matter who spoke to NBC News. Read more here.
Several San Diego County Hospitals Using Overflow Tents For Flu Patients: Scripps Memorial Hospital Encinitas, Jacobs Medical Center at UCSD Health in La Jolla, and Sharp Grossmont Hospital in La Mesa all reported Friday that they have begun using overflow tents outside their normal emergency department buildings to handle a current increase of respiratory illness. Read more from The San Diego Union-Tribune and AP. Keep scrolling for more on flu and RSV.
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
KCRA:
Northern California Health Experts Urge Caution During The Holidays Amid Rising Flu Cases
Respiratory infections, including the flu, are on the rise heading into the holiday season. Dr. Hakeem Adeniyi with the Sacramento Native American Health Center said this includes the Northern California region. "The numbers are going up they are much higher than what we’ve seen in the last two years with the pandemic. And they’re starting earlier," Adeniyi said. (11/11)
Redding Record Searchlight:
RSV Cases On Rise In Northern California's Shasta, Siskiyou Counties
Some North State hospitals are seeing an uptick in the number of serious respiratory syncytial virus cases this year over last year, according to hospital administrators. The reasons have to do with children lacking exposure to the virus in the past two years and an early start to cold, flu and respiratory season, doctors and hospitalists said. (Skropanic, 11/11)
San Francisco Chronicle:
COVID, Flu Or RSV Symptoms? Experts Have Latest ‘Tripledemic’ Advice
Are that sore throat and cough signs of the flu, the coronavirus or something else? It’s a timely question again with winter nearing and a handful of respiratory viruses circulating. Cases of respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, are surging nationwide. The U.S. has already crossed the “epidemic threshold” with influenza, health officials said last week. And while COVID-19 numbers in California remain relatively low, new variants are viewed as candidates to spur a winter increase in infections. (Kawahara, 11/12)
The Desert Sun:
COVID-19 Cases Continue To Increase In Coachella Valley, Riverside County
COVID-19 metrics continued to increase in the Coachella Valley and Riverside County last week, according to new county data. (Sasic, 11/13)
San Francisco Chronicle:
COVID In California: L.A. May ‘Strongly Recommend’ Indoor Masks If Cases Keep Rising
Los Angeles County is showing early signs of a possible winter surge in new coronavirus cases, according to an update from the county’s public health department. The county’s 7-day average of 1,300 cases per day as of Thursday was up 24% from the previous week and its average of 77 hospitalizations per day marked an 18% increase. Its positive test rate of 5.8% rose from 4.8% a week before. (Vaziri and Kawahara, 11/11)
The Washington Post:
Universal Masking Linked To Fewer Covid Cases In Schools, Study Finds
Public schools that kept universal masking requirements in place last year had significantly fewer coronavirus cases than their counterparts that lifted mandates as state policies changed, according to a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine that weighs in on the hotly debated pandemic safety measure. The study, which followed schools in the Boston region during the 2021-2022 academic year, found that the end of mask requirements was associated with an additional 45 coronavirus cases per 1,000 students and staff members — or nearly 12,000 cases during a 15-week period from March to June. (St. George, 11/10)
Reuters:
Repeat COVID Is Riskier Than First Infection, Study Finds
The risk of death, hospitalization and serious health issues from COVID-19 jumps significantly with reinfection compared with a first bout with the virus, regardless of vaccination status, a study published on Thursday suggests. "Reinfection with COVID-19 increases the risk of both acute outcomes and long COVID," said Dr. Ziyad Al-Aly of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. "This was evident in unvaccinated, vaccinated and boosted people." (Lapid, 11/10)
Reuters:
U.S. COVID Public Health Emergency To Stay In Place
The United States will keep in place the public health emergency status of the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing millions of Americans to still receive free tests, vaccines and treatments, two Biden administration officials said on Friday. (Aboulenein and Mason, 11/11)
Los Angeles Times:
For Some COVID Patients, 'Paxlovid Rebound' Has Nothing To Do With Paxlovid
This is a story about a COVID-19 medication, a nasty trick the coronavirus sometimes plays on its victims, and how the two became a pandemic couple called “Paxlovid rebound.” It’s also a story about how looks can be deceiving. (Healy, 11/14)
NPR:
Omicron Variants BQ.1 And BQ.1.1 Now Dominant In U.S.
Two new omicron subvariants have become dominant in the United States, raising fears they could fuel yet another surge of COVID-19 infections, according to estimates released Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Stein, 11/11)
Bay Area News Group:
Doctors Sue To Block California COVID Disinformation Law
As an emergency physician at Stanford and Mills-Peninsula hospitals who has treated hundreds of COVID-19 patients, Dr. Ram Duriseti recalled bucking a prevailing treatment strategy early in the pandemic of rushing the sickest patients onto ventilators not only to help them breathe but to reduce spread of the virus. (Woolfolk, 11/14)
The New York Times:
RJ Reynolds Sues California Over Flavored Tobacco Ban
R.J. Reynolds, the maker of Newport menthol cigarettes and top-selling vaping products, filed a federal lawsuit on Wednesday challenging California’s landmark ban on flavored tobacco, a day after voters overwhelmingly approved it. The state law, signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom two years ago, would prohibit the sale of all flavored tobacco and vaping products within weeks, undercutting a sizable part of sales for Reynolds and other tobacco companies. Reynolds is seeking an injunction to keep the law from taking effect. (Jewett, 11/10)
AP:
US Providing Abortion Access For Detained Migrant Youths
The U.S. government took steps Thursday to ensure that pregnant migrant youths who are in its custody but not accompanied by parents can access abortion services by assigning them to shelters in states that still allow the procedure. Pregnant migrants under 18 who want an abortion should also be provided transportation, if necessary, from states such as Texas, where abortion is largely banned, to a state where it is legal, according to the written guidance from the Office of Refugee Resettlement. (Lee, 11/10)
Sacramento Bee:
In Some Conservative California Counties Where Anti-Abortion Candidates Win, So Does Abortion.
In some of California’s most conservative counties, where Republican gubernatorial candidate Brian Dahle was the clear favorite over Gov. Gavin Newsom and where anti-abortion Christian conservatives are leading in partial returns, voters still showed up for abortion access by supporting Proposition 1. (Hatch, 11/14)
Bay Area News Group:
Contra Costa Launches New Data Sharing, Surveillance Tracking Of Monkeypox Cases
The database stores demographic information such as age and gender of people who test positive for monkeypox and collects relevant clinical information, risk factor and laboratory test results for case investigation, disease prevention and surveillance. (Heimann Mercader, 11/11)
CIDRAP:
CDC: Black, Hispanic MSM Most Affected By Monkeypox
New, updated epidemiologic information about the US monkeypox outbreak appears today in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, showing that 70% of the 26,384 US monkeypox case-patients confirmed to have the virus between May 17 and Oct 6 reported recent male-to-male sexual contact. (Soucheray, 11/11)
St. Louis Public Radio:
Missouri Scientists Find Mutations Behind Monkeypox Outbreak
A team of researchers at the University of Missouri has discovered viral mutations that are behind this year’s monkeypox outbreak. Like the coronavirus, monkeypox evolves over time to become more hardy and infectious. Viruses can mutate through interactions with medications or the environment. (Fentem, 11/11)
Sacramento Bee:
Nurses Plan 2-Day Strike At 21 Kaiser Permanente Hospitals In Northern California
Nurses who work at 21 Kaiser Permanente hospitals in Northern California plan to hold a two-day strike later this month to continue voicing their concerns about chronic short-staffing and workplace health and safety. (Ahumada, 11/12)
Bloomberg:
DuPont, 3M Sued By California Over Toxic ‘Forever Chemicals’
California is suing 3M Co., DuPont de Nemours Inc. and other chemical companies over “staggering” water contamination from products made with “forever chemicals” that are impossible to get rid of after they accumulate in the ground. (Nayak, 11/10)
Los Angeles Times:
California Programs Wait Weeks To Receive Free Narcan
After losing her son Luke to an overdose, Sheila Scott has been trying to get “revenge on death,” she said. Scott founded the Lukelove Foundation and has been teaching families how to use Narcan, a nasal spray containing naloxone that can reverse the deadly effects of opioids. If the medication had been around when her son overdosed, Scott said, things could have been different. (Reyes, 11/14)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Alzheimer's Association To Host Free Webinar On Impact Of Dementia On Native American Community
Alzheimer’s Association is hosting a free webinar Tuesday to address the impact of Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia on Indigenous populations. (Mapp, 11/13)
The Washington Post:
Toxic Wildfire Smoke Raises Health Risks Across The Country
State public health officials and experts are increasingly concerned about residents’ chronic exposure to toxin-filled smoke. This year has seen the most wildfires of the past decade, with more than 59,000 fires burning nearly 7 million acres nationwide, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. Although the total area burned is less than in some recent years, heavy smoke has still blanketed communities throughout the country. (Vasilogambros, 11/13)