CNBC: Moderna Covid Vaccine Is 94.1% Effective, Plans To Apply For Emergency OK Monday
Moderna said Monday it will request emergency clearance from the Food and Drug Administration for its coronavirus vaccine after new data confirms the vaccine is more than 94% effective in preventing Covid-19 and was safe. Moderna is the second drugmaker to seek emergency use from the FDA after Pfizer, another front-runner in the Covid-19 vaccine race, applied for the same authorization on Nov. 20. The announcement means some Americans could get the first doses of Moderna’s two-dose vaccine within a few weeks. (Lovelace Jr., 11/30)

KQED: If There Aren’t Enough Vaccines For All Health Care Workers In California, Which Doctors, Nurses Or Aides Will Get It First?
When California receives its first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines in early December, experts agree health care workers will be the first to get it. But while the state’s medical workforce includes 2.4 million people, officials say the first vaccine shipment is expected to contain just 1 or 2 million doses — forcing the state to “sub-prioritze.” So who moves to the front of the line: a 65-year old emergency room nurse or a 30-year old home health aide? (Dembosky, 11/30)

Southern California News Group: Massive Coronavirus Vaccine Effort Faces Enormous Challenges In California 
It’s an audacious, unprecedented task straight out of “Mission Impossible”: Inoculate some 40 million people in a matter of months with a coronavirus vaccine. California is on the cusp of a mass campaign that faces colossal complexities, and it only starts with the now-well-publicized challenge of having enough cold storage for the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines once they finally arrive. Will local health departments — expected to shoulder the lion’s share of the work  — have enough cash to pull off such a daunting task? (Sforza, 11/29)

Los Angeles Times: L.A.'s Rising COVID-19 Death Rate Points To A Dire December
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti made a dire prediction last week: If the coronavirus continues to spread so rapidly, the death toll from COVID-19 in Los Angeles County will reach 11,511 by the end of the year. Garcetti’s projection would mean that more than 4,000 Angelenos will die of COVID-19 in the next five weeks alone, more than were lost in L.A. County’s first four months of the pandemic. The mayor pleaded with Angelenos to stay home over the next few weeks and cancel Thanksgiving plans with people outside their households. (Karlamangla, 11/29)

Los Angeles Times: New COVID-19 Surge Spreading Beyond Urban Areas To All Corners Of California
The autumn COVID-19 surge has now spread not only through major urban areas like Los Angeles but even to the far northern rural reaches of California, a troubling sign as the state faces its greatest challenge yet from the pandemic. A Times data analysis found that most California counties are now suffering their worst daily coronavirus case rates of the COVID-19 pandemic, surpassing even the summer surge that had forced officials to roll back the state’s first reopening in the late spring. (Lin II and Greene, 11/27)

Bloomberg: Los Angeles Defends Soft Stay-Home Order Despite Case Spike
Los Angeles, which imposed another stay-home order starting Monday, said the measures are less stringent than those issued in March despite a sudden case surge because face-wearing and social distancing have proven effective. The new measures, which prohibit most gatherings but don’t require retailers to shut down, will last for three weeks. Los Angeles has more coronavirus cases and deaths than any other U.S. county, with a five-day average of more than 4,500 new cases. (Yang and Chua, 11/27)

Sacramento Bee: COVID-19 Surge Has Record Patients In Sacramento Hospitals
Sacramento hospitals reported a record-high number of COVID-19 patients on Saturday, the result of a resurgent pandemic this fall that is putting the health care system under unprecedented strain, particularly in intensive care units where beds, doctors and nurses are in short supply. In total, 284 capital region residents are being treated in Sacramento County hospitals for the coronavirus, topping the previous high of 281 in July. The patient numbers represent a dramatic increase from just 74 patients six weeks ago, and foreshadow more crowding to come. (Bizjak, Anderson and McGough, 11/28)

Los Angeles Times: Bay Area Tightens COVID-19 Restrictions; Santa Clara County Orders Travel Quarantine
As the COVID-19 pandemic rapidly worsens across California, San Francisco and San Mateo counties on Saturday were moved into the state’s most restrictive tier, which forces the closure of indoor gyms and movie theaters. At the same time, Santa Clara County issued its own tightened COVID-19 rules that in some ways are stricter than the ones issued by Los Angeles County on Friday. Under Santa Clara County’s directive, people must quarantine for 14 days after returning from travel of more than 150 miles, hotels will be open for only essential travel or isolation and quarantine, and nonessential retail establishments will be limited to 10% of capacity indoors, down from the current cap of 25%. (Lin II, 11/28)

Bay Area News Group: Santa Clara County Issues Tough, New COVID-19 Rules Including Quarantines For Some 
Santa Clara County released new COVID-19 restrictions in light of its rising caseload Saturday, including a three-week ban on all professional, collegiate and high school sports, a mandatory quarantine for those traveling into the region from more than 150 miles away and new capacity limits for indoor businesses. The new restrictions arrive as California experiences its worst COVID-19 surge yet and within hours of a rollback from San Francisco and San Mateo counties, which both announced curfews as they were placed into the state’s most restrictive “purple” reopening tier. (Kelliher, 11/28)

AP: 49ers May Need Temporary Home Because Of New COVID-19 Rules
The San Francisco 49ers and other teams may need to find a temporary new home after Santa Clara County on Saturday banned all contact sports from holding games and practices for the next three weeks. County officials issued the directives in response to rising cases of the coronavirus in the area. The rules take effect Monday and will last until Dec 21. The 49ers have home games scheduled for Dec. 7 against Buffalo and Dec. 13 against Washington at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. The team also practices at that site in the county. (Dubow, 11/28)

The Bakersfield Californian: COVID-19 Testing In Kern County Finally Matches State Level, Fulfilling Long-Held Goal 
Despite a spike in local coronavirus cases, Kern County recently reached a milestone that has long been sought after by public health officials. Since Gov. Gavin Newsom tied counties’ coronavirus testing numbers to the ability to reopen businesses and hold other social activities like indoor church services, local officials have been urging more Kern County residents to get tested. (Morgen, 11/29)

Bay Area News Group: On Bay Area’s Busiest COVID Ward, ‘Doom And Gloom’ Returns But More Hope For Second Wave Of Patients 
In the Emergency Department at East San Jose’s Regional Medical Center, beds spill into the corridors. The waiting room is nearly full and, as the second wave of the coronavirus pandemic surges, so is the COVID ward on the second floor. In the Intensive Care Unit during Thanksgiving week, patient after patient in glass-walled rooms lay sedated, thick ventilator tubes running down their throats — a grim scene at the Bay Area’s hardest hit hospital. And perhaps nobody better represents the balancing act of heartbreak and hope more than Juan Flores. (Sulek, 11/29)

San Diego Union-Tribune: With Grit, Ingenuity And Humor, San Diegans Cope With The Fatigue Of A Seemingly Endless Pandemic 
Thanksgiving has arrived with the nation nearly paralyzed by the novel coronavirus, a disease whose deadly toll is endlessly updated on the screens of cable news broadcasts. Health experts are urging the public not to travel to family gatherings. San Diego County, like the rest of the state, is under a night-time curfew that’s meant to slow the spread of COVID-19. Friends and family members hesitate to reach out and hug one another. People are anxious and afraid and exhausted. But they are not defeated. (Robbins, 11/26)

San Francisco Chronicle: Indoor Dining Banned At All Bay Area Restaurants, Just As Weather Gets Colder
San Mateo County was the last place in the Bay Area people could get a restaurant meal indoors.Until Sunday. The county, along with San Francisco, just moved into the dreaded purple tier — a category indicating a widespread resurgence of the virus. In accordance with state rules, the county banned indoor dining effective at 12:01 a.m. on Sunday, along with other indoor operations at other establishments including gyms, churches and museums. (Fimrite, 11/29)

Sacramento Bee: Rancho Cordova Nursing Facility Sees Coronavirus Outbreak
Family members say a Rancho Cordova nursing home is working to suppress an outbreak of coronavirus among its residents as California’s COVID-19 infection rate skyrockets. Heather Mora, the daughter-in-law of a resident at the Casa Coloma Health Care Center, told The Sacramento Bee in an email that she was informed of several infections at the facility after her father-in-law tested positive for coronavirus. “There is an active outbreak among patients and staff,” Mora said. (Moleski, 11/28)

Sacramento Bee: Placer COVID-19 Outbreak Tied To Rocklin Basketball Center
More than two dozen people in two counties have tested positive for COVID-19 after participating in indoor youth basketball games at Rocklin’s Courtside Basketball Center, but the owners refused to end indoor play, Placer County Public Health officials announced Wednesday. “Individuals who were at Courtside Basketball Center on Nov. 7 or 8 may have been exposed to coronavirus and are advised to quarantine and seek testing for the virus, regardless of whether they have symptoms,” officials said in the health alert. “Multiple individuals who were exposed on Nov. 7 and 8 also participated in subsequent tournaments at this facility. Testing for Placer County residents can be accessed through health care providers or community testing sites.” (Anderson, 11/25)

Los Angeles Times: Dozens Protest Outside Of Home Of L.A. County's Public Health Director 
Dozens of demonstrators converged outside the Echo Park home of Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer on Sunday afternoon to express their displeasure with a new round of COVID-19 restrictions that will take effect Monday. Carrying signs and waving flags, the protesters called on Ferrer to “Open L.A.” and chanted, “No science. No data. No shutdown.” (Lai, 11/29)

LA Daily News: Lancaster Calls Special Meeting To Call No-Confidence Vote In Ferrer And Consider Own Public Health Department 
Frustrated by COVID-19 public health orders, a northern Los Angeles County city’s elected officials next week will consider a no-confidence vote in the county’s public health chief. The vote sets the stage for a related effort in which the city of Lancaster, looking to team with neighboring cities, would establish its own public health department. (Carter, 11/27)

San Francisco Chronicle: Another Try For California Church That Lost Supreme Court Decision On Indoor Services
A California church that lost a Supreme Court challenge in May to Gov. Gavin Newsom’s restrictions on in-person attendance is trying again — this time, before a newly composed court that seems more likely to go along. When South Bay United Pentecostal Church in Chula Vista (San Diego County) first argued that Newsom’s orders violated freedom of religion, the court refused to intervene in a 5-4 decision. Chief Justice John Roberts, who cast the deciding vote, said the governor was imposing similar restrictions on comparable secular facilities, like movie theaters and sporting events, and should be allowed to take reasonable steps to protect public health. (Egelko, 11/27)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Despite County Announcement Of Outbreak, Awaken Church Holds Sunday In-Person Services 
One day after public health officials announced an outbreak of COVID-19 at its Kearny Mesa chapel, Awaken Church held indoor services there on Sunday attended by more than 100 people. An Awaken Church official declined to comment and requested that a reporter with The San Diego Union-Tribune leave the premises. Several dozen people were observed entering the church for the first services scheduled Sunday, while around 100 were seen going into the church for a second service. (Cook and Freeman, 11/28)

Modesto Bee: Bishop Asks For Exemption To Coronavirus Ban On Indoor Services
Following a tightening of coronavirus restrictions across California, Bishop Myron Cotta of the Diocese of Stockton is urging county leaders to ease constraints on indoor church services in anticipation of colder weather this winter. In a letter sent to local leaders in Stanislaus, Tuolumne and San Joaquin counties, the diocese seeks an exception to the re-implemented ban on indoor gatherings for parishes in the diocese. (Karisch, 11/28)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Yes, You Can Get COVID-19 Twice. Don’t Be Alarmed, San Diego Scientists Say 
Data from San Diego County suggest that few residents have gotten COVID-19 twice so far, echoing findings from researchers across the globe. The Union-Tribune asked the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency for the number of people who’ve tested positive for the coronavirus twice, with their second test at least three months after their first. That cutoff is based on a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that an infected person can shed virus for up to three months after they first show symptoms. (Wosen, 11/29)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Inmate's Family Sues San Diego County Over His Death, Alleges It Was COVID 
Sometime on June 29, sheriff’s deputies at the Vista Detention Facility found Mark Armendo unresponsive on the floor of his cell. Jail staff began administering CPR in an attempt to revive the 34-year-old, but their efforts were unsuccessful. They called 911, and paramedics transported Armendo to Tri-City Medical Center for emergency treatment. His condition worsened. Armendo was suffering from pneumonia and seizures. He was moved to UCSD Medical Center on July 4 “for a higher level of care” but the medical experts could not save him, according to an investigation by the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office. (Davis and McDonald, 11/29)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Foundations Team Up To Offer Emergency Aid To Military Caregivers This Holiday Season 
Military caregivers tend to have a lot on their plates when it comes to caring for their loved ones who are wounded, ill or experiencing a disability such as a traumatic brain injury. This especially rings true this year, as so many families across the country have been negatively affected by the pandemic and the economic stress caused by it. In an effort to bring some holiday cheer to military and veteran caregiver families with a financial need, the Elizabeth Dole Foundation and Bob & Dolores Hope Foundation have teamed up to launch the Hope for the Holidays - Military & Veteran Caregiver Fund. (Mapp, 11/28)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Drug Deaths Were Already Climbing At The Beginning Of 2020. Then The Pandemic Hit
The isolation of the coronavirus pandemic had seriously begun to take its toll on Alexander Joubert by the time his 21st birthday came around in May. ... So, to lift his spirits, his parents allowed him to celebrate his landmark birthday with a few friends in the backyard of their Encinitas home. But someone must have brought Alexander several doses of cocaine as a gift, sparking cycles of relapse and self-detoxing that revealed a hidden struggle with drug use. It was excruciating for his parents to witness over the next couple of months. (Davis and Kragen, 11/28)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Prop. 14's Passage Replenishes California Stem Cell Agency's Coffers With $5.5B
San Diego’s fast-growing biotech industry just got another boost after California voters narrowly passed Proposition 14, a measure authorizing $5.5 billion for stem cell research. Those funds will go to the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), which awards grants to companies and academic institutes conducting stem cell research. Existing funding, which has supported the search for treatments for various cancers, diabetes, heart disease and other conditions ran out about a year ago. (Wosen, 11/28)

San Francisco Chronicle: We Shouldn’t Be Panic Buying Again In The Bay Area, But Some Are. Experts Explain Why
Remember panic buying? Those weeks after the coronavirus pandemic erupted in March, when essential consumer items disappeared from shelves, and toilet paper in particular became the hottest commodity in the Bay Area? Back then, industry officials assured consumers that the supply chain could handle the demand. They’re saying the same thing now, as panic buying, that relic from the early days of pandemic anxiety, has returned for its second round. (Vainshtein, 11/25)

San Diego Union-Tribune: First Of Escondido's Five Fitness Courts Opens At Mountain View Park 
Escondido residents will soon have a number of new options for getting in shape, thanks to a series of planned new fitness facilities. On Nov. 18, the city unveiled the first of five planned “fitness courts,” which are described as free outdoor gyms available for public use. The ribbon-cutting ceremony was held at the site of the first fitness court, which was built at Mountain View Park. (Tash, 11/30)

Sacramento Bee: Work Can Resume On Sacramento CA W-X Homeless Shelter
Six months after the Trump Administration blocked Sacramento officials from opening a large homeless shelter under the W-X freeway, Caltrans is allowing the project to move forward anyway. Caltrans earlier this month signed a lease agreement with Sacramento, allowing the city to move forward with the project on a vacant lot near X Street and Alhambra Boulevard — a key component of the city’s homeless response strategy. (Clift, 11/27)

San Diego Union-Tribune: San Diego County Announces New Round Of COVID-19 Relief For Eligible Renters 
Thousands of residents of San Diego County have lost their jobs or seen their work hours cut since the COVID-19 pandemic struck earlier this year. Now county officials are making some additional relief available to people who have suffered from the economic downturn caused by the persistent public health threat. Applications for the county’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program will be accepted beginning Tuesday. (McDonald, 11/29)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Frustrated, Lonely And Isolated, Low-Income Seniors Are Hit Hard By The Pandemic 
Evelyn Rogers loved going to the Potiker Family Senior Residence in downtown San Diego to join a friend in a singing group, do arts and crafts, work on a computer and socialize with others. “You could stay for hours and play videos or play the piano,” recalled Rogers, 60. “But we’re not allowed to do anything anymore. We can’t have fun with other people.“ The Potiker Family Senior Residence and the Gary and Mary West Senior Wellness Center, both operated by the nonprofit Serving Seniors, discontinued their in-person classes and activities in March because of the COVID-19 pandemic. (Warth, 11/27)

San Diego Union-Tribune: San Diego Foundation Awards $200,000 In Grants To Reduce Seniors' Isolation 
Social isolation and loneliness have long caused health concerns for older adults, but throughout the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, the loneliness epidemic has been exacerbated for seniors around the world as they stay home alone to remain safe from the virus. (Mapp, 11/29)

inewsource: Veterans Speak Out About Problems With San Diego VA Mental Health Care
More veterans have come forward to share problems about accessing mental health care at the San Diego VA following an inewsource investigation last week that found the agency has recently made it more difficult for vets to go outside the system for care. Army veteran Richard Guilfoyle is one of those who has been unsuccessful in seeking the VA’s approval for outside therapy. (Racino, 11/25)

Santa Rosa Press Democrat: Rise In Mental Health Crises Among Sonoma County Youth A Growing Concern
The toll of physical isolation and an unprecedented disruption of daily life has led to an increase in mental health emergencies among young people in Sonoma County, and experts are hoping greater awareness about the signs can lead to early detection and treatment. (Baig, 11/29)

Capital Public Radio/KXJZ: COVID-19 Pandemic Can Exacerbate Stress, Depression During The Holidays, Especially For Those Who Are Isolated
People with a mental health condition may be more prone to the so-called “holiday blues,” which are often tied to financial strain, loneliness, colder weather and other factors. Sixty-four percent of people with a mental illness report the holidays make their conditions worse, according to the National Alliance Mental Illness. Millions of Americans also experience Seasonal Affective Disorder, a type of depression causing symptoms that begin in the fall and last until spring or summer. Experts say all of these factors are likely to be exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic, when people are feeling an unprecedented level of stress. Many are also cut off from their support networks and social outlets. Mental health professionals are anticipating a rise in suicide related to the crisis, and many help lines have been flooded with demand. (Caiola, 11/27)

Bay Area News Group: Marin Expands Mobile Psychiatric Crisis Team Program 
A state grant has allowed Marin County to add a second mobile team to provide psychiatric crisis intervention, and officials might expand the program more if they can find the funding. Advocates for “defunding” law enforcement agencies have lobbied county supervisors to take money from the Marin County Sheriff’s Office budget and use it to fund additional psychiatric intervention. In response, supervisors reduced the sheriff’s budget by $1.7 million in June. That money plus another $1 million have been reserved for unspecified racial equity initiatives. (Halstead, 11/28)