Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Beating the Pavement to Vaccinate the Underrepresented — And Protect Everyone
In poor neighborhoods and desert towns, community activists — some unpaid — are signing up hard-to-reach people for vaccination appointments. Experts say these campaigns are key to building the country’s immunological armor against new outbreaks. (Anna Almendrala, )
Day One Is Here: As of today, any Californian who is 50 or older can get the covid-19 vaccination -- if they can find one. News outlets report on the first of two planned eligibility expansions, as well as the challenges of getting an appointment: Los Angeles Times | LAist | CBSLA | Bay Area News Group | San Francisco Chronicle
Scroll below for much more vaccine expansion coverage.
No More Trash Bags: A new law requires all California hospitals to maintain a three-month stockpile of personal protective equipment like masks and gloves, The Sacramento Bee reports. In the early months of the pandemic, when PPE ran low and health care workers resorted to wearing trash bags in lieu of gowns, the state government stepped in to find and procure supplies. Now, hospitals are responsible for securing equipment. The California Nurses Association applauds the move, Becker's Hospital Review reports. Dale Kasler of The Sacramento Bee has more.
Attitudes Shift on Health Care For Undocumented Immigrants: A new poll finds a growing number of Californians are open to the idea of providing health care to undocumented immigrants. About 66% of likely voters tell the nonpartisan Public Policy Institute of California that they support such coverage — a jump from the 54% who felt that way in 2015, the last time the institute asked the question. Get more from Joe Garofoli of the San Francisco Chronicle.
More News From Across The State
CalMatters:
COVID-19 Plummets In California Nursing Homes
After a devastating sweep that killed more than 9,000 residents and workers, COVID-19 has nearly disappeared from California’s nursing homes. At the height of the winter surge, more than 80 residents of nursing facilities died every day from COVID-19. In March, however, fewer than 15 new cases were reported each day, and deaths dropped to between one and six people daily, according to the California Department of Public Health. (Feder Ostrov, 4/1)
AP:
Sun's Out, Surf's Up And California's Reopening More Widely
heering fans instead of cardboard cutouts at Dodger Stadium. Screaming thrill-seekers riding the Giant Dipper roller coaster at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. Beer lovers bellying up to, well, a table outside a brewery. Even with some limitations that exclude drinking at a bar, a lot of activities Californians haven’t been able to enjoy for most of the past year are suddenly within reach as the state reopens more widely. (Melley, 4/1)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
COVID-19 Strain First Spotted In U.K. Spreading Quickly, San Diego Scientists Report
While San Diegans will get to enjoy a bit more pre-pandemic normalcy starting Thursday, a new study by local researchers underscores the need for continued caution to avoid a surge fueled by a fast-spreading strain of the coronavirus. A team of scientists at Scripps Research joined with genomics company Helix to track the spread of a variant first spotted in the U.K., known as B.1.1.7, across the United States. They found that the frequency of the strain doubles roughly every week. (Wosen, 3/31)
Capital and Main:
Los Angeles Faces Familiar Virus Challenges As It Enters Orange Tier
Los Angeles County is moving from the red tier into the “orange tier” on Monday, April 5, and plans to increase indoor dining capacity to 50%, and to allow the opening of outdoor bars that do not serve food. Is the county’s loosening of restrictions on restaurants, movie theaters, gyms and museums a good thing? (Goodheart, 3/31)
Sacramento Bee:
COVID Pushed Sacramento Death Tally To Highest In 2 Decades
Far more Sacramento County residents died in December and January than during any other two months in at least the past 20 years, according to a Bee review of new state and federal health data. Nearly 2,900 Sacramento County residents died in December and January — about one of every 500 residents, according to the California Department of Public Health. That’s a rise of more than 675 deaths, or 30%, from the same months a year earlier. (Reese, 4/1)
San Jose Mercury News:
California Boomers Scramble For Vaccine As Eligibility Opens Up
The mad scramble is on as some 7.6 million middle-aged Californians become eligible statewide for the COVID-19 vaccine Thursday amid conflicting signals about the availability of appointments for the shots. As county officials, health care providers and pharmacies in many parts of the Bay Area warned of ongoing shortages and urged patience, many of those 50 and older — eager to get the shots because their age puts them at higher risk from the virus — turned to social media for tips on beating the rush. While the state said last week that it would not open appointments to the newly eligible until April 1, plenty of providers jumped the gun — handing opportunity to the resourceful. (Woolfolk and Joosse, 3/31)
LAist:
LA’s COVID-19 Vaccine Plan To Be Impacted By Johnson & Johnson Snafu
An expected April surge of COVID-19 vaccine supply led Gov. Gavin Newsom to expand eligibility to Californians 50-and-over on April 1, and 16-and-over two weeks later. But a manufacturing problem that caused millions of doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to be thrown out may delay shots in L.A.’s hardest hit communities. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine requires just one shot so they are vital for populations that have trouble getting to clinics -- people experiencing homelessness as well as people with disabilities or ambulatory issues -- the population that needs to be vaccinated the most. They are also utilized at vaccination pop-up sites around the county, as well as some mass vaccination sites. (Fortier, 4/1)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Here's How Many Californians Are Now Eligible For The COVID Vaccine, In One Chart
It’s April 1, and millions more people across California are now eligible to sign up for the coronavirus vaccine. Here’s a look at where the state stands right now in terms of vaccinations. (4/1)
The Bakersfield Californian:
Those 50 And Older Are Vaccine Eligible Starting Thursday
The Kern County Public Health Services Department sent out a reminder that, starting Thursday, all Kern County residents 50 and older will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. In a news release, the county health department said that MyTurn has been updated to allow residents in that age bracket to register and appointments can be scheduled now by visiting MyTurn.ca.gov or by calling the Public Health Call Center at 661-321-3000. Staff can assist residents making vaccination appointments and are available to answer questions Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., the county said. (3/31)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Kaiser Warns That A Wait Is Likely As It Opens COVID Vaccines To 50 And Older
Kaiser Permanente is participating in California’s expansion of COVID-19 vaccine eligibility starting Thursday — but warns that its members will likely face a wait. All Californians 50 and older become eligible for vaccinations on Thursday, and everyone 16 and older may receive inoculations starting April 15. (Vainshtein, 3/31)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Contra Costa County Sees Day 1 'Deluge Of Interest,' 30,000 People Seeking Vaccine, As Age Limit Ends
In what could portend a similar deluge of demand across California in the coming weeks, Contra Costa County on Wednesday said 30,000 of its residents requested vaccine appointments overnight, after the county on Tuesday became one of the first in the state to open up shots to everyone 16 and over. “We’ve had huge demand,” said the county deputy health officer, Dr. Ori Tzvieli. “Our phones have been ringing off the hook. We had over 30,000 people sign up for appointments overnight and more are coming in.” (Ho, 3/31)
CalMatters:
What Will California Do To Overcome Vaccine Resistance?
Now it’s on to the next challenge: How to vaccinate the millions of Californians who aren’t quite so eager. A survey released on Tuesday by the Public Policy Institute of California found that 14% of adult respondents said they would “definitely not get the vaccine.” Another 7% said they “probably” wouldn’t. That suggests that one in five Californians will need, at the very least, some extra convincing. (Christopher, 4/1)
San Jose Mercury News:
State Pledges $7 Million To Bay Area Counties For 'Equitable' Vaccine Rollout
Amid ongoing local frustrations over the state’s approach to an equitable vaccine rollout, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office has pledged several million dollars to Bay Area health departments to help distribute doses in hard-hit areas. The state will give $7.6 million to nine Bay Area counties to expand vaccination sites in vulnerable neighborhoods, sign residents up for appointments through My Turn or hire outreach workers, among other possibilities, State Senator Dave Cortese’s office said Wednesday. (Kelliher, 3/31)
AP:
Jill Biden Urges Farmworkers To Get Vaccinated In California
First lady Jill Biden praised California farmworkers for their persistence during the pandemic and urged them to get vaccinated during a visit Wednesday to an agricultural region of the state. “Without the farmworkers who kept harvesting our food, or the factory workers who packaged it, or the grocery store clerks who stocked our shelves, hey, we wouldn’t have made it through this year,” Biden said. (3/31)
Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
North Bay Lies At Center Of Opposition To Coronavirus Vaccinations In Bay Area
Nearly one in four adults in the North Bay are reluctant to receive a coronavirus vaccination, a significant obstacle that could slow efforts to achieve herd immunity in the region, a new poll suggested Wednesday. Opposition to the vaccine is higher in the North Bay than in any other part of the nine-county Bay Area, according to the Bay Area Council survey. About 23% of respondents in the North Bay counties of Sonoma, Marin, Napa and Solano described themselves as “vaccine hesitant” — that is, they are not yet vaccinated and probably or definitely will not be getting the shots. (Barber, 3/31)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Where Bay Area's Vaccine Enthusiasm Ranks Vs. Other Metro Areas
By April 15, every California resident 16 and older will be eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. But the ensuing surge in demand could make it tough for most Californians to quickly book appointments — especially in the Bay Area, where demand is likely higher, and vaccine hesitancy lower, than any other urban region in the country. Over 72% of unvaccinated residents of the San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley metropolitan area say they will “definitely” get the vaccine once it’s available, according to the COVID-19 Household Pulse Survey, a U.S. Census survey that collects responses from Americans on a range of questions about their social and economic conditions. That’s a greater percentage than residents of any other major metropolitan area in the country save Seattle. (Neilson, 3/31)
LA Daily News:
LA County Vows To Reach 80% Coronavirus Vaccination Rate In 12 Weeks
Within 12 weeks, Los Angeles County public health officials expect to vaccinate 80% of residents over 15 years old, a benchmark that could be a giant stride toward the end of the pandemic here. But increases in virus variants of concern that are continuing to be detected at county laboratories still have officials concerned, which is why on Wednesday, March 31, they urged residents to hang on for just two to three months more when the level of inoculation countywide was at a sufficient enough level to protect the most vulnerable. (Rosenfeld, 3/31)
San Jose Mercury News:
UC Launches Gene Therapy Trial To Cure Sickle Cell Disease
A team of University of California scientists are launching a first-ever human study of a powerful new gene-editing technique to fix the bad gene that causes sickle cell disease, offering the promise of a cure for the devastating blood illness. On Tuesday, researchers announced that they have received U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval to test the approach, using a technique called CRISPR-Cas9, at UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland and UCLA’s Broad Stem Cell Research Center. (Krieger, 3/31)
AP:
On Tap In California: Another Drought Four Years After Last
California’s hopes for a wet “March miracle” did not materialize and a dousing of April showers may as well be a mirage at this point. The state appears in the midst of another drought only a few years after a punishing 5-year dry spell dried up rural wells, killed endangered salmon, idled farm fields and helped fuel the most deadly and destructive wildfires in modern state history. “We’re looking at the second dry year in a row. In California that pretty much means we have a drought,” said Jay Lund, a civil and environmental engineering professor at the University of California, Davis. (Melley, 3/31)
Sacramento Bee:
Why Sacramento Still Uses Extreme Isolation On Jail Inmates
Emerging from solitary confinement after two months, the man with schizophrenia walked from cell to cell, kicked at doors and demanded birthday presents. He stripped naked, stood on a table and put his hands on his hips. It was not his birthday. But for the mentally ill inmate in Sacramento’s downtown jail, breaking free of his isolation for a brief moment in January may have felt like a gift. He’d been there since October, locked in the most restrictive “total separation” cells of the jail. Even though a federal judge in 2019 ordered the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office to stop using such extreme isolation on people with serious mental illnesses, an extreme isolation cell is where staff locked the unkempt, delusional man. (Pohl and Finch II, 3/31)