Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
‘Go Ahead and Vote Me Out’: What Other Places Can Learn From Santa Rosa’s Tent City
As cities across California wrestle with a crisis of homelessness that has drawn international condemnation, Santa Rosa’s bold experiment with a city-sanctioned encampment suggests a way forward. (Angela Hart, )
Supply Of J&J Shots May Fall Significantly Next Week: California is expecting about 90% fewer Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses next week, even as the state expands eligibility to any resident over age 16 on April 15. Read more from the Bay Area News Group.
Vaccines Work On California Variant, Scientists Say: As the California coronavirus variant continues to spread, new research suggests that several vaccines should continue to provide an effective defense against it. The findings were published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine. Read more from the Los Angeles Times.
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
LA Daily News:
South African, Brazilian Coronavirus Variants Discovered In LA County As Caseload Declines Plateau
The rate of decline of coronavirus cases in Los Angeles over the last month or so has slowed, Los Angeles County public health officials said Wednesday, April 7. Experts remained cautiously optimistic that the region was on track for newly minted goals of lifting heavy restrictions on the economy by June 15. Underlying the caution was the discovery in the county of the coronavirus mutant strains — known as the South African and Brazilian variants. (Carter, 4/7)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Less-Restrictive Orange Tier Arrives, But With Worries Of A Backslide
San Diego County made it to the orange tier Wednesday, but just barely. Week-to-week, the region saw its number of cases per 100,000 residents — the critical measure that governs movement through the state’s reopening blueprint — increase from 4.9 to 5.8, just 0.1 cases under the limit for the second-least-restrictive level that now allows restaurants, movie theaters and other enterprises to double the amount of indoor space they can use. (Sisson, 4/7)
Southern California News Group:
Are We Declaring Pandemic Over Too Fast? State’s June 15 Deadline For Reopening Splits Experts
Is California spiking the football before the game is truly over? Gov. Gavin Newsom’s declaration that the coronavirus outbreak could largely be over in his state by June sent local leaders, public health experts, doctors and business owners scrambling for thoughtful answers to that question. Some questioned the wisdom of the state’s sudden shift into the recovery fast lane, given the significant gains still needed to attain vaccination goals and the gradually slowing declines in caseload growth. Others, however, were confident that this was the appropriate decision for a state eager to break free of the fiercely debated coronavirus restrictions and the economic turmoil triggered by a bitter year of pandemic. (Rosenfeld and Robinson, 4/7)
Modesto Bee:
Stanislaus Leaders Agree With June Reopen Date. But Will COVID-19 Rebound Again?
Stanislaus County was busy with vaccinations and efforts to avoid another spring and summer coronavirus surge when Tuesday the state announced it was shooting for a June 15 date for reopening California. County officials said the state plan won’t cause the local vaccination program to miss a step. But it’s less certain whether the new state policy of loosening restrictions — starting April 15 with private gatherings and live events — will create opportunity for COVID-19 to bounce back again. (Carlson, 4/7)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Why California Isn't Getting Rid Of Its Mask Mandate Just Yet
Given a chance to provide a glimmer of hope for ending California’s mask mandate, Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state’s health secretary, Dr. Mark Ghaly, firmly decided not to go there, saying there was no end date goal just yet. “It’s the most powerful and important non-pharmaceutical intervention we can do to mitigate the spread of this disease,” Newsom said during his briefing on Tuesday. “We are committed to extinguishing this disease, and we don’t have any short-term goals as it relates to lifting the mass mandate.” (Vaziri, 4/7)
Bay Area News Group:
Coronavirus: California Loosen More Rules On High School Sports
High school sports teams in California will no longer be confined to competition in only their home county and those adjacent to it, health officials announced this week. Teams may schedule contests against anyone within state lines but not beyond California’s borders. The California Department of Public Health on Tuesday updated its youth sports guidelines to remove the restrictions on games beyond bordering counties that had been in place since youth sports returned last month from a year-long hiatus. (Webeck, 4/7)
Sacramento Bee:
California Kids Playing Sports Again, But Parents Worry About Masks
Youth sports have returned to a Sacramento area salvaging something resembling normal during a second pandemic spring with young athletes playing on fields and diamonds across the region. Lost in the push to play, however, was a vexing question for some sports families: If you’re a parent who wants their child to cover up on the field, what to do if the games are playing on without masks? In a spring sports season of contact tracing and COVID-19 protocols, much of the national spotlight surrounding face coverings for youth athletes had been dominated by parents protesting on-the-field mask requirements. (Smith, 4/8)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Vaccines Now Open To Everyone Age 16 And Older In Hardest-Hit Alameda County ZIP Codes
Alameda County on Wednesday extended coronavirus vaccinations to everyone at least 16 years old, jumping a week ahead of California’s eligibility expansion, but only in 12 ZIP codes across Oakland, Hayward, San Leandro and San Lorenzo, where thousands of COVID-19 cases have devastated communities. Statewide, people aged 16 to 49 won’t become eligible for vaccinations until April 15. But in the targeted Alameda County ZIP codes, county officials said there was no time to waste. (Asimov, 4/7)
Los Angeles Times:
Cal State LA Offering COVID-19 Vaccines For All Adults
The Cal State Los Angeles mass vaccination site will allow any adult to stand in line for a COVID-19 vaccine between Thursday and the end of Sunday, the governor’s Office of Emergency Services said Wednesday night. The decision comes about a week before the state, starting April 15, formally allows any Californian 16 and older to get the vaccine. The move came about because there has, in recent days, been excess capacity at the Cal State L.A. site to administer COVID-19 vaccinations. (Miller and Lin II, 4/7)
LA Daily News:
Fueled By Surplus Johnson & Johnson Vaccine, Cal State LA Site Has ‘Immediate Appointments’ Available
With relatively few vaccine appointments slots being filled, state and federal officials are putting out the call to any eligible person to sign up for “immediate appointments” to get vaccinated against COVID-19 at the mammoth Cal State LA site. The call comes just days before the Federal Emergency Management Agency and California’s Office of Emergency Services cease control of the site, which next week will transition to the city of L.A. to operate. (Carter, 4/7)
LA Daily News:
LAUSD Opens First Of 25 School-Based Vaccination Sites
In an effort to get people vaccinated against the coronavirus so families will feel more comfortable sending their children back to school, Los Angeles Unified School District Superintendent Austin Beutner and community leaders gathered on Wednesday, April 7, at one of the first LAUSD schools to open this week as a vaccination center to promote the initiative. They spoke of the need to provide vaccination opportunities in neighborhoods that have been hardest hit by the pandemic — mainly low-income Black and Hispanic communities with higher infection rates whose residents have struggled more to gain access to the vaccines — during a media event at George Washington Preparatory Senior High School in South L.A. (Tat, 4/7)
The Bakersfield Californian:
With Blacks Falling Behind On Vaccinations, Sunday Event Aims To Reach A Forgotten Community
Sabrina Morgan voiced skepticism about the coronavirus vaccine Wednesday afternoon. In front of her home in southeast Bakersfield, she said she wasn’t sure if she should get it because she’d heard people had died after being vaccinated. Yet, a few minutes after speaking with a group of canvassers — who happened to include Supervisor Leticia Perez and Councilman Eric Arias — she was convinced to attend a free COVID-19 vaccination clinic happening a few blocks away on Sunday. (Morgen, 4/7)
Voice of OC:
OC And State Latino Communities Still Lagging Behind In Coronavirus Vaccinations As Economy Rushes To Reopen
Vaccination gaps remain in Orange County and throughout California as more businesses are reopening and state public health officials are expected to lift nearly all coronavirus restrictions in two months. Some public health experts say the vaccine gaps could cause residents living in the most impacted communities to see a disproportionate increase in new virus cases. (Custodio, 4/7)
Bay Area News Group:
COVID Vaccine Passports: The New Trend In California?
On Friday afternoon, as they have done for generations every spring, baseball fans will head to San Francisco for the Giants home opener.But to enter the ballpark this year, they will need to bring something in addition to their ticket: proof they have been vaccinated or the results of a negative COVID-19 test taken within the past 72 hours. That requirement — imposed by San Francisco public health officials — has Bay Area residents asking: Is this a new trend or an outlier as California continues to reopen? (Rogers and Savidge, 4/7)
The Bakersfield Californian:
Houchin Community Blood Bank Calls Out To Community For Blood Donations
Houchin Community Blood Bank reminded the community that while blood donations are currently decreasing, demand for them is on the rise with Kern County on the cusp of reopening. In a news release, the blood bank said that with people attempting to return to their normal lives, fewer individuals have been coming through Houchin’s doors. Also, hospitals are nearing full capacity once again and surgeries are picking up, the news release stated. (4/7)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Oakland's Guaranteed Income Program Caught Up In Debate Over Race And Equity
With many low-income families devastated during the pandemic by job loss, hunger and housing insecurity, some Bay Area politicians have embraced guaranteed income as a way to cushion these blows. But just who and how to help is now swept up in fraught conversations about race and social justice with families of color disproportionately hurt by the pandemic and systemic inequities. (Ravani, 4/7)