Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
As LA County Sets New Infection Record, State Leaders’ Behavior Sends Mixed Messages
Even as L.A.’s stay-at-home restrictions began, leaders across California took heat for their do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do pandemic behavior. (Jackie Fortiér, LAist, )
Los Angeles Clamps Down On Gatherings: The city of Los Angeles issued a modified stay-at-home order Wednesday night that mirrors L.A. County rules that went into effect Monday. The city order prohibits gatherings of people outside immediate households, with some exceptions such as religious services and protests. Read more from the Los Angeles Times.
Sacramento Sheriff Who Railed Against Mask-Wearing Has COVID-19: Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones has tested positive for COVID-19, the sheriff's office confirmed Wednesday. This comes after months of him saying he would not enforce mask or curfew orders imposed by the state. Read more from KCRA, The Sacramento Bee and The Washington Post.
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
The New York Times:
Moderna To Begin Testing Its Coronavirus Vaccine In Children
The drugmaker Moderna said on Wednesday that it would soon begin testing its coronavirus vaccine in children ages 12 through 17. The study, listed Wednesday on the website clinicaltrials.gov, is to include 3,000 children, with half receiving two shots of vaccine four weeks apart, and half getting placebo shots of salt water. But the posting says the study is “not yet recruiting,” and Colleen Hussey, a spokeswoman for Moderna, said it was not certain when the testing sites would be listed or start accepting volunteers. A link on the website to test centers is not yet working, and Ms. Hussey said she was not sure when it would become active. (Grady, 12/2)
USA Today:
IBM Analysts Warn Of Phishing Attack On Overseas COVID-19 Vaccine Supply Chain
IBM researchers have detected a global phishing campaign targeting organizations associated with an overseas supply chain used for vaccine distribution. The company said spoofed emails impersonating a Chinese biomedical executive targeted organizations in six countries, including Germany, Italy, South Korea, the Czech Republic and Taiwan. The organizations, which included a European Commission office, are believed to be “providers of material support to meet transportation needs within the COVID-19 cold chain,” the analysts wrote in a post to be published Thursday. (Slack, 12/3)
The Wall Street Journal:
FDA Head Defends Covid-19 Vaccine-Approval Process
Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Stephen M. Hahn defended his agency’s vetting process for Pfizer Inc.’s Covid-19 vaccine, saying a thorough and meticulous review is needed to assure a skeptical public of the vaccine’s safety and effectiveness. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Dr. Hahn said his agency has had 150 people working days, nights and weekends in parallel teams to review the test data submitted by Pfizer and German partner BioNTech SE. (Burton, 12/2)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
County Lays Out Who Will Get Vaccines First; Health Care Workers Top Priority
San Diego County will receive 28,000 doses in the first allocation of coronavirus vaccine expected to arrive mid-month, health officials announced Wednesday. Given that two doses are required for each recipient, that’s enough vaccine to inoculate about 14,000 people, and front-line health care workers, especially those in hospitals and nursing homes, will be first in line. (Sisson, 12/2)
Sacramento Bee:
Coronavirus Updates: 20,000 Cases Set California Record; ICU Capacity At All-Time Low
California reported more extremely concerning data on coronavirus activity from the current surge on Wednesday, especially with regard to hospital space for the most critically ill patients. The state health department said there were 2,006 patients in intensive care units with coronavirus and only 1,810 ICU beds remaining available. That patient load ties for the second-highest of the entire pandemic, and the state’s intensive care capacity is now officially at its lowest point ever during the health crisis. (McGough and Bizjak, 12/2)
Bay Area News Group:
Coronavirus: California Hospitals Filling Fast With Fall COVID-19 Case Surge
With no end in sight to California’s surge in coronavirus cases, hospital beds are filling up fast in the Bay Area and across the state, toppling records not seen since the start of the pandemic and raising alarm over the shrinking number of intensive care units needed for the most severely ill. In just one month, the number of coronavirus patients in Bay Area hospitals has more than tripled. Statewide, California set a record for the second straight day on Tuesday with 9,365 COVID patients hospitalized. Santa Clara County reported Wednesday that ICUs at some hospitals are 93% full with none having more than five beds available, forcing a daily scramble of phone calls among administrators at various hospitals. (Woolfolk and Deruy, 12/2)
LA Daily News:
Hospitals Activate Surge Plans As L.A. County Heads Into Pandemic’s Most Dangerous Days
Responding to “terrifying” coronavirus caseload numbers, hospitals throughout the region are activating their surge plans to keep pace with the outbreak, public health officials said Wednesday, Dec. 2. Health Services Director Dr. Christina Ghaly said there was a real possibility the county could run out of intensive care unit beds in two to three weeks during Wednesday’s briefing, as the county reported 5,987 new cases and 40 associated deaths, bringing the county’s totals to 414,185 and 7,740, respectively. (Rosenfeld, 12/2)
Fresno Bee:
Hospital ICUs In Fresno, Valley On Thin Ice As COVID-19 Overwhelms Medical Facilities
Hospitals in Fresno and across the central San Joaquin Valley are already confronting their usual wintertime increase in patients requiring treatment in intensive-care units for flu and pneumonia, as well as serious circumstances like strokes, heart attacks and trauma. But an ongoing increase in the number of new coronavirus patients is adding to that demand, and putting hospitals and their ICU staffs on thin ice when it comes to their capacity to handle additional patients, regardless of whether they have COVID-19. (Sheehan, 12/2)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Bay Area Hospitals Brace For Rising Wave Of Coronavirus Cases As Public Officials Raise Alarms
Bay Area hospitals are bracing for an unprecedented wave of coronavirus patients as cases surge throughout the state, but they say the region is better prepared to handle the swell than many other areas due to its cautious response to the pandemic.“ We’re not overwhelmed,” said Dr. Maria Raven, chief of emergency medicine at UCSF, pointing to lessons learned so far, such as recognizing when a COVID-19 patient does not need to be hospitalized. At the hospital on Wednesday, 27% of 259 ICU beds were free. Of the 189 patients in intensive care, 14 had COVID-19, including three children. (Asimov, 12/2)
Bay Area News Group:
As Coronavirus Surges, Bay Area Hospitals Begin Postponing Elective Surgeries. But This Time It’s Different
With the coronavirus pandemic sending more people to Bay Area emergency rooms, some local hospitals are scaling back surgeries and procedures that can wait in a bid to free up limited bed space for those who need it most. But in a departure from earlier in the pandemic, where cancellations were widespread, some hospitals are continuing outpatient procedures — meaning they can try to free up bed space but preserve a badly needed source of revenue. (Deruy, 12/2)
Los Angeles Times:
As Hospitalizations Rise, San Bernardino County Limits Ambulance Dispatches
As COVID-19 hospitalizations continue to spike, ambulances in San Bernardino County are no longer responding to every sick person who calls 911. People with relatively minor ailments will still have paramedics come to their aid, who will assist them on the spot or perhaps recommend that they go to urgent care. But ambulances will be reserved for people with life-threatening emergencies such as a heart attack or trouble breathing due to COVID-19. (Shalby, 12/2)
Los Angeles Times:
L.A. Mayor Announces $800 Stipends For Food Service Workers
Los Angeles will offer a one-time $800 stipend to employees who work in food service industries, including restaurants, breweries and food stands, Mayor Eric Garcetti said Wednesday. The Secure Emergency Relief for Vulnerable Employees, or SERVE, initiative will give 4,000 workers the cash using money from the nonprofit Mayor’s Fund for Los Angeles, Garcetti said in an evening briefing. The news comes as the number of Californians hospitalized with the coronavirus reached more than 8,000 and 40 more deaths were reported in L.A. County on Wednesday, leading to restrictions on outdoor dining. (Reyes-Velarde, 12/2)
LA Daily News:
Fears Of More COVID-19 Spread As Thousands Of L.A. County Inmates Await Transfer To State Prisons
The number of inmates in Los Angeles County’s jails is climbing and officials are worried overcrowding is leading to more dangerous conditions just as a wave of new coronavirus cases sweeps the region. Sheriff’s Department officials said Wednesday that state prisons stopped accepting new transfers of inmates from county jails on Nov. 26 as they try to stem an overwhelming spike in COVID-19 cases. In just the last two weeks, at least 3,101 inmates in state prisons have tested positive. (Cain, 12/2)
Modesto Bee:
What Modesto Neighborhood Has The Most COVID-19 Cases?
If there was a heart of the pandemic in Modesto, it would be this neighborhood bordered by Carpenter Road, Hatch Road and a combination of the Tuolumne River and Highway 99. The predominantly Latino neighborhood has a median annual income of $31,600, about half of the national average, and a higher-than-average household size of 4.3, according to Census data. As COVID-19 surges once again in California, this one ZIP code grimly illustrates how the pandemic has disproportionately harmed low-income and majority Latino communities, in part because essential workers in food production and warehousing may get exposed on the job, then bring the virus home to multi-generational households. Latinos in Stanislaus County account for 64% of known COVID-19 cases despite making up 47% of the population. (Lam, 12/3)
KQED:
Preliminary Testing Shows Coronavirus Surge In San Francisco Mission District
Health workers are wrapping up testing at four temporary sites in San Francisco neighborhoods hard hit by COVID-19, and preliminary results in at least one location show a marked increase in test positivity rates during the coronavirus surge in the city, state, and nation. Doctors, nurses and volunteers fanned out to test sites in the Mission, Bayview, Tenderloin, and Excelsior neighborhoods for a handful of days before and after Thanksgiving, testing more than 6,800 people. The testing is part of a health initiative called Unidos en Salud, a partnership between UCSF and the community organization Latino Task Force. (Klivans, 12/2)
LAist:
Cities Might Ditch LA County's Health Department Over The Outdoor Dining Ban
When we said the L.A. County Department of Public Health had received tons of pushback over its recent ban on outdoor dining, we weren't kidding. Several Los Angeles County cities including Beverly Hills, Lancaster, West Covina and Whittier are so mad about it, they're thinking of launching their own health departments. It wouldn't be an easy process. It would likely cost millions of dollars, it would require approval from the state of California and it wouldn't happen fast. That hasn't stopped several SoCal cities from exploring their options. (Shatkin, 12/2)
Los Angeles Times:
Judge: L.A. County Must Show Evidence For Outdoor Dining Ban
A judge on Wednesday ordered Los Angeles County public health officials to show scientific evidence justifying the outdoor dining ban imposed last week amid soaring coronavirus cases. Outdoor dining had offered a lifeline for struggling restaurants during the pandemic. The California Restaurant Assn. sued to stop the ban, with a downtown L.A. restaurant, Engine Co. No. 28, filing a similar suit. (Seidman, 12/2)
Sacramento Bee:
Sacramento County Public Health Director Beilenson Quits
Dr. Peter Beilenson, the head of the Sacramento County Department of Health Services, has submitted his resignation, saying he and his wife have decided to return to their former home in Baltimore to help family with an ongoing crisis. Beilenson, who has overseen the county’s efforts to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic since March, is among a handful of county health officials who now have left their posts during the pandemic. (Bizjak, 12/2)
Capital Public Radio/KXJZ:
Sacramento’s Top Health Official To Resign Amid Record Breaking Coronavirus Case Surge
Sacramento’s top health official is resigning as the COVID-19 pandemic’s grip on California tightens, with new cases reaching unprecedented numbers this week. Dr. Peter Beilenson, who has helped lead Sacramento County’s coronavirus response, says his decision to resign has “nothing to do with the stress of the job.” “We have two overlapping family emergencies that are hitting at the same time that require me to go back to Baltimore,” Beilenson told CapRadio. “I’ve been a public health official for 30 years. … I’ve had death threats multiple times, and you just let them go over your head.” (Miller and Rodd, 12/2)
Bay Area News Group:
As COVID Surges, Will The Bay Area’s Pandemic Hotels Stay Open?
With COVID-19 cases surging at an alarming rate, some Bay Area officials are pushing to reverse course and keep pandemic hotels open longer because they fear closing rooms that have sheltered thousands of unhoused people could have disastrous consequences. Project Roomkey hotels, where homeless residents have sheltered-in-place during the pandemic, were supposed to be winding down and moving people out. But with more Californianians hospitalized with COVID-19 this week than ever before, and the threat of another state-wide shutdown order looming, some officials are reconsidering. (Kendall, 12/2)
Modesto Bee:
Mask Mandates Can Actually Spur The Economy – Depending On Who Enforces It, Study Says
New research on preventive measures for COVID-19 found that mask mandates across the U.S. are not only effective at preventing new coronavirus infections, but they also “persistently” promote economic activity. This, University of Utah researchers say, suggests that “policymakers do not face a trade-off between lives and livelihoods in combating COVID-19. ”But there’s a catch. Only statewide mandates between April and September spurred the economy while also reducing COVID-19 case growth, whereas county-level mandates in the same time period accomplished the opposite when it came to spending. (Camero, 12/2)
Los Angeles Times:
California Pioneered The COVID-19 Stay-At-Home Lockdown. Now, It Faces A Backlash
With coronavirus hospitalizations surging in California and healthcare providers increasingly under strain, officials are eyeing a return to the kind of stay-at-home restrictions that helped curb the virus’ spread in the spring. What is unclear, though, is whether residents will stomach even a modified lockdown as willingly as they did in March and April, when California’s swift and sweeping action made it an early national model in the battle against the coronavirus. (Lin II, Money, Seidman and Lee, 12/3)
Fresno Bee:
Tulare County Suspends Jury Trials Due To COVID-19 Spike
The Tulare County Superior Court is suspending all criminal and civil jury trials through Dec. 31 due to a rise in COVID-19 cases in the county. Court officials said they want to avoid potential risks to trial jurors, witnesses, court staff, bench officers and the general public. Tulare County reported an increase of 446 positive COVID-19 cases on Tuesday. Countywide, 21,778 people to date have been infected with the coronavirus. (Rodriguez, 12/3)
Los Angeles Times:
Hawaii Couple Who Boarded Flight After Positive Coronavirus Tests Arrested
A Hawaii couple were arrested for after they boarded a flight knowing they had tested positive for the coronavirus, Hawaii police said Wednesday. Wesley Moribe, 41, and Courtney Paterson, 46, of Wailua, Hawaii, face charges of “reckless endangering” after they put fellow passengers “in danger of death,” according to a statement from the Kauai Police Department. (Reyes-Velarde, 12/2)
Capital Public Radio/KXJZ:
With Barrett On Supreme Court, California’s Church COVID Limits In Legal Jeopardy
As Gov. Gavin Newsom prepares fresh restrictions on mingling to combat climbing coronavirus cases, he has another hurdle to overcome: the increasingly conservative United States Supreme Court. Last week the nation’s highest court, joined by its newest justice, Amy Coney Barrett, slapped down rules in New York state that curtailed religious gatherings in the name of public health. Now it’s California’s turn. An evangelical Christian ministry in Pasadena has brought its own legal challenge to Newsom’s COVID-related constraints on worshippers. Based on the state’s public health “blueprint” in which counties are lumped into color-coded tiers based on transmission risk, 99% of Californians can attend religious ceremonies and other cultural services only outside or online. The court is expected to weigh in by the end of this week. (Christopher, 12/2)
Los Angeles Times:
Amid COVID-19 Surge, Parents Must Decide: When Schools Reopen, Will They Send Their Kids?
Amid anxieties over online learning and a dangerous surge in coronavirus cases, Los Angeles Unified School District parents are being asked in a new survey to make a critical decision: Will you send your child back to school when campuses reopen? The inopportune timing — as health authorities describe dark scenarios about the weeks ahead — is unavoidable. L.A. Unified, like districts throughout the state, must brace for the worst: the possibility of another hard shutdown of campuses. But they must also simultaneously prepare for the complex task of fully reopening campuses that have been closed for 10 months. (Blume, 12/3)
Modesto Bee:
Get Free Flu Shots At Drive-Thru Clinic In Stanislaus County
With local hospitals full of COVID-19 patients, Stanislaus County Health Services Agency wants to minimize any additional burden of influenza by offering free drive-thru influenza vaccines on Friday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Johansen High School. “Getting the flu shot is the best way to protect you, your family, friends, co-workers, and community from the flu this season,” said Dr. Julie Vaishampayan, county public health officer in a press release, “Given the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, preventing the flu is particularly important this year.” (Mink, 12/2)
The Bakersfield Californian:
Houchin Community Blood Bank And Portrait Of A Warrior Gallery Team Up For Blood Drive
Portrait of a Warrior Gallery, 1925 Eye St., will host a blood donation drive in partnership with Houchin Community Blood Bank from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday in front of the gallery in downtown Bakersfield. Donors will receive a free T-shirt. (12/2)