Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Learning to Live Again: A Lazarus Tale From the Covid Front Lines
The staff at L.A. County’s public rehabilitation hospital is helping mostly Latino, low-income patients recover the basic functions of daily life robbed from them during weeks or months of critical covid illness. (Bernard J. Wolfson, )
50,000 Dead From Covid In California: The state has become the first to surpass 50,000 covid-19 deaths, a tally that came as Los Angeles County reported a backlog of more than 800 deaths over the autumn-and-winter surge. Read more from the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, AP and NBC.
Disney Fans Can Ready The Mickey Ears: Disney California Adventure park plans to reopen starting March 18 at limited capacity, welcoming visitors who buy $75 tickets to stroll through the park and purchase food, drinks and merchandise. Disney officials declined to say how many visitors will be allowed in each day. 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:
What’s Next As COVID-19 Vaccination Drive Comes Under New Management?
In Long Beach, port workers qualify for the front of the coronavirus vaccine line. Statewide, Gov. Gavin Newsom wants 10% of vaccines guaranteed for educators going forward. But some counties began vaccinating teachers a month ago. Some counties embrace the state’s conclusion that medical marijuana workers are health care workers and qualify for early shots; others do not. There’s a system operated by the state to make vaccine appointments, but myriad other appointment systems are used by counties. (Sforza, 2/24)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Bay Area Officials Hope Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Helps Underserved Communities Get Shots Faster
As U.S. regulators review the coronavirus vaccine made by Johnson & Johnson, Bay Area health officials hope the single-dose shot — which could arrive next week — will speed up vaccinations and help inoculate hard-to-reach populations, including homeless people. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine, which cleared a safety and efficacy hurdle Wednesday and now awaits emergency use authorization by the Food and Drug Administration, would be the first one-dose vaccine available to Americans. The two currently available vaccines, made by Pfizer and Moderna, require two shots, 21 or 28 days apart. The Johnson & Johnson vaccine also does not require ultra-cold freezers, making it easier to store and distribute. (Ho, 2/24)
Sacramento Bee:
COVID Vaccine: Dose Supply Boost For California Farm Workers
California is making a big push to substantially increase COVID-19 vaccine availability for essential farm and agriculture workers in the Central Valley, a move that has ripple effects across the state as it redistributes limited supply. Allocation data from the California Department of Public Health shows local health offices are set to receive a combined total of about 70,000 more doses this week than last week. Topping the list of biggest supply boosts was Tulare County, which more than doubled from about 4,800 doses to more than 10,000. Tulare was followed by Monterey, Imperial, Kings, Merced and Kern counties, all of which increased by more than 75%. (McGough and Bizjak, 2/24)
The Bakersfield Californian:
Farm Workers Prove Early Challenge For Kern County Vaccination Efforts
On Monday, local farm workers became eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, but advocates say Kern County lacks the infrastructure to effectively reach the hard-hit population. With the spring growing season approaching, the advocates worry workers could be left behind as eligibility expands beyond the current limits. "When you look at all of the indices of vulnerability, you need a very targeted, specific, intentional strategy to reach farm workers on the ground," said Diana Tellefson Torres, executive director of the United Farm Workers Foundation. "What we are seeing is that there is a lot of interest in getting the vaccine, but the process isn’t working for people right now." (Morgen, 2/24)
LA Daily News:
LA County Unveils Plan To Vaccinate Teachers, Other Essential Workers, Starting March 1
Teachers in Los Angeles County can begin receiving the coronavirus vaccine on Monday, March 1 — but just how many doses will be available for educators will depend on supply, which is still just an estimate. Among the slightly more than 200,000 vaccine doses that officials expect, 25% to 29% will go toward teachers and administrators, with 9% of those doses going to private school teachers and staff. (Rosenfeld, 2/24)
Los Angeles Times:
Teacher COVID Vaccines Target LAUSD, Needy Areas
Forty percent of coronavirus vaccines available for school staff in Los Angeles County will go to the L.A. Unified School District through a new distribution formula designed to help reopen campuses sooner in areas hardest hit by the pandemic and student learning loss. While that 40% share is comparatively generous, it falls well short of what officials say they would need to reopen elementary classrooms by early April. Details about the vaccine distribution were provided in a news conference with county officials and by the L.A. County Office of Education as the state prepares to allocate about 10% of available doses to the education sector starting on March 1. (Blume, 2/25)
LA Daily News:
LA County Unveils Plan To Vaccinate Teachers, Other Essential Workers, Starting March 1
Teachers in Los Angeles County can begin receiving the coronavirus vaccine on Monday, March 1 — but just how many doses will be available for educators will depend on supply, which is still just an estimate. Among the slightly more than 200,000 vaccine doses that officials expect, 25% to 29% will go toward teachers and administrators, with 9% of those doses going to private school teachers and staff. First priority for doses goes to those with second-dose appointments. The remainder will be divided into eligible categories, teachers being just one of the newly eligible groups beginning Monday. Others include childcare providers, food and agricultural workers and emergency service personnel. (Rosenfeld, 2/24)
LA Daily News:
LAUSD Parents Want Special Ed Teachers – Especially Those Eligible For Vaccines – Back On Campus
In the ongoing debate over how soon educators should return to in-person work, some Los Angeles Unified parents are fuming over the revelation that certain employees who work with special education students have been eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations since January but have yet to provide in-person services to some of the district’s most vulnerable students. Generally speaking, those who work in schools won’t have access to the vaccines until next week under L.A. County’s priority system, but some — such as speech and language, physical and occupational therapists — were placed in an earlier priority group along with other health workers. (Tat, 2/24)
Fresno Bee:
Major Push To Get COVID Vaccines For Fresno Teachers Begins Monday. 40,000 Doses Set Aside
Teachers in Fresno County will be eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine on Monday, according to an email the Fresno Unified School District sent to its staff. The Fresno County Department of Public Health has committed to set aside “at least” 40,000 vaccinations for educators just for the month of March, the email said. “So, if you aren’t able to get in first thing on Monday for an appointment, please be patient and know that your turn is coming soon,” officials said in the email. “We are so grateful that so many of our educators are interested in being vaccinated and know that we are making it top priority to get this vaccine to you ASAP.” (Velez, 2/24)
Bay Area News Group:
COVID Vaccinations To Expand For Jailed, Unhoused People In Santa Clara County
People who are in county jails or unhoused in the Bay Area will be getting more access to COVID-19 vaccines in the coming days and weeks, as public health officials answer long-awaited calls to protect two populations they recognize have profound disadvantages in following physical distancing and hygiene directives. That stands to become most evident in Santa Clara County, which starting Sunday plans to make vaccines available to its entire jailed population and unhoused people staying in encampments or shelters in the South Bay. (Salonga and Kendall, 2/24)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
San Diego To Offer COVID-19 Vaccines To Police, Teachers, Farm Workers And Others Starting Saturday
This Saturday, San Diego County will begin vaccinating police officers, teachers, farm workers and many others in a bid to broaden immunity against the coronavirus. All in all, 500,000 San Diegans who fall into the categories of emergency services; childcare and education; and food and agriculture will be eligible for their shots. (Wosen and Sisson, 2/24)
Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
Sonoma County Nervous About Handing Off Vaccination Management To Blue Shield
As they prepare for nonprofit insurer Blue Shield to take the lead in vaccine distribution in Sonoma County, health officials and local elected leaders were skeptical and concerned Wednesday that this move could be another state-led pandemic setback. (Espinoza, 2/24)
Orange County Register:
Winds Will Again Temporarily Close Mass Vaccination Site At Disneyland On Thursday
A forecast for high winds on Thursday, Feb. 25, has prompted county officials to close for the day the mass vaccination site held in the Disneyland parking lot, Orange County Fifth District Supervisor Lisa Bartlett announced in a tweet. The site uses large tents, which in previous high winds have been damaged. It is the first vaccination site the county opened; the two large operations opened since, at Soka University and the Anaheim Convention Center, are indoors. This is the fourth time the Disneyland location has had to close because of winds. A delay in supply caused by the recent winter storms that snarled much of the country led to the operation being closed over the weekend. The missing shipments were received Tuesday and the county’s vaccination campaign is catching up on rescheduled appointments. (McRea, 2/24)
San Francisco Chronicle:
3 Bay Area Counties Halt COVID Vaccine Supply To One Medical, Saying It Let People Cut The Line
Three Bay Area counties have suspended coronavirus vaccine supplies to a San Francisco-based health care provider whose procedures allowed ineligible individuals to cut the line, local officials say. The company, One Medical, is no longer receiving vaccines from San Francisco, San Mateo or Alameda counties, and San Francisco health officials said Wednesday they have directed One Medical to return more than 1,600 doses. When asked about its practices in the Bay Area last week, One Medical officials said accusations that the company knowingly disregarded eligibility guidelines “are in direct contradiction to our actual approach to vaccine administration.” (Neilson and Bobrowsky, 2/24)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Vaccine Clinic Opens In Hard Hit East San Jose, Bringing Relief, Tears
Service industry workers, teachers and caregivers were among the first residents to get vaccinated this week at a new vaccination site in East San Jose, one of the areas hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic. San Jose high school teacher Lesia Bravel, 56, was among hundreds of residents who were vaccinated Wednesday, one day after the site opened at Emmanuel Baptist Church. “It’s very important that we get out there because in our communities, there are too many people dropping like flies,” Bravel said, referring to the region’s Black community. “There are too many people dying unnecessarily, and if this shot can help slow it down or prevent it, then that’s great.” (Hernández, 2/24)
Bay Area News Group:
Large New COVID Vaccination Site Opens At Gilroy High School
Santa Clara County has opened its fifth large vaccination site, a new facility at Gilroy High School that aims to slow the pandemic in the South County, whose cities have the highest rates of COVID-19 per capita of any cities in Santa Clara County. County officials say they hope to vaccinate up 1,000 people a day in the high school’s gyms, expanding to 2,000 a day as more vaccine doses are provided from the federal government. Vaccines are by appointment only. To make an appointment, go to the county’s website at sccfreevax.org or call 211. (Rogers, 2/25)
The Bakersfield Californian:
Rite Aid Scheduling COVID-19 Vaccine In Delano
Rite Aid is scheduling appointments for the COVID-19 vaccine at its Delano store, the company announced. Eligible customers can go to http://ritea.id/california to make an appointment. The store says vaccinations are administered by a certified immunizing pharmacist, and those who receive a vaccine are scheduled for a second dose. (2/24)
Modesto Bee:
CVS Offering COVID Vaccine Appointments Now At Stores In Modesto And Merced
CVS Pharmacies in California are making a fresh supply of coronavirus vaccine available for eligible residents. The pharmacy chain said Wednesday that almost 50,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine are available at 40 additional drugstores in the state. The CVS.com site showed the vaccine is available by appointment at select stores in Modesto and Merced. Appointment bookings for the new allocation are to begin Wednesday and shots will be administered starting Thursday, CVS said. The drugstores are vaccinating people age 65 and older, health care workers and long-term care residents and staff. (Carlson, 2/24)
San Francisco Chronicle:
California Coronavirus Variant Is Resistant To Antibodies, But Vaccines Should Still Work
Early studies show the coronavirus variant that’s spreading widely across California is somewhat resistant to antibodies that fight off infection, but the vaccines still should offer plenty of protection, infectious disease experts say. Antibodies generated by the vaccines, or by previous coronavirus infection, were two to four times stronger against earlier versions of the virus compared to the new variant, scientists at UCSF found in laboratory studies. They released preliminary results this week. (Allday, 2/24)
Bay Area News Group:
California’s Coronavirus Recovery Continues To Outpace Nation
After weeks of consistent improvement, cases of COVID-19 in the U.S. rebounded slightly to begin this week. In California, however, the decline in cases has continued unabated. On Tuesday, county health departments across California combined to report 6,247 new cases of COVID-19, according to data compiled by this news organization. While that doesn’t quite match the state’s recent hundred-day lows, it did lower California’s daily average to about 5,815 cases per day over the past week, its lowest point since the first week of November and 87% below its peak last month. (Webeck, 2/24)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Indoor Dining, Movies And Museums Could Open At Reduced Capacity In San Francisco Next Week
San Francisco Mayor London Breed said Wednesday she expects the city to enter the less restrictive red tier next week — meaning restaurants, movies and other businesses could open with limits — and exit purple, the most restrictive of California’s four-tier system for reopening the economy. “With the continued improvement of our COVID-19 health indicators, we could move to the state’s red tier by next Wednesday, March 3rd,” Breed said in a Twitter post. “This is a big step forward but we still need to keep up our progress.” (Williams, Vaziri and Ho, 2/24)
Fresno Bee:
Fresno Region COVID Cases Shrink To Pre-Thanksgiving Level. More Pharmacies Get Vaccines
Fresno County and nearby counties across the central San Joaquin Valley reported a total of fewer than 360 new coronavirus infections Wednesday, driving the seven-day average of new daily cases down to its lowest point since before Thanksgiving. The six-county region – Fresno, Kings, Madera, Mariposa, Merced and Tulare counties – has seen an average of fewer than 416 new confirmed cases each day over the past week. Just a month ago, the seven-day average was more than three times higher, at more than 1,300 per day. (Sheehan, 2/24)
Sacramento Bee:
Researcher Predicts ‘Normal Thanksgiving’ Even As New California COVID-19 Strain Spreads
A California variant of the new coronavirus already has emerged and played a key role in the fall surge of COVID-19 infections around the state, but a leader of the Cedars-Sinai team that first observed the viral mutation said he believes Californians will “have a normal Thanksgiving holiday in 2021.” Dr. Eric Vail said that he believes adoption of the COVID-19 vaccines will be widespread enough that he is telling his family and friends to count on it: “When I say that Thanksgiving is going to be a normal Thanksgiving, that means shaking hands and hugging and all that stuff.” Researchers from the University of California, San Francisco, told the Los Angeles Times this week that this new COVID-19 strain appears to be easier to transmit and that it evades neutralizing antibodies produced by vaccines. The UCSF scientists have a paper publishing on the California variant this week at the online website MedRxiv. (Anderson, 2/25)
Bay Area News Group:
California's High-Profile Relationship With Testing Partner Verily Ends
California will not renew its coronavirus testing partnership with the life sciences company Verily, marking the end of a highly-touted effort that sought to use Silicon Valley expertise to battle the pandemic but garnered widespread criticism. State officials have consolidated Verily’s remaining testing sites under another vendor and declined to renew its two existing contracts when they expire in mid-January and late February, according to the California Department of Public Health. Combined, the contracts with the company, a subsidiary of Google parent company Alphabet, cost the state $62.5 million and covered more than 100 fixed and mobile testing sites across 30 counties. (Kelliher, 2/25)
Bay Area News Group:
California Has Quietly Ended Its COVID-19 Testing Partnership With Verily
California will not renew its coronavirus testing partnership with the life sciences company Verily, marking the end of a highly-touted effort that sought to use Silicon Valley expertise to battle the pandemic but garnered widespread criticism. State officials have consolidated Verily’s remaining testing sites under another vendor and declined to renew its two existing contracts when they expire in mid-January and late February, according to the California Department of Public Health. (Kelliher, 2/25)
Sacramento Bee:
Lassen County Cuts Ties With COVID Test Firm OptumServe
A rural Northern California county’s health department is cutting ties with a private company the state hired to run its COVID-19 testing clinics, saying it was disorganized, didn’t test enough people and its workers were coughing on the job and jeopardizing everyone’s safety. In a blistering letter sent to reporters on Wednesday, Lassen County officials said they had no choice but to stop working with OptumServe at its Susanville testing clinic because of problems the state and the company refused to address — ranging from mismanagement to testing inefficiencies to potentially spreading the coronavirus to county workers. (Sabalow and Pohl, 2/25)
Los Angeles Times:
L.A. County Health Department Clears Way For Outdoor High School Sports To Begin Friday
Barbara Ferrer, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, announced Wednesday that the county will follow updated state youth sports guidelines, clearing the way for outdoor high school sports teams to begin full practices and games on Friday if their schools and districts allow while following safety protocols. The state guidelines permit outside sports to take place in counties that have reached an adjusted daily rate of 14 or fewer new COVID-19 cases per 100,000 population. Los Angeles County’s rate was 12.3 as of Tuesday. (Sondheimer, 2/24)
Orange County Register:
Irvine Finalizes ‘Hero Pay’ For Grocery Workers
A $4-an-hour pay bump lasting through the summer is expected for workers at larger grocery and drug stores in Irvine starting in late March. The extra hazard, or “hero,” pay is a new mandate the Irvine City Council approved Tuesday, Feb. 23. It makes Irvine the first Orange County city to adopt a pay-boosting measure that cities including Long Beach, Los Angeles, Montebello, West Hollywood and several Bay Area communities have also put in place. Buena Park city leaders also approved a temporary hike of $4 an hour on Tuesday, but the council must take a second procedural vote before it would it would go into effect. (Robinson, 2/24)
Los Angeles Times:
O.C. Supervisor Candidate Moorlach And His Wife Test Positive For Coronavirus
John Moorlach’s campaign for Orange County supervisor hit a snag this week, after the former state senator and his wife, Trina, learned they had both tested positive for the novel coronavirus. Moorlach, who turned 65 in December, is one of five candidates actively campaigning for an open seat on the county board’s 2nd District, to be decided in a March 9 special election. The former senator said in an interview Wednesday that he decided to break the news himself before the rumor mill caught wind of his diagnosis. (Cardine, 2/24)
Los Angeles Times:
West Covina City Council Votes To Quit L.A. County Health Department Over COVID Rules
Alleging the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health has failed its residents and harmed its businesses during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the West Covina City Council in a split decision this week voted to begin the process of forming its own health department. The move would eventually free the 16-square-mile city of about 110,000 residents from health mandates handed down by the county’s health department — such as bar and restaurant closures related to COVID-19 — but not until it creates a department of its own that meets state health requirements. It would not free the city from state health mandates. (Rector, 2/24)
NPR:
SF-Based One Medical Let Well-Connected Patients Skip COVID-19 Vaccine Line
A national health care provider has administered COVID-19 vaccinations to patients not yet eligible for the scarce vaccine, including those with connections to company leaders and customers of its concierge medical service, according to internal communications leaked to NPR. San Francisco-based One Medical has been allocated thousands of vaccine doses by local health departments in some of the areas they provide medical services. People with connections to company leadership were set up with vaccine appointments, despite not yet being eligible under local public health guidelines, and some patients were permitted to skip the line ahead of other high-risk patients. (Mak, 2/24)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
City Heights Residents Fight Food Insecurity With Community Fridge
A yellow refrigerator set in an alley in City Heights has become a symbol of hope for dozens of residents who take free food from its shelves every day. The community fridge was installed by a group of young City Heights residents who want to provide free food to neighbors in need. It’s located in an alley between Wilson Avenue and 35th Street. On Monday the fridge was filled with vegetables, cheese, milk and apples. Next to it on shelves were canned fruits, beans and pasta sauce and on the floor were plastic bins filled with personal hygiene items. (Lopez-Villafana, 2/25)
Sacramento Bee:
Californians Speak More Than 200 Languages. Not Everybody Gets The COVID Facts They Need
With over 200 languages and dialects spoken across the state, California is one of the most linguistically diverse regions in the world and home to nearly 11 million foreign-born immigrants. But nearly a year into the pandemic, that distinction continues to complicate attempts by state officials to disseminate critical information to all Californians. So far, the state provides materials in 18 languages and 10 indigenous dialects spoken in Latin America. Community activists say some of those messages, which aim to enforce mask-wearing and social distancing guidelines, are poorly translated. Multiple community groups say they need more contact tracers who speak languages like Punjabi and Hmong. Access to computers is also an issue for getting unemployment benefits or appointments for vaccines. (Bojórquez, 2/25)
The Bakersfield Californian:
Tehachapi Touts Blood Drive Numbers
The city of Tehachapi, Tehachapi Valley Recreation & Park District and Houchin Community Blood Bank teamed up on 17 blood drives in 2020, collecting 594 units of blood that stayed in Kern County. The city announced those numbers Wednesday, and noted that 54 people donated during the most recent drive, on Feb. 18. One unit of blood can save three lives. (2/24)
Sacramento Bee:
Lemon Hill Church Opens Doors To Homeless For Overnight Stays
The city of Sacramento has teamed with a church in the Lemon Hill area of south Sacramento to open a “warming center” for the homeless this week, less than a month after some homeless died during a major wind and rain storm in Sacramento. The center at the Sacramento Capitol City Seventh-Day Adventist Church has room for 35 people indoors, city officials said. Fifteen cars will be allowed to park overnight in the parking lot for homeless who are living in their cars. The site, at 6701 Lemon Hill Ave., will be run by the First Step Communities group under a city contract. It will remain open at least until March 31. (Bizjak, 2/24)