UCLA Study Points To Covid Originating In Live Animal Market: A group of international researchers has been able to narrow the origins of the COVID-19 virus, with it likely coming from live animals sold at a wholesale market in Wuhan, China. The peer-reviewed studies, published in Science, found that early cases of the virus were found to be around Huanan Seafood Wholesale Market and spread was a result of animal-human interaction. Read more from KPCC.
With Rising Covid Numbers Fresno Will Again Ration Ambulance Rides: Ambulance crews across Fresno County and neighboring Kings, Madera and Tulare counties are once again implementing a policy in which rides to hospital emergency rooms will be denied to patients unless they have a life- or limb-threatening emergency. Read more from Fresno Bee.
Below, check out the roundup of California Healthlne’s coverage. For today's national health news, read KHN's Morning Briefing.
More News From Across The State
San Francisco Chronicle:
Adults With Young Children Less Likely To Get Severe COVID
Adults with young children were less likely to develop severe COVID than adults without children, suggesting that exposure to their children’s colds could provide some protection against severe illness, according to a study published Wednesday by Kaiser Permanente researchers in Northern California. (Vaziri and Ho, 7/27)
KCRA:
Here’s What It Takes To Get Care For Long COVID-19 In NorCal
As COVID-19 cases surge globally once again with the spread of its latest variants, there is growing alarm about the impacts of what's called "long COVID-19." Since the start of the pandemic, more than 90 million cases have been reported in the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says more than one in 10 of those patients will develop long-term symptoms. (Richter, 7/27)
Associated Press:
Biden Emerges From COVID Isolation, Tells Public: Get Shots
President Joe Biden ended his COVID-19 isolation on Wednesday, telling Americans they can “live without fear” of the pandemic if they take advantage of booster shots and treatments, the protections he credited with his swift recovery. (Megerian and Superville, 7/27)
Los Angeles Times:
Why Some Health Experts See Less Value In An L.A. Mask Mandate Right Now
As successive waves of COVID-19 have swept across the Southland, Michael Matteo Rossi, a 35 year-old filmmaker who lives in Los Feliz, has gamely masked up whenever he shopped, ate out or visited with his parents, who are in their 70s. “I’ve never been like someone who walks into a Walmart without a mask, looking to make a big stink,” said Rossi, who is vaccinated. “I’m all about respect.” (Healy, 7/28)
Los Angeles Times:
Debate Intensifies Over Potential Mask Rule For L.A. County
Will Los Angeles County impose a new mask mandate this week in response to a summer coronavirus surge fueled by ultra-contagious Omicron subvariants? (Lin II and Money, 7/27)
Long Beach Press-Telegram:
El Segundo Won’t Enforce LA County Mask Mandate, Joining Beverly Hills, Pasadena, Long Beach
El Segundo won’t enforce an indoor mask mandate if Los Angeles County reinstates one later this week, the city has announced. (Haire, 7/27)
Los Angeles Times:
Should You Wait For The Omicron Booster? In A Word, No
If you’re like most Americans, you’ve gotten your primary doses of a COVID-19 vaccine, but you haven’t gotten the recommended booster shots. So if it’s been several months since your last primary dose, you’re probably due for a booster. (Healey, 7/27)
Fresno Bee:
Few Fresno Area Parents Getting Young Kids Their COVID Shots
When COVID-19 vaccines first became available to the public about a year and a half ago, Fresno County had a hard time keeping up with demand from adults seeking the shots. But uptake of the various available vaccines from Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson has been stagnant for the past seven months. (Sheehan, 7/28)
Sacramento Bee:
Placer County Records First Monkeypox Case. What To Know As California Reaches 650
Placer County has recorded its first probable or confirmed case of monkeypox in a resident, the second county to do so in California’s four-county capital region, more than two months after Sacramento confirmed the first in the state. (McGough, 7/27)
inewsource:
Why San Diego County Monkeypox Vaccine Stores Are Empty
Monkeypox vaccination clinics hosted by San Diego County ran out of appointments in a matter of hours following the event’s announcement late Monday. The county, which had set aside 800 doses for the effort, said Tuesday there are no plans yet to host another event, given the nationwide supply shortage. With a low vaccination inventory, the growing number of confirmed monkeypox cases is concerning public health experts and advocates, given the disproportionate impact that it has on vulnerable groups, such as the LGBTQ+ community. (Dawson, 7/27)
Capital & Main:
Therapists Flee Kaiser As Mental Health Patients Languish
Mental health practitioners at Kaiser [Permanente] are so overburdened with patients that waiting periods between appointments can be six weeks or more, according to therapists who spoke with Capital & Main. (Industry standards mean therapists outside Kaiser generally see patients on a weekly or bi-weekly basis, though cases vary.) Now California’s Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) has launched a “non-routine survey” to determine whether Kaiser is offering adequate behavioral health care. When asked about its access issues, Kaiser points to a nationwide shortage of mental health care practitioners. (Ross and Hutchings, 7/27)
KQED:
Tenderloin Housing Clinic Workers Strike In Demand For Higher Wages
Hundreds of employees with the Tenderloin Housing Clinic, one of the largest providers of permanent, supportive housing in San Francisco, went on a one-day strike on Wednesday in a bid for higher pay. The case managers, janitors and desk and maintenance staff that keep the clinic's single residency occupancy hotels running, said they had reached a breaking point after eight months of contract negotiations, according to SEIU Local 1021, the union representing them. (McDede, 7/27)
San Francisco Chronicle:
S.F. Supervisors Plead With Feds To End ‘Human Rights Atrocity’ At Laguna Honda
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously passed a resolution Tuesday urging the federal government to take action to halt the transfer of patients out of the city-run Laguna Honda Hospital and Rehabilitation Center after four patients died shortly after they were moved to other facilities. (Whiting, 7/27)
Orange County Register:
City Of Hope Outpatient Cancer Center Celebrates Completion In Irvine
A massive sheet of glass towers above a walkway in Irvine that cancer patients will soon be passing daily, some likely nervous and unsure, others hopeful. The window declares a simple message in bold lettering: “There is no profit in curing the body if in the process we destroy the soul.” (Sheets, 7/27)
Los Angeles Times:
L.A. County General Hospital Is Set To Become Affordable Housing
Los Angeles County officials are moving forward with a plan to convert the mostly vacant General Hospital building, on the site of L.A. County-USC Medical Center, into affordable housing units. (Lin, 7/27)
CapRadio:
Sacramento Approves 24/7 Homeless Respite Center. But Some Residents Opposed It.
A homeless services center in northeast Sacramento will open 24/7 after the City Council unanimously approved plans on Tuesday. People will only be able to enter the building, formerly the Science & Space Center Museum near Arden-Arcade, with referrals from the city’s Department of Community Response. (Lam, 7/27)
Sacramento Bee:
100 New Cabins For The Homeless In Sacramento County
The first “Stay Safe Community” — located at 8144 Florin Road and Power Inn Road — was approved by the county Board of Supervisors on June 8, containing 100 “Pallet cabins” for both single and double accommodation. The site will offer temporary housing and services meant to help get the tenants into permanent housing. (Motley, 7/27)
San Francisco Chronicle:
This Quiet Bay Area Suburb Saw Explosive Growth In Its Homeless Population
The quiet East Bay suburb, home to Tesla’s massive factory, has opened a shelter with services, started a “safe parking” site for people living in RVs and applied for state programs to turn motels into homeless housing. But it hasn’t been enough. (Ravani, 7/27)
CalMatters:
California Drinking Water: 1 Million Lack Safe Water
Under state law, every Californian has the right to safe, clean, affordable and accessible water — but a blistering audit released Tuesday shows just how far the state is from turning that promise into reality. (Hoeven, 7/27)
San Francisco Chronicle:
S.F. D.A. Brooke Jenkins Taps Longtime Psychiatric Nurse To Lead Victim-Services Unit
District Attorney Brooke Jenkins on Wednesday announced that longtime psychiatric nurse Monifa Willis will head the office’s Victim Services Division, naming the office’s latest high-ranking post after an upheaval of firings, demotions and terminations. (Cassidy, 7/27)
Press Telegram:
A City Of Hope Patient Beats HIV, Turning A ‘Death Sentence’ To Hope
A 66-year-old patient at City of Hope Medical Center is living a moment he never thought he’d be around to see. He was beyond overjoyed on Wednesday, July 27. A prognosis once dimmed by his battle with HIV and leukemia had gradually turned to hope. (Morales, 7/27)
inewsource:
School Shootings Are Becoming The Norm. San Diego Unified Wants To Do Something About It.
With mass shootings continuing in schools across the country, San Diego Unified leaders are going to voters in November for approval to borrow $3.2 billion to pay for security and safety improvements. The district Board of Education unanimously voted on the bond package Tuesday. If approved by district voters, $296 million would pay for security and safety improvements, with remaining funds going to renovate facilities and address a backlog of deferred maintenance. (Briseño, 7/27)