Nearly All Covid Deaths In San Diego Are Among The Unvaccinated: Almost all covid-19 cases, hospitalizations and deaths reported in San Diego County in 2021 occurred among residents who are not fully vaccinated, according to data released Wednesday from the county Health and Human Services Agency. They represent 99.8% of deaths, 99.88% of hospitalizations and 99.1% of cases. Read more from KPBS and City News Service.
In Bay Area, Vaccinations Paying Off: The region reported no deaths Sunday through Tuesday, the first time three consecutive days have passed without a covid fatality in more than 15 months. The Bay Area is among the most highly vaccinated regions in the world. Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
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
AP:
Global COVID-19 Deaths Hit 4 Million Amid Rush To Vaccinate
The global death toll from COVID-19 eclipsed 4 million Wednesday as the crisis increasingly becomes a race between the vaccine and the highly contagious delta variant. The tally of lives lost over the past year and a half, as compiled from official sources by Johns Hopkins University, is about equal to the number of people killed in battle in all of the world’s wars since 1982, according to estimates from the Peace Research Institute Oslo. (Goodman, 7/8)
Los Angeles Times:
Coronavirus Cases In California Rise For First Time In Months
After months of steady declines, coronavirus infections are once again on the rise in California as the state struggles with slowing daily vaccination rates and the spread of the highly infectious Delta variant. While it’s too soon to say whether the upticks are a trend or a blip, health experts and state officials expressed confidence that California’s reopening and the return of something resembling normality were not in jeopardy. (Money and Lin II, 7/8)
Southern California News:
LA County Coronavirus Infections Top 500 Again; Nearly 300 Hospitalized
The number of new COVID-19 infections in Los Angeles County again pushed over the 500 mark on Wednesday, July 7, while the number of people hospitalized reached nearly 300, prompting health officials to promote a community-outreach program aimed at spreading the word about infection-control efforts. The county has been seeing a rise in daily COVID-19 infections over the past two weeks, reporting more than 600 new cases on Saturday — nearly triple the numbers being reported in mid-June. (7/7)
The Bakersfield Californian:
Public Health: 162 New Coronavirus Cases, 1 New Death Reported Wednesday
Kern County Public Health Services reported 162 new confirmed coronavirus cases and one new death Wednesday. The numbers had last been updated Friday, as the county is now issuing numbers three times a week, but Monday was a holiday. The new numbers bring the county's case count since the pandemic began to 111,273, and the number of deaths to 1,409. (7/7)
The Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
More COVID Patients Landing In Sonoma County ICU Beds As Virus Spreads Among Unvaccinated People
With a modest but stubborn surge of COVID-19 cases adding to the usual summer spate of recreational misadventures and heat-related illness, Sonoma County’s intensive care units are filling at an uncomfortable if not alarming rate. As of Tuesday, 72% of the county’s staffed ICU beds were occupied — or 81.5% discounting surge capacity — according to county data. There were 44 patients with COVID-19 being treated in the area’s six hospitals that day, and 13 of those patients were in intensive care, numbers last seen here in mid-February, Sonoma County Health Officer Dr. Sundari Mase said. (Barber, 7/7)
Modesto Bee:
What Does Delta Coronavirus Variant Mean For The Unvaccinated?
About a month ago, the delta coronavirus variant first identified in India made up about 6% of genetically sequenced COVID-19 cases in the U.S. Now, new national data predicts the highly contagious variant will make up about 52% of analyzed coronavirus cases in the country by the end of the two-week period ending July 3, officially deranking the previously dominant alpha variant first found in the U.K. (Camero, 7/7)
Sacramento Bee:
Do Masks, Vaccines Protect Against COVID Delta Variant?
The Delta variant has become the newest fear-inducing COVID-19 variant in what seems like the never-ending cycle of coronavirus news. Originally discovered in India, the Delta variant was recently coined by the World Health Organization as the “fastest and fittest” variant, prompting some countries to reinforce lockdowns. As of July 1, California reported 634 COVID-19 cases caused by the Delta variant. That’s a dramatic increase from May, when the variant only made up 4.7% of COVID-19 cases, according to the California Department of Public Health. (Taylor, 7/8)
Los Angeles Times:
State Fines L.A. County Superior Court For Safety Violations During COVID-19 Pandemic
After COVID-19 outbreaks and the deaths of at least four people who worked in Los Angeles County courthouses, California’s workplace safety agency plans to fine the local court system more than $25,000 for multiple violations. In a notice Wednesday to L.A. County Superior Court, the state Division of Occupational Health and Safety, known as Cal/OSHA, identified at least three health and safety violations, two of which it deemed serious. (Hamilton, 7/7)
Los Angeles Times:
L.A. Metro Plans To Boost Ridership To Pre-Pandemic Levels
With the threat of COVID-19 receding, the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority plans to focus on boosting ridership levels that fell 70% during the pandemic and expanding transit service to low-income communities, according to top transit officials at the agency’s annual State of the Agency event. For the first time in its 28-year history, the agency will be led by two women: Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis, who is Metro board chair, and Chief Executive Stephanie Wiggins. They said they will share responsibility for making the $8-billion agency more equitable and accessible after a devastating pandemic. (Kuo, 7/7)
Los Angeles Times:
COVID Ravaged L.A. Restaurants. Outdoor Dining May Save Some
As COVID-19 decimated the Los Angeles restaurant industry, downtown’s Little Tokyo found itself particularly hard hit, as did similar enclaves of mom-and-pop eateries. Language, cultural and technological barriers made it difficult for some to adjust to the pandemic realities of delivery and takeout. Bottom lines shrank severely. Now, Little Tokyo’s 1st Street is filled with people eating on tables extending past the curb into the street. The street’s eastern block has become a hub for alfresco dining, thanks to an L.A. city program that let restaurants offer outdoor seating during the pandemic, and which officials are considering making a permanent fixture in the city at large. (Kwan Peterson and Olson, 7/7)
Sacramento Bee:
Local Museums Are Reopening: Here Is Where To Go And What To See
After a stressful year, local museums have begun reopening. Here is a sampling of a few of the local venues, most of which have opened with safety modifications and capacity limits set by state and local officials. (Delianne, 7/8)
Los Angeles Times:
Pandemic Pushed Many Baby Boomers Out Of Job Market Forever
Even with declining numbers of young Americans entering the job market and the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration, U.S. employers were able to count on the last of the baby boomers to prevent labor shortages and soaring wages. But the COVID-19 pandemic has hit that long-standing reality like a hand grenade. And the effects will likely be felt throughout the economy for years to come, in recurrent labor shortages, pressure for higher pay, problems for Social Security and private pension funds, and a host of other areas. (Lee, 7/8)
CapRadio:
Las Vegas Bounces Back, But COVID-19 Bounces Back Too
Fifteen months after the pandemic transformed Las Vegas from flashy spectacle to ghost town, Sin City is back in action. Tourists are streaming in again, and gambling revenue has hit an all-time high. Plexiglass panels installed to separate gamblers at the poker and blackjack tables have been largely removed, the world-famous buffets are reopening and nightclub dance floors are packed. But, according to the Associated Press, that progress is under threat — Nevada saw the highest rate of new COVID-19 cases nationally this week. The spike is adding urgency to the campaign to get more people vaccinated. (7/7)
San Gabriel Valley Tribune:
Their Turn: Foster Children Get COVID-19 Vaccine In Altadena
An Altadena-based agency on Wednesday, July 7 vaccinated against coronavirus a group of youth often who, according to a spokeswoman, are often thought of last in society: foster children. During the pandemic, many children have experienced isolation, instability, and anxiety. For children in foster care, those feelings may be compounded. The number of children in foster care in Los Angeles County increased to 21,876, a 3.5% increase since the prior year. Five Acres’ eligible at-risk children will now be protected from COVID-19, opening up more opportunities to be fostered, adopted, or rejoined with their biological families. Five Acres, which started in 1888 as an orphanage, teamed up with Carbon Health of San Francisco to provide vaccines to foster children ages 12-17 to protect their health and “make them more adoptable,” spokesperson Bernie Fabig said in a phone interview on Tuesday, July 6. (Rosenberg, 7/7)
Orange County Register:
Coronavirus: Vaccination Percentages By Age In Four Southern California Counties On July 7
The California Department of Public Health’s vaccines dashboard update on Wednesday, July 7, said more than 48.4 million vaccine doses have been distributed in the state. About 20.2 million Californians are fully vaccinated (59.8%). The state’s vaccine dashboard is updated weekly on Wednesdays. (Snibbe, 7/7)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Some Vaccinated People Still Fear COVID: Their Weakened Immune Systems May Not Respond
Swimming is a solitary, heart-thumping meditation for Eaton, a 57-year-old high school teacher from Concord. Advanced kidney disease once meant she was too fatigued to swim. An organ transplant three years ago had begun to restore her life. But this swim would be Eaton’s last for a while. As most Californians are stepping out of their pandemic shells, Eaton and other people with weakened immune systems are retreating a little further into theirs. Eaton is vaccinated against COVID-19, but the medicine she takes to prevent her body from attacking her new kidney may also be stopping her immune system from producing a robust enough response to fully protect her against the coronavirus. (Johnson, 7/8)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Construction To Start On 7-Story Off-Campus Science And Medical Tower For UC San Diego
In a sign that UC San Diego is beginning to run out of space for big buildings, a private developer is about to break ground on a 7-story tower that the university will use to house health and medical programs across the street from main campus. The $70 million La Jolla Innovation Center (LJIC) will be located at the corner of Villa La Jolla Drive and La Jolla Village Drive near the southwest edge of UCSD, whose enrollment could surpass 40,500 this fall. (Robbins, 7/7)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Citizens Group Accuses Palomar Health Board Of Brown Act Violation In Contract Approvals
A group of North County residents alleges open meetings violations that, if true, could invalidate the recent approval of controversial doctor contracts that continue to cause friction at Palomar Health. Late last week, an attorney hired by a group calling itself “Citizens to Save Palomar Health” sent a letter to each of the public health care district’s seven elected directors. They allege a lack of transparency in their approval on June 16 of contracts with Emergent Medical Associates and its subsidiary, Benchmark Hospitalists & Intensivists, for physician staffing of emergency departments and other in-house roles at its two hospitals in Escondido and Poway. (Sisson, 7/8)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Two Former Genentech Employees Plead Guilty To Conspiring To Steal Trade Secrets
A former Genentech scientist and her husband, a coworker, have pleaded guilty to conspiring to steal confidential drug formulas from the South San Francisco biotechnology company and deliver them to competitors. Xanthe Lam, a scientist at Genentech from 1986 to 2017, and Allen Lam, a former Genentech quality control worker, both admitted conspiring to steal trade secrets from the company, starting in 2009, and providing the information to scientists working for companies working on similar but cheaper products. (Egelko, 7/8)
The Washington Post:
Pacific Northwest Heat Wave Was ‘Virtually Impossible’ Without Human Influence
By all estimates, last week’s heat wave in the Pacific Northwest and British Columbia was essentially unprecedented. Seattle hit 108 degrees, Portland spiked to 116 and Canada broke its national temperature record three days in a row, hitting 121 degrees on June 29. Hundreds of excess deaths were blamed on the brutal heat, which established records by margins of 10 degrees or more in spots. This was not “just another heat wave,” Christopher Burt, an expert on world weather extremes, wrote in a Facebook message, but rather “the most anomalous extreme heat event ever observed on Earth since records began two centuries ago.” (Cappucci, 7/7)
The New York Times:
Climate Change Influenced Western Heat Wave, Analysis Finds
The extraordinary heat wave that scorched the Pacific Northwest last week would almost certainly not have occurred without global warming, an international team of climate researchers said Wednesday. Temperatures were so extreme — including readings of 116 degrees Fahrenheit in Portland, Ore., and a Canadian record of 121 in British Columbia — that the researchers had difficulty saying just how rare the heat wave was. But they estimated that in any given year there was only a 0.1 percent chance of such an intense heat wave occurring. (Fountain, 7/7)
Los Angeles Times:
SoCal Heat Wave Will Bring Unstable Conditions, Fire Danger
As crews continue to combat wildfires in Northern California, the southern part of the state is preparing for extreme heat and elevated fire danger. The National Weather Service on Wednesday issued an excessive heat warning across portions of Southern California’s high desert, with the Apple and Lucerne valleys preparing for temperatures that could climb as high as 120 degrees by the weekend — potentially the hottest of the year so far. (Smith, 7/7)
Stat:
Report: Death Rates Are Declining For Many Common Cancers In U.S.
Death rates are declining for more than half of the most common forms of cancer in the U.S., according to a sweeping annual analysis released Thursday. The new report — released by the American Cancer Society, the National Cancer Institute, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and other collaborators — found that between 2014 and 2018, death rates dropped for 11 out of 19 of the most common cancers among men and 14 of the 20 most prevalent cancers among women. (Gaffney, 7/8)
KTVU:
Cell Phones And Cancer: New UC Berkeley Study Suggests Cell Phones Sharply Increase Tumor Risk
New UC Berkeley research draws a strong link between cell phone radiation and tumors, particularly in the brain. Researchers took a comprehensive look at statistical findings from 46 different studies around the globe and found that the use of a cell phone for more than 1,000 hours, or about 17 minutes a day over a ten year period, increased the risk of tumors by 60 percent. (Song, 7/7)
Sacramento Bee:
How To Apply To The CA COVID-19 Rent, Utility Relief Program
Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law to extend the state’s eviction moratorium through September and boost funding for a rent relief program set up to keep tenants and landlords out of debt. The moratorium, which has been lengthened several times, was scheduled to sunset on June 30. But tenants groups fought for an extension amid concerns that the deadline would bring a wave of evictions before billions in aid had been administered. (Wiley, 7/7)
CalMatters:
California's Project Homekey Transforms Fresno's Motel Drive
State-funding efforts to shelter unhoused residents in converted motels could be a game-changer for Motel Drive, an area of Fresno that city leaders say has long been overrun by drugs, human trafficking, and prostitution. Local city leaders say Project Homekey has been a success in Fresno, providing shelter for about 1,500 people over the past 18 months. Not only have the funds helped shelter the city’s unhoused residents, but they also provided the opportunity to invest in the transformation of Motel Drive, said Councilmember Miguel Arias in an interview with The Bee. (Montalvo, 7/7)
The New York Times:
Spectators At Tokyo Olympics May Be Barred Amid New Covid Emergency
The Japanese government declared a new state of emergency in Tokyo on Thursday after a sudden spike in coronavirus cases, wreaking fresh havoc on preparations for an Olympic Games that organizers have insisted can be held safely amid a pandemic. The decision could force officials to abandon plans announced late last month to allow domestic spectators at Olympic events, a move that had been met with public opposition over concerns that the Games would become a petri dish for new variants of the virus. (Dooley, 7/8)
AP:
Japan To Declare Virus Emergency Lasting Through Olympics
The Games already will take place without foreign spectators, but the planned six-week state of emergency likely ends chances of a local audience. A decision about fans is expected later Thursday when local organizers meet with the International Olympic Committee and other representatives. Tokyo is currently under less-stringent measures that focus on shortened hours for bars and restaurants but have proven less effective at slowing the spread of the coronavirus. (Yamaguchi, 7/8)