San Francisco City Workers Will Be Required To Get A Covid Vaccine: San Francisco will require all 35,000 city employees to get a covid shot once a vaccine receives full approval from the FDA, city officials said Wednesday. The new policy makes San Francisco the first city or county in California — and probably the U.S. — to mandate covid vaccinations for all government employees. City workers who refuse could be fired. Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
Tenants Fear End To Eviction Moratorium: Regulations that have protected California renters from eviction during the pandemic are set to expire June 30, leaving many tenants worried about how they will stay housed. Some residents say they will use their credit cards to pay back rent, while others are making plans to skip utility bills or move into their cars. Read more from the Los Angeles Times. Continued coverage, below.
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
NPR:
The Pandemic Led To The Biggest Drop In U.S. Life Expectancy Since WWII, Study Finds
A new study estimates that life expectancy in the U.S. decreased by nearly two years between 2018 and 2020, largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And the declines were most pronounced among minority groups, including Black and Hispanic people. In 2018, average life expectancy in the U.S. was about 79 years (78.7). It declined to about 77 years (76.9) by the end of 2020, according to a new study published in the British Medical Journal. "We have not seen a decrease like this since World War II. It's a horrific decrease in life expectancy," said Steven Woolf of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine and an author of the study released on Wednesday. (The study is based on data from the National Center for Health Statistics and includes simulated estimates for 2020.) (Aubrey, 6/23)
ABC News:
US Had Nearly 17 Million Undiagnosed COVID-19 Cases In Early Months Of Pandemic: Study
There may have been nearly 17 million undiagnosed COVID-19 cases in the United States in the early months of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new National Institutes of Health study. The study suggests that the prevalence of COVID-19 in the spring and summer of 2020 "far exceeded" the number of confirmed cases -- especially in people who were asymptomatic. (Delios, 6/23)
Los Angeles Times:
Delta Variant Is Spreading In California As COVID-19 Battle Enters An Uncertain Phase
The Delta variant of the coronavirus is beginning to spread in California, offering a preview of how the battle of the pandemic is going to change as officials move to protect a shrinking minority who remain at risk because they have not been vaccinated. The Delta variant may be twice as transmissible as the conventional strain. But California and the rest of the nation are far more protected against COVID-19 than ever before. California has one of the highest vaccination rates in the nation, and the U.S. has one of the highest per capita rates of inoculation in the world. (Money and Lin II, 6/24)
City News Service:
LA County Official Says Infectious COVID-19 ‘Delta’ Variant Should Spur Continued Precautions
Los Angeles County’s public health director again on Wednesday, June 23, urged cautionary measures while working or attending events indoors, noting that the highly infectious “Delta” strain of COVID-19 is spreading locally and nationally, particularly among unvaccinated people. The “Delta” variant is blamed for rampant infections in India and other virus hotspots worldwide. While current vaccines are considered effective against the variant, it can spread easily among the unvaccinated population, potentially allowing it to mutate further into a form that could evade vaccine protections. (6/23)
Deadline:
Covid-19 Test Positivity Rate Steadily Rising In California
For the first time since December 2020, California’s 7-day Covid test positivity rate is on the rise. The test positivity rate, which hit a pandemic-era low of 0.7% on June 5, has risen slowly but steadily over the past two-and-a-half weeks to 1.1% on Wednesday. It’s the first sustained rise in that key Covid-19 indicator since the worst of California’s pandemic in January — and its happening just as the state lifts most Covid-19 restrictions. (Tapp, 6/23)
Sacramento Bee:
California Reopening: Placer Takes On Newsom Emergency Order
Placer County officials unanimously voted Tuesday to submit letters to Gov. Gavin Newsom voicing support for resolutions to end the COVID-19 statewide emergency and curtail the governor’s use of emergency executive powers. The resolutions, written by Assemblyman Kevin Kiley, R-Rocklin, and state Sen. Melissa Melendez, R-Lake Elsinore would allow the state legislature to “declare that the state of emergency proclaimed by the Governor on March 4, 2020, is at an end, thereby terminating the emergency powers granted to the Governor as a result of that proclamation,” according to SCR-5, introduced by Melendez. (Sullivan, 6/23)
Voice of OC:
Newport Beach Ends COVID Local Emergency, County Supervisors Continue State Of Emergency
The Newport Beach city council members unanimously voted to end their local emergency at their Tuesday meeting after more than a year into the pandemic. Many residents wrote into the council in support of terminating the local emergency. Newport Beach ended its emergency the same day County Supervisors decided to keep the countywide emergency so they can get federal reimbursement for pandemic efforts. (Elattar, 6/23)
The Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
Santa Rosa Police Open Investigation After Viral Video Alleges Mask Shaming By Officer Over Loudspeaker
The Santa Rosa Police Department has opened an investigation into a claim that one of its officers used his patrol car loudspeaker to shame residents for wearing masks at a bustling Santa Rosa Avenue shopping complex Monday. The allegation was first leveled in a TikTok video that the author says drew threats against her life after the post went viral. (Barber, 6/23)
Capital & Main:
When Masks Become Optional, Do Children Become Vulnerable?
The setting was midtown Sacramento, but the scene is going to become familiar across California in the coming weeks. As a harried parent ushered his three children into the grocery store, he stopped to read the printed guidance that had been taped to the entrance: “FOR THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN FULLY VACCINATED, MASKS ARE OPTIONAL.” Inside the busy market, perhaps one in five adults was masked. The man studied the situation for a moment, then backed his kids out of the store even though they had masks of their own. When asked why he was leaving, the parent replied, “That many people without masks — no way.” (Kreidler, 6/22)
Palm Springs Desert Sun:
Health Insurance For $1? Unemployed Californians Now Eligible
Hundreds of thousands of Californians who received unemployment benefits this year could be eligible for health insurance as low as $1 per month through the state's health insurance exchange. Covered California already offers these plans with low premiums, $5 primary care provider co-pays, outpatient services that are not subject to a deductible, and an annual deductible of $75. Currently, about 207,000 Californians have purchased this coverage. (Sasic, 6/21)
The Washington Post:
White House Prepares Final 30-Day Extension Of Eviction Moratorium
Federal officials are expected to extend a national moratorium on evictions by 30 days, although no final decision has been made, according to two people familiar with the matter. The decision will be made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which first implemented the moratorium. The eviction moratorium was set to expire June 30. (Stein, 6/23)
CBS News:
Americans Most Likely To Be Evicted Are The Least Likely To Be Vaccinated
As COVID-19 vaccination rates across America creep up, landlords are calling for an end to tenant protections, arguing that the public health crisis that led federal health authorities to freeze evictions is over. But data on evictions tell a different story. Across nine major U.S. cities, the neighborhoods with the highest rates of eviction lawsuits are also the areas with the lowest rates of vaccination, according to research from Princeton University. (Ivanova, 6/23)
San Francisco Chronicle:
FDA Poised To Add Vaccine Heart Warnings For Young People
Federal health regulators anticipate adding warnings for the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines in light of reports of heart inflammation in a small number of adolescents and young adults after vaccination. The Food and Drug Administration will “move rapidly” to include the warnings of possible vaccine-induced heart inflammation on fact sheets for health care providers and recipients, the FDA’s Dr. Doran Fink said Wednesday during a public meeting of the Advisory Committee for Immunization Practices. The committee advises the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on vaccine policy. (Ho, 6/23)
Bay Area News Group:
CDC: COVID Still Greater Risk Than Vaccine To Teens
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention experts said Wednesday that COVID-19 vaccines remain far less risky to youths than the disease itself, despite rare but concerning reports of heart inflammation in some teens and young adults after getting the shots. “Currently, the benefits still clearly outweigh the risks for COVID-19 vaccination in adolescents and young adults,” Dr. Sara Oliver of the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases told an expert advisory panel, citing conclusions of a CDC work group. (Woolfolk, 6/23)
Sacramento Bee:
Young Adults Hamper White House July 4th COVID Vaccine Goal
The White House COVID-19 team announced Tuesday the nation is “close to achieving” but likely won’t make President Joe Biden’s goal set in early May for 70% of all adults to have at least one coronavirus shot, with 160 million fully vaccinated by July 4th. And young adults are partly to blame. The U.S. has met Biden’s goal of having 70% of adults get at least one shot before Independence Day only for those aged 30 and older, but it will take a “few extra weeks” beyond July 4 to get 18- to 26-year-olds to the 70% threshold, according to Jeffrey Zients, the head of the White House Covid-19 response team. (Camero, 6/23)
CapRadio:
Yolo County Expands At-Home Vaccination Program
Getting a COVID-19 vaccine just got easier in Yolo County. Residents who live in Davis, Woodland and surrounding areas can now get their coronavirus shot administered at home or at their workplace; they just need to be 12 years of age or older. People who are interested in the “call-to-order” inoculation reach the county by dialing (530) 666-8665. A county staffer will come to your location anytime between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m., seven days a week. (6/23)
Voice of OC:
OC Supervisors Grapple With Letting Vaccinated People Ditch Masks In County Buildings
Orange County Supervisors questioned their own pandemic policies on who has to wear a mask inside county buildings and how officials will verify if someone is fully vaccinated, with Supervisor Katrina Foley saying she’s worried the county isn’t following state regulations. “I feel we are violating CalOSHA and the Department of Public Health laws in the matter in which this memo was prepared,” Foley said during Tuesday’s supervisors public meeting. (Custodio, 6/23)
Orange County Register:
COVID-19 Antibodies Appear To Wane Rapidly, So Prepare For Booster Shots, Study Suggests
The good news: If you’ve had COVID-19, you may need only one Pfizer or Moderna shot to get the formidable protection “COVID-naïve” people get with two. The perhaps not-so-good news: It took just three months for antibodies to the virus’ spike protein to wane by some 90 percent — meaning booster shots are likely on the horizon. (Sforza, 6/23)
Orange County Register:
Vaccination Percentages By Age In Southern California Counties As Of June 23
The California Department of Public Health’s vaccines dashboard said more than 47.6 million vaccine doses have been distributed in California as of Tuesday. The state’s dashboard said 57.3% of Californians are fully vaccinated. That’s above the national average of about 45.3% fully vaccinated so far. According to the Bloomberg vaccine tracker California is administering about 138,539 doses per day, down from 350,000 or more six weeks ago. California still has the highest daily rate of doses administered in the nation. (Snibbe, 6/23)
Los Angeles Times:
UC Regents Tighten Oversight In Catholic Hospital Deals
The University of California Board of Regents on Wednesday tightened UC’s rules on affiliations with hospitals that impose religious restrictions on care. The policy approved almost unanimously by the board places greater limits than before on interference by religious authorities with the medical judgments of UC physicians practicing at sectarian hospitals. (Hiltzik, 6/23)
VC Star:
Ventura County Approves $2.55 Billion Budget Providing Mental Related Services
Ventura County has approved a $2.55 billion county budget that provides expanded mental health services, pandemic-related aid, and the addition of hundreds more staff for the takeover of 18 medical clinics. The Board of Supervisors' unanimous decision Monday authorizes for the fiscal year beginning July 1 a spending plan for the county's more than two dozen agencies providing law enforcement, health care, libraries and other services. Spending is due to rise by 4%, or $98 million, over the current year. (Wilson, 6/22)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Palomar Doctors Take Vote Of 'No Confidence' In Executive Leadership
A rift between Palomar Health leadership and the doctors that staff its hospitals in Escondido and Poway has grown significantly with votes of “no confidence” this week that cite a lack of transparency in contract negotiations that has so angered some that they are threatening to depart. The disagreement centers on Palomar’s recent decision to award key emergency, hospitalist and intensivist contracts to Los Angeles companies, diverting from long-standing arrangements with Vituity Healthcare & Medical Staffing Services, a medical group spanning 17 states that has managed Palomar’s emergency departments for more than 40 years. (Sisson, 6/23)
San Francisco Chronicle:
More Medical Calls In S.F. Can Mean Longer Waits For Ambulances. Here's How City Aims To Fix It
San Francisco doesn’t always have enough ambulances for medical calls, with a backlog of up to six calls at times. That means an ambulance has been requested but isn’t immediately available. Though paramedics are already at the scene delivering potentially life-saving care, and each delayed request may be resolved in minutes or even seconds, it can delay transport to a hospital in situations where each minute could matter. (Moench, 6/23)
Stat:
Key Democrats Slam FDA For Failing To Crack Down On Juul
Congressional Democrats openly pressured acting Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Janet Woodcock to crack down on e-cigarette manufacturers Wednesday, with one powerful lawmaker blasting the agency for what they say is inaction on the issue. “Who is the cop on the beat to whom we entrust our children? It’s the Food and Drug Administration. And this agency has been timid and reluctant for way too long,” said Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), the second most powerful Democrat in the Senate, who was testifying before the House hearing as a witness. “I worry the agency is going to fail again.” (Florko, 6/23)
The Hill:
Senate Democrats Call For FDA Action On High Levels Of Heavy Metals In Some Baby Food
A group of Democratic senators led by Sen. Amy Klobuchar (Minn.) is calling on the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to step up efforts to eliminate toxic heavy metals that have been reported in some baby foods. Klobuchar, along with Democratic Sens. Tammy Duckworth (Ill.), Richard Blumenthal (Conn.), Cory Booker (N.J.) and Patrick Leahy (Vt.), made the request in a Thursday letter to acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock that was shared with The Hill. (Castronuovo, 6/24)
CapRadio:
Nearly 3,000 Sacramento City Students To Attend Summer School
Almost 3,000 kindergarten through eighth grade students at the Sacramento City Unified School District will be attending summer school this year — many starting this Monday. That’s almost double the number who attended before the pandemic. School district superintendent Jorge Aguilar says the day will include a mix of tutoring and activities. Those will be mostly in person and eight community-based organizations are involved. (6/23)
VC Star:
Parenting During The COVID-19 Pandemic: Four Mothers Reflect
Many mothers shouldered the herculean tasks of working, supporting loved ones and dealing with fatigue at home during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Star talked to four Ventura County moms in various home settings about how they fared over the last year. Ventura residents Dariann Kobe and Jessica Grinsel, Cielo Ruiz Grajalez, of Oxnard, and Pancheng Wang, of Oak Park, talked about their experiences navigating the pandemic with their kids. "Looking back, the past year shelter-at-home was such a unique and memorable lifetime experience," Wang said in a text. (Shivani Patel, 6/23)
The Bakersfield Californian:
Kern County Recovery Stations Celebrate One Year Of Offering One-Of-A-Kind Service
It serves as a refuge for those who have taken too much, and it strives to be the launching point for people seeking a better life. For a year, the Bakersfield Recovery Station has taken in clients for the night and let them sober up before dropping them off the next morning. The only sobering facility in Bakersfield to also connect clients with substance abuse and mental health services, the recovery station hopes to set clients on the right foot when they walk out the door. (Morgen, 6/23)
CBS News:
'We Will Find You': Biden Signals Crackdown On Gun Dealers Who Break The Law
President Biden said he is holding out hope for the reinstatement of the Assault Weapons Ban after a speech outlining a strategy on crime and gun prevention. Mr. Biden's speech focused heavily on guns, saying his administration plans to reduce gun violence through revoking licenses to sell guns through loopholes. "Today the [Justice] Department is announcing a major crackdown to stem the flow of guns used to commit violent crimes," Mr. Biden said. "It's zero tolerance for gun dealers who willfully violate key existing laws and regulations. And I repeat, zero tolerance. If you willfully sell a gun to someone who is prohibited from possessing it, if you willfully fail to run a background check, if you willfully falsify a record, if you willfully fail to cooperate with inspections, my message to you is this: We will find you." (Erickson, Linton and Segers, 6/23)
Los Angeles Times:
Court Mulls California Ban On High-Capacity Gun Magazines
A federal appeals court grappled Tuesday with a key dispute that may determine the fate of several challenges to California gun laws. An 11-member en banc panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals considered a challenge to a voter-approved ban of large-capacity magazines with more than 10 rounds of ammunition. (Dolan, 6/22)
San Francisco Chronicle:
S.F. Officials Want $15 Million For Tent Sites - Despite Angst Over Yearly $60K Cost Per Tent
San Francisco’s homelessness department is pushing to continue an expensive tent encampment program that it says is crucial for keeping people off the sidewalks, despite its high price tag of more than $60,000 per tent, per year. The city has six so-called “safe sleeping villages,” where homeless people sleep in tents and also receive three meals a day, around-the-clock security, bathrooms and showers. The city created these sites during the pandemic to quickly get people off crowded sidewalks and into a place where they can socially distance and access basic services. (Thadani, 6/23)