Modesto Bee: Stanislaus Residents Are Not Getting Updated COVID Booster
Only 3% of eligible people in Stanislaus County have received the updated COVID booster shot, leaving the vast majority without protection against omicron subvariants going into the winter months. The updated booster, released in September, is designed to boost immunity against the original coronavirus and subvariants of the omicron strain. (Carlson, 10/13)

Reuters: U.S. Authorizes Updated COVID Booster Shots For Children As Young As 5 
U.S. health regulators authorized the use of Omicron-tailored COVID-19 booster shots from Moderna Inc and Pfizer Inc in children as young as 5, a move that will expand the government's fall vaccination campaign. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday green-lighted Moderna's bivalent vaccine for those aged six and above, while Pfizer's updated shot was authorized in children aged five and above. (10/12)

Reuters: Novavax Says COVID Booster Dose Shows Benefit Against Omicron Variants
Novavax Inc said on Wednesday data from studies in adults and adolescents showed that the booster dose of its COVID vaccine produced robust antibodies against several Omicron variants, including BA.1, BA.2 and BA.5. (10/12)

CIDRAP: COVID-19 Vaccines May Help Prevent Placentitis, Stillbirth In Pregnancy
COVID-19 vaccination may protect pregnant women and their fetuses against virus-related placentitis (inflammation of the placenta) and stillbirth, concludes a review study published today in the American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. The research will also be presented next week at ID Week in Washington, DC. (10/12)

NPR: What The White House Sees Coming For COVID This Winter 
The U.S. should prepare for a spike in COVID cases this winter as more people gather indoors and infections already begin to rise in Europe, White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Ashish Jha says. ... "We are seeing this increase in Europe, and Europe tends to precede us by about four to six weeks," Jha told NPR. "And so it stands to reason that as we get into November, December, maybe January, we are going to see an increase in infections across much of the country." (Kelly, Jarenwattananon and O'Connor, 10/13)

Bloomberg: New Covid Variants Renew Threats To The World
Omicron was first identified in southern Africa late last year, when it outcompeted the delta variant. Omicron’s initial iteration, B.1.1.529, is characterized by some 30 mutations in the gene for the spike protein, which gives the coronavirus its crown-like appearance and allows it to invade cells. Changes there can make the pathogen less recognizable to the antibodies the immune system makes in response to vaccination or a case of Covid, increasing the risk of infection in such cases. (Gale, 10/13)

CIDRAP: Studies Suggest Role For Exercise Testing In Long COVID, Impact Of Initial Symptoms
Two studies published today reveal new findings on long COVID, with one showing a possible role for cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) for the evaluation of persistent symptoms, and the other finding a link between symptomatic infection and poor quality of life and reduced ability to complete daily activities. (Van Beusekom, 10/12)

NBC News: Babies Born During The Pandemic May Have Delayed Communication Skills
Around 89% of the infants studied who were born between 2008 and 2011 could articulate a full word like "bowl" or "cup" at 12 months old, compared to around 77% of infants born during the early months of the pandemic. The share of infants who could point at objects fell from 93% to 84%, and the portion who could wave goodbye fell from 94% to 88%. (Bendix, 10/12)

The Washington Post: Social Security Benefits To Rise By 8.7 Percent In 2023
The Social Security Administration announced on Thursday an 8.7 percent increase in benefit checks for seniors starting next year, a response to the fastest inflation America has seen in four decades. The change will affect about 70.3 million Social Security beneficiaries, including roughly 8 million Supplemental Security Income recipients. The adjustment is expected to increase monthly Social Security checks by about $150 per month on average. (Stein, 10/13)

AP: Social Security Benefits To Jump By 8.7% Next Year
The cost-of living adjustment means the average recipient will receive more than $140 extra a month beginning in January, according to estimates released Thursday by the Social Security Administration. The boost in benefits will be coupled with a 3% drop in Medicare Part B premiums, meaning retirees will get the full impact of the jump in Social Security benefits. (Hussein, 10/13)

ABC News: Is Social Security On The GOP's 'Chopping Block' As Biden Claims? Experts Weigh In 
Social Security -- long referred to as the "third rail" of American politics -- so charged as to be fatal if touched -- is back in the spotlight as the midterm elections near. President Joe Biden has made it a key campaign theme -- repeatedly asserting the benefit program is "on the chopping block" if Republicans win back control of the House and Senate. (Hutzler, 10/13)

San Diego Union-Tribune: ElderHelp To Expand Services In North County After Merger With Foundation For Senior Wellbeing
ElderHelp has merged with the San Marcos-based Foundation of Senior Wellbeing and will slowly begin offering more services to older adults living in North County. (Mapp, 10/12)

KVPR: Millions Of Americans Are Losing Access To Maternal Care. Here's What Can Be Done
Access to maternity care is decreasing in the parts of the U.S. that need it the most, affecting nearly 7 million women of childbearing age and some 500,000 babies. That's according to a report released Tuesday by March of Dimes, a nonprofit focused on maternal and infant health. It finds that 36% of counties nationwide — largely in the Midwest and South — constitute "maternity care deserts," meaning they have no obstetric hospitals or birth centers and no obstetric providers. (Treisman, 10/12)

The Mercury News: Stanford Scientists Grow Human Brain Cells In Rats -- And Get Them To Do Things
Inside their small furry heads, Stanford rats have brains that are a little bit human. These rodents aren’t any smarter than their peers. Their memories aren’t better, and they can’t read, write, play Wordle or do much else that we can do. (Krieger, 10/12)

Sacramento Bee: Will Cell-Based Milk Change The Dairy Industry? This West Sacramento Lab Could Lead The Way 
West Sacramento biotechnology startup TurtleTree wants to change the way people consume milk. Cows are out- at least as far as milking goes. The replacement: cell-based milk. The company says it is able to create raw milk using cells from mammals. The cells are then grown in TurtleTree’s labs and milk is ultimately produced. In giant bioreactors, the cells stick to tiny straws, the fluid is then drawn through the straws, and milk comes out the other end. (Diamond, 10/12)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Surge Of Respiratory Illness Pops Up At Patrick Henry High, Rady ER Inundated 
Alarming surges of respiratory illness at a San Diego high school and the region’s only children’s hospital are strong evidence that a fierce flu season has arrived early this year. (Sisson, 10/12)

Times Of San Diego: Respiratory Illness Outbreak Suspected At Patrick Henry High School 
San Diego County health officials were investigating an outbreak of respiratory and flu-like symptoms reported among a large number of students at Patrick Henry High School, it was announced Wednesday. It is too early to determine the cause of the suspected outbreak at the high school as test results are pending, according to San Diego County Public Health Services. (Ireland, 10/12)

Bay Area News Group: Crockett: Residents Urged To Protect Themselves Against Hydrogen Sulfide From Treatment Plant
County health officials continue to urge residents who live near a wastewater treatment plant to take precautions after tests early this week continued to show elevated levels of hydrogen sulfide nearby. (Kelly, 10/12)

Los Angeles Times: L.A. Basic Income Program To Give Young Adults $1,000 A Month 
A new program in Los Angeles County is offering universal basic income, with $1,000 monthly payments to a select group of young adults. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Social Services introduced the pilot program, which will provide a three-year guaranteed income for about 300 people ages 18 to 24, the agency said. (Petri, 10/12)

Los Angeles Times: 4 Million Fentanyl Pills Seized, 217 Arrested In California Crackdown On Fentanyl
California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta announced Wednesday that a state Department of Justice-led task force has seized more than 4 million fentanyl pills and nearly 900 pounds of fentanyl powder and arrested 217 suspects since April 2021. (Lin, 10/12)

The New York Times: Navy Report On SEAL Trainee’s Death Details Medics’ Failure To Help Him 
Navy SEAL candidates tried multiple times during the elite force’s punishing Hell Week training to get help for a fellow candidate who was suffering from pneumonia and whose heart stopped a few hours after the grueling week was over, but they were repeatedly rebuffed by instructors and medical staff, according to a new Navy report on the sailor’s death. The report, issued by Naval Special Warfare on Wednesday, more than eight months after Seaman Kyle Mullen died at the SEAL training base in Coronado, Calif., was ordered to determine whether he died while performing his duties as a sailor. It found that he had. (Philipps, 10/12)

Voice Of San Diego: Fletcher: CARE Court Won’t Be Homelessness Panacea
Some Californians quickly deemed Gov. Gavin Newsom’s push to create a court system to more easily compel care for people with serious mental illnesses as a potential gamechanger to reducing homelessness in the state. Nathan Fletcher, chair of the county Board of Supervisors, isn’t in that camp. (Halverstadt, 10/12)

CapRadio: Sacramento Faces Homeless Shelter Funding Shortfall, As It Grapples With Surging Unhoused Population
Sacramento could face a $40 million deficit for homeless shelter funding as early as next summer as it grapples with a surging unhoused population and calls from the public to expand shelter and housing options. Though state funds covered the city’s $13.8 million homeless services funding gap this fiscal year, City Manager Howard Chan told the City Council in August it won’t be so easy to fill next year’s projected deficit. (Nichols, 10/13)