Biden Approves Disaster Declaration After California Floods: President Joe Biden has approved another disaster declaration in California. Those affected by the storms in Kern, Mariposa, Monterey, San Benito, Santa Cruz, Tulare, and Tuolumne counties will now be eligible for medical support, food aid, housing assistance, counseling, and more. Read more from Bay Area News Group and the San Francisco Chronicle.
In related news about the flooding —
Fears Grow Of Public Health Disaster In Tulare Lake: There are now dairy farms, human waste sites, and farm fields operating on the bottom of the desiccated Tulare Lake, which was drained at the end of the 19th century. But after recent storms started refilling the lake, some are worried that the Tulare Lake Compost facility, which converts sewage sludge into fertilizer, could turn into an environmental disaster. 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
KQED:
As California Drops More Masking Rules, These Bay Area Counties Keep Theirs
As of today, California no longer requires face masks to be worn in health care facilities and other high-risk settings. Since 2020, the state has required everyone to wear masks in places like hospitals, clinics, correctional facilities and centers for people experiencing homelessness. Even as public health officials removed other COVID-19 restrictions, this rule remained in place through the multiple surges and drops in cases California has seen in the past three years. (Cabrera-Lomelí, 4/3)
VC Star:
Ventura County Hospitals, Nursing Homes Reveal New Masking Rules
Many patients, visitors and employees at St. John’s Regional Medical Center in Oxnard were able to take off their masks Monday as one of the last pandemic mandates ended. (Kisken, 4/3)
The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat:
Sonoma County Lifts COVID-19 Mask Requirements At Health Care Facilities
As of Monday, health care facilities in Sonoma County are able to make their own policy around masking, county health officials said. (Espinoza, 4/3)
The Desert Sun:
Masks, Vaccines No Longer Required In California High-Risk Settings
The new California Department of Public Health guidelines state people can decide if they want to wear a mask in a health care or other high transmission risk settings, including senior care facilities, homeless centers and correctional facilities. (Sasic, 4/3)
The Washington Post:
FDA To Okay Second Omicron-Targeting Booster For Some, Officials Say
Federal regulators have decided to authorize a second omicron-specific coronavirus vaccine booster shot for people who are at least 65 or have weak immune systems — an effort to provide additional protection to high-risk individuals, according to several officials familiar with the plan. The Food and Drug Administration is expected to announce the step in the next few weeks, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is expected to move quickly to endorse it, said the officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss internal discussions. *McGinley and Sun, 4/3)
CNN:
A New Approach To A Covid-19 Nasal Vaccine Shows Early Promise
Scientists in Germany say they’ve been able to make a nasal vaccine that can shut down a Covid-19 infection in the nose and throat, where the virus gets its first foothold in the body. In experiments in hamsters, two doses of the vaccine – which is made with a live but weakened form of the coronavirus that causes Covid-19 – blocked the virus from copying itself in the animals’ upper airways, achieving “sterilizing immunity” and preventing illness, a long-sought goal of the pandemic. (Goodman, 4/3)
KOMO:
Those Injured By COVID-19 Vaccine Still Waiting For Government Compensation
Steve Wenger says he began struggling to walk in May 2021, seven days after receiving the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine. He eventually became paralyzed from the waist down and had to go to the hospital. His arms became so weak he couldn’t pick up a glass of water. In clinical notes, his doctor at Mayo Clinic referred to an autoimmune disorder called chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyradiculoneuropathy (CIDP) saying it was “triggered by COVID vaccination.” It’s almost impossible to sue a vaccine company for a COVID vaccine injury, due to liability protections under the Public Readiness and Emergency Preparedness Act, or PREP Act. Congress deemed these protections necessary years ago in order to “ensure that potentially life-saving countermeasures will be efficiently developed, deployed, and administered,” according to the Congressional Research Service. (Congrad, 4/3)
Daily Beast:
Scientists Fear ‘Catastrophic’ COVID Combination With MERS Virus
The SARS-CoV-2 virus is highly contagious but the current dominant strains are not very lethal. Its much rarer cousin in the betacoronavirus family of pathogens, MERS-CoV, is highly lethal but not very contagious. Now imagine a blend of the two—a respiratory virus with the most dangerous qualities of both. Contagious and lethal. It’s a real risk, according to a new study from China. And it’s a strong argument for a new, more widely effective vaccine. (Axe, 4/3)
CalMatters:
California May Change Its Mental Health Funding. Why That Might Cut Some Services
For the second time in as many years, Gov. Gavin Newsom is pushing for major reform of California’s mental health system, this time by overhauling the way counties spend mental health dollars and placing a bond measure before voters to build more psychiatric beds. (Hwang, 4/3)
Axios:
Inflation Drove ACA Premiums Up
Inflation and higher health spending helped drive monthly premiums for Affordable Care Act coverage up an average of 3.4% between 2022 and 2023, reversing a trend of recent declines, according to a new report from the Urban Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Why it matters: Some of the increase was also attributed to uncertainty over whether Congress would extend or make permanent premium subsidies, which complicated insurers' decision making. Extending subsidies would incentivize healthy people who choose to buy coverage previously deemed unaffordable. (Dreher, 4/4)
Fierce Healthcare:
ACA Benchmark Premiums Rise 3.4% As New Entrants Slowed: Study
A region with one or two carriers averaged $128 and $119 higher premiums compared to a region that had five or more. The bump in premiums comes amid relative stability over the past several years for the exchanges. Average annual premiums dipped 2.2% from 2019 through 2022. (King, 4/3)
Axios:
Hospitals Likelier To Offer Discounts To Patients Who Pay Cash
Hospitals routinely charge less to patients who pay in cash and seek to recoup the difference from commercially insured patients in markets where they can exert leverage, according to a new Johns Hopkins study published in Health Affairs. Why it matters: The analysis for 70 services — drawn from data reported by 2,379 hospitals as of September 2022 — provides another window into the opaque world of hospital pricing and could be a data point for employers in their negotiations with insurers or directly with providers. (Bettelheim, 4/4)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Judge Won't Set Aside Ruling Blocking Most S.F. Homeless Sweeps
The federal magistrate who prohibited San Francisco in December from removing homeless people from encampments without providing them immediate shelter refused to suspend her order Monday while the city appeals it. City officials argued that the Dec. 23 injunction by U.S. Magistrate Judge Donna Ryu had put San Francisco in an ”impossible situation,” as City Attorney David Chiu put it in a court filing. He said some people on the streets have refused shelter, others have obtained shelter beds but still choose to live on the streets and Ryu’s order left the city “powerless to do anything in those situations.” (Egelko, 4/3)
KQED:
End Of An Era: Last Remaining Unhoused Residents At Oakland's Wood Street Commons Getting Evicted
Around 60 people living in RVs and trailers at the Wood Street Commons — a settlement of unhoused people in West Oakland — will soon have to leave. The city plans to begin evictions April 10. Many residents, some of whom have lived there for more than a decade, described it as a profound loss for Oakland’s unhoused community. Residents at the Commons have built the space into a resource hub, complete with a communal kitchen, outdoor meeting areas, a free store and storage facilities, among other amenities. (Baldassari, 4/3)
Modesto Bee:
Modesto Councilman Calls For Homeless Campsites With Services
Dale Jin Yoo says he follows his Christian faith, trying to love his neighbors as he loves himself. Those neighbors include the homeless people who sleep at night outside his clothing store in the Modesto shopping center at Carver Road and Roseburg Avenue. For a half dozen years, he says, he’s given them food, sleeping bags and rides to shelters. On Christmas Eve he’s handed out bags of McDonald’s and Bible verses. (Valine, 4/3)
The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat:
Sonoma County To Have Free Screenings, Resources At Health Fair Saturday
The County of Sonoma, health care providers and local organizations will provide free support, screenings and information during a health resource fair Saturday afternoon in Santa Rosa. (Smalstig, 4/3)
AP:
Nevada Is The State With The Most Superbug Fungus Infections; California Is Second
Federal public health officials have identified southern Nevada as the place in the U.S. with the highest number of cases of a potentially lethal fungus that is resistant to common antibiotics, and can be a major risk for hospital and nursing home patients. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention tracked and found that in 2022, Nevada had 16%, or 384 of the country’s 2,377 clinical cases of the superbug called Candida auris — followed by California with 359 cases, Florida with 349 cases and New York with 326. (4/3)
The Washington Post:
California Man In HIV Remission Opens Up About His Rare Medical Journey
In September 1988, an intern at San Francisco General Hospital told Paul Edmonds that he had HIV. Worse, the virus had already ravaged his immune system and progressed to full-blown AIDS. Edmonds was 33 that day. Having seen friends with HIV waste away in months, he assumed he would be dead within a year or two. Maybe sooner. “I remember how I felt inside when I heard,” he said. “I felt my heart sink.” Unlike most of his infected friends, Edmonds lived to see his 40th birthday, then his 50th, and his 60th. Then something extraordinary happened. In 2019, he became one of just five people in the world to receive a successful stem cell transplant from a donor with a rare genetic mutation that makes the body resistant to HIV. (Johnson, 4/3)
AP:
Ricochet, San Diego’s Surfing Therapy Dog, Dies At 15
Ricochet, the beloved Golden Retriever who found her calling as a therapy dog when she learned to surf, has died in Southern California. The 15-year-old canine helped countless veterans and kids during more than a decade providing therapy in the waves off San Diego, according to her owner Judy Fridono. The dog, who died Friday, was diagnosed with liver cancer last August, she said. ... Ricochet worked as a therapy dog for Pawsitive Teams and the Naval Medical Center San Diego where she supported people with trauma, anxiety and other emotional challenges, the Union-Tribune said. (4/3)
The Hill:
White House Rolls Out New Cancer Initiative To Help Implement ‘Moonshot’
Federal health officials on Monday outlined a new framework aimed at helping to implement the White House “Cancer Moonshot” initiative. One of the main goals of the Moonshot initiative is to reduce cancer mortality by at least 50 percent over the next 25 years. To accomplish that, the new National Cancer Plan includes eight distinct goals to prevent cancer, reduce mortality and maximize quality of life for people living with it. (Weixel, 4/3)
Healio:
National Cancer Plan Outlines Eight Goals, Strategies To Achieve Biden’s Moonshot Vision
HHS on Monday released the National Cancer Plan, which includes eight goals and strategies to prevent cancer, reduce related mortality and improve the lives of people living with the disease. NCI developed the plan as a framework for collaboration among federal government agencies and all members of society to achieve the goal of President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden’s Cancer Moonshot and “end cancer as we know it today,” according to the plan. (4/3)
Fox News:
AI Testing Of Brain Tumors Can Detect Genetic Cancer Markers In Less Than 90 Seconds, Study Finds
Genetic markers have been shown to predict a person’s likelihood of developing various types of cancer. Now, researchers believe that new artificial intelligence (AI) tools could make it easier and faster for doctors to detect those indicators. A team of neurosurgeons and engineers at the University of Michigan announced last week that their new AI-based diagnostic tool, DeepGlioma, is capable of pinpointing genetic mutations in brain tumors during surgery within just 90 seconds. (Rudy, 4/3)
Fox Business:
Popular Easter Candy Called Out For Containing Cancer-Causing Ingredient
An Easter sweets staple is under fire for a concerning ingredient. Peeps are currently being called out for containing Red Dye 3, a known carcinogen, according to studies by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).This includes Peeps Pink Marshmallow Chicks, Peeps Pink Marshmallow Bunnies, Peeps Lavender Marshmallow Chicks and Peeps Lavender Marshmallow Bunnies, according to Consumer Reports. (Stabile, 4/3)
The Atlantic:
Hiccups Have A Curious Connection To Cancer
Colleen Kennedy, a retired medical assistant, was prepared for the annihilation of chemotherapy and radiation treatment for stage-three lung cancer. She hadn’t expected the hiccup fits that started about halfway through her first treatment round. They left her gasping for air and sent pain ricocheting through her already tender body. At times, they triggered her gag reflex and made her throw up. After they subsided, she felt tired, sore, breathless—as if she’d just finished a tough workout. They were, Kennedy, now 54, told me, “nothing compared to what we would consider normal hiccups at all.” They lasted for nearly a year. (Renault, 4/3)
CNN:
Autism: Study Finds Slightly Higher Risk Of Diagnosis In Areas With More Lithium In Drinking Water, But Experts Say More Research Is Needed
A new study found a moderately higher risk of autism spectrum disorder in children born to pregnant people exposed to tap water with higher levels of lithium, but experts caution that this association does not show a direct link between the two. About 1 in 36 children in the US is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) each year, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (Christensen, 4/3)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Oakland A’s Aledmys Diaz Raises Autism Awareness With Different Batting Gloves
The different-colored batting gloves Aledmys Díaz is wearing early this season — one red and one blue — reflect a commitment to a cause that is deeply personal for the new Oakland Athletics infielder. For Díaz, whose 6-year-old son Nathan was diagnosed with autism, the gloves are both a symbol of support and a means to send out a positive message about inclusion. (Kawahara, 4/2)
USA Today:
What Is Autism? How You Can Support Autistic People The Month Of April
April is here, and so is Autism Acceptance Month! This month, which includes World Autism Day (April 2 of every year), is a time for uplifting autistic voices and sharing in the community's joy. But for Samantha Edwards, an autistic content creator and neurodivergent life coach, the month also signifies an influx of harmful myths about autistic people. "April is a wonderful month to crack down on that and listen to autistic voices and their stories and listen to their struggles," she says. "Acceptance, at the end of the day, is going to promote more inclusivity." (Mulroy, 4/4)
Tech Explorist:
Researcher Identifies A Key Strategy To Combat Disease Linked To Autism And Schizophrenia
DiGeorge syndrome, a genetic disorder affecting 1 in 3,000 babies, can cause multiple health problems, including autism and schizophrenia. Virginia Tech Professor Anthony-Samuel LaMantia has identified a key factor in the genetic blueprint that leads to this disorder and a narrow window through which intervention may be possible. With a $3.4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health, LaMantia will study the possibility of utilizing this opportunity to help individuals with DiGeorge syndrome. (Banik, 4/4)