Bay Area News Group: A COVID Vaccination Milestone Is About To Speed Up Reopening In The Bay Area. These Counties Could Benefit
Five of the Bay Area’s nine counties could move forward in California’s COVID-19 reopening system this week as the state reaches an encouraging milestone in its vaccination effort. Officials have said they will loosen the criteria for advancing to the orange and yellow stages of the reopening plan once California distributes 4 million vaccine doses to residents of more than 400 ZIP codes considered most at-risk from the pandemic. Those ZIP codes scored in the bottom 25% of the Healthy Places Index, which ranks areas based on several socioeconomic factors, from education levels to transportation options. (Savidge, 4/6)

The Bakersfield Californian: CSUB Vaccination Hub Open For Appointments, Walk-Ins 
The Cal State Bakersfield COVID-19 Vaccination Hub said it’s accepting appointments and walk-ins for those interested in being vaccinated. According to a news release from Kaiser Permanente, the CSUB site is experiencing a surge in patients following Kern County’s announcement that everyone 16 and older is eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine. (4/5)

The Bakersfield Californian: A Simplified Message: Everyone In Kern County Age 16 And Over Now Eligible For COVID-19 Vaccine 
For the past week, nearly everyone in Kern County has been able to get the COVID-19 vaccine. But the Kern County Public Health Services Department said its week of disseminating that message full of fine print, asterisks and conditions hasn’t gone too well. “They seem very confused about what the eligibility is,” said Brynn Carrigan, Kern County Public Health Services director. (Gallegos, 4/5)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Trying To Get A COVID-19 Vaccine Appointment In San Diego? This Facebook Group Wants To Help You 
An increasingly popular Facebook group is helping thousands of San Diegans figure out when and where they can get a coronavirus vaccine. The group, aptly named San Diego Vaccine Hunters, shares tips and tricks on how to secure an appointment at sites run by the county, health systems, local pharmacies and other vaccine providers. (Wosen, 4/5)

Voice of San Diego: Volunteers Take Vaccine Appointments Door To Door In Barrio Logan
Gov. Gavin Newsom recently praised San Diego both for getting as many vaccines in arms as it has and for reaching communities hit hardest by the pandemic, calling the city a state leader in vaccinating equity. But that means the rest of the state’s communities of color are still in dire need of a life-saving vaccine. “The rich and the powerful tend to be first in line,” said Christian Ramers, an infectious disease specialist at San Diego State University who oversees clinical programs at Family Health Centers of San Diego. (Elmer, 4/5)

Berkeleyside: Program In People's Park Brings COVID-19 Vaccines To The Homeless.
The sun was out at People’s Park as people sat around in clusters, playing chess, enjoying the shade from trees, listening to music, and talking to each other. It was a normal day at the park with one notable exception: clinicians from Berkeley’s LifeLong Medical Care’s street medicine team were set up by the basketball courts, offering the COVID-19 vaccine to park residents. “They came right to my tent,” said Nicole, a new resident of People’s Park. “It was amazing.” (Boone, 4/5)

San Francisco Chronicle: In California, Political Leanings Predict Vaccination Rates Better Than Income
California’s vaccination rates vary widely by county — from just 24,000 doses administered per 100,000 residents in Lassen County in northeast California to over 97,000 in Alpine County in the Sierra Nevada. While age-related eligibility can account for some of this variation, several other demographic factors play a role: Republicans tend to be more vaccine-hesitant than Democrats, for instance, while lower-income people tend to have a harder time accessing vaccine appointments than higher-income ones. (Neilson and Sumida, 4/5)

Southern California News Group: LA County Ends Mandated Quarantines For Fully Vaccinated Travelers 
Los Angeles County public health officials on Monday, April 5, ended the mandate for fully vaccinated travelers to quarantine upon their arrival here. The county announced new travel guidelines after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention last week said that as long as coronavirus precautions are taken, including mask wearing, fully vaccinated people can take trips within the United States without getting tested for COVID-19 before or self-quarantining after. (Evains, 4/6)

Los Angeles Times: Californians Are Venturing Out. Is It Too Much Too Soon?
The gamblers, donning masks, couldn’t display their best poker faces on Monday at the Bicycle Hotel & Casino. But they were able to play indoors for the first time in more than one year. “I feel safer now,” said Ming Huang, 70, a retired accountant who recently received a COVID-19 vaccine. “Cases are down. Time to come back. Nothing better to do.” (Vega, Seidman, Shalby and Money, 4/6)

Voice of OC: What Does A Green Tier Mean For Orange County’s Reopenings? Gov. Newsom Might Unveil New Tier This Week
Gov. Gavin Newsom hinted at a Green Tier on the state’s business reopening system that could mean even more business reopenings once the county’s virus metrics improve enough. State officials said they’re working out just what exactly a Green Tier would logistically look like. (Custodio, 4/5)

LA Daily News: Local Leaders’ Pandemic Messaging Evolved From ‘Don’t Panic’ To ‘Stay Home’ In About 8 Weeks 
In the early days, with Los Angeles County officials still uncertain about what to make of  a mysterious virus identified in China, they turned to a simple strategy: Don’t panic. But that message would shift drastically within mere weeks as the pandemic quickly progressed. About eight weeks later, a mammoth shutdown triggered by the first major efforts to slow the spread of COVID-19 — before that moniker was even communicated — was under way. By the end of 2020, the county became one of the nation’s epicenters of the outbreak, which overwhelmed hospitals, jammed morgues and mortuaries and derailed the economy. (Grigoryants, 4/5)

KPBS: Scripps Health Says If Restrictions Weren't Relaxed In Summer, 45 Lives Could Have Been Saved
Scripps Health officials working with Columbia University scientists estimate if some restrictions were not lifted for businesses last summer, they would not have seen an increase in hospitalizations that lead to at least 45 deaths. "If it hadn't been for that reopening, if it hadn't been for the relaxation of social distancing and increased capacity of indoor gatherings we feel confident those 400 hospitalizations would not have occurred and those 45 people may not have died," said Nathaniel Brown, director of health data sciences at Scripps Health. (Hoffman, 4/5)

SF Gate: Working Age Hispanic Immigrants Were 11 Times More Likely To Die Of Covid In California, Study Says
A steady stream of research has shown vulnerable communities across the United States are impacted the most by the COVID-19 pandemic, and a new study uncovers a stunningly huge inequity among a specific group in California. Researchers at the University of Southern California found Hispanic immigrants of working age, that is 20 to 54-year-olds — are 11.6 times more likely to die of the virus than U.S.-born men and women who are not Hispanic. Looking at Hispanics of the same age who were both U.S.-born and foreign-born, the death rate was 8.5 times that of whites. (Graff, 4/6)

Politico: Los Angeles Teachers Will Get Child Care Stipend For Young Kids
Los Angeles Unified teachers and other employees with young children will receive a $500 monthly child care stipend as they return to classrooms after a year of campus closures. Full-time employees of the second largest school district in the country will receive the monthly subsidy if they have children 5 years old and younger, the district announced Monday. (Mays, 4/5)

Los Angeles Times: COVID Vaccines, Testing Critical To L.A. Schools Reopening 
The complex logistics of awakening 1,400 Los Angeles schools are reaching a crescendo this week with officials especially focused on safety — announcing plans to open 25 community vaccination centers and urging all returning families to sign their students up for mandatory coronavirus testing. Principals are jiggering schedules. Families are pondering whether to return. Teachers are moving school supplies from bedrooms, kitchen tables and garages into classrooms. The nation’s second-largest school system is ramping up to welcome back 465,000 kindergarten-through-12th-grade students next week after 13 months. (Blume, 4/5)

Santa Rosa Press Democrat: Sonoma County’s Northern California Medical Associates, An Independent Doctor Group, Closing
Northern California Medical Associates, the largest physician-owned health care provider in Sonoma County, will stop operating in May, apparently the first North Bay caregiver to shutter amid the strain of the yearlong coronavirus pandemic. The independent group ― comprised of 22 doctors in 12 offices in Sonoma and Mendocino counties specializing in family medicine, cardiology and rheumatology― had been struggling many months to remain afloat. (Varian, 4/5)