Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
In Becerra, an HHS Nominee With Political Skill But No Front-Line Health Experience
Despite his lack of front-line experience, Democrats see the California attorney general as an important ally to shepherd a progressive agenda on the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid, reproductive health services and immigration. (Rachana Pradhan and Angela Hart and Julie Rovner and Jenny Gold, )
Xavier Becerra in His Own Words: ‘Health Care Is a Right’
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra is President-elect Joe Biden’s pick for U.S. Health and Human Services secretary. As attorney general and during his 24 years in Congress, he has staked progressive positions on health care issues, fighting the Trump administration on contraception, suing a major California health system for monopolistic behavior and calling himself a supporter of single-payer health care. ( )
California Takes Huge Step Back In COVID Fight: For the first time, more than 10,000 people with coronavirus infections are hospitalized in California — quadruple the number from Halloween. More than 34,000 new coronavirus cases were reported Monday, shattering the previous single-day record, set Friday. Read more from the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle and Bay Area News Group.
State Unveils COVID Tracing App: California has announced it will launch a new smartphone app, CA Notify, that will allow people who test positive for the coronavirus to anonymously inform others that they may have been exposed. Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle, Los Angeles Times, Bay Area News Group, San Diego Union-Tribune and AP.
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
The Washington Post:
Britain Begins Pfizer Vaccine Shots, Launching The West’s First Mass Coronavirus Inoculation Effort
It took barely a second. She rolled up her sleeve and Britain's Margaret Keenan became on Tuesday the first person to receive the Pfizer vaccine shot outside of clinical trials, as the first mass immunization campaign in the West began. The 90-year-old grandmother received her jab, as the Brits would say, at University Hospital in Coventry, England at 6:31 a.m. local time. The nurse, May Parsons, told her to relax her arm. (Booth and Adam, 12/8)
USA Today:
'V-Day': A Year After COVID-19 Pandemic Began In China, U.K. First To Start Pfizer-BioNTech Vaccinations
A year after a mysterious new respiratory disease emerged in Wuhan, China, upending patterns of life and work, the United Kingdom on Tuesday became the first western country to start vaccinating its population against a virus that has killed more than 1.5 million people worldwide and sickened tens of millions more. In a landmark moment in the coronavirus pandemic, around 50 hospitals in the U.K.'s state-run National Health Service (NHS) started administering the COVID-19 inoculation to people over 80 who are either hospitalized or have outpatient appointments scheduled. Some nursing home workers also received the vaccine. (Hjelmgaard, 12/8)
The New York Times:
Pfizer’s Vaccine Offers Strong Protection After First Dose
The coronavirus vaccine made by Pfizer and BioNTech provides strong protection against Covid-19 within about 10 days of the first dose, according to documents published on Tuesday by the Food and Drug Administration before a meeting of its vaccine advisory group.The finding is one of several significant new results featured in the briefing materials, which include more than 100 pages of data analyses from the agency and from Pfizer. Last month, Pfizer and BioNTech announced that their two-dose vaccine had an efficacy rate of 95 percent after two doses administered three weeks apart. The new analyses show that the protection starts kicking in far earlier. (Weiland and Zimmer, 12/8)
Fox News:
Trump To Sign Coronavirus Vaccine Executive Order Prioritizing Americans Over Foreign Nations
President Trump is expected to sign an executive order Tuesday that will ensure all Americans have access to the coronavirus vaccine before the U.S. government begins aiding nations around the world, Fox News has learned. Senior administration officials told Fox News Monday that the president will reemphasize to the American people that the “priority has been an America First approach,” during a vaccine summit at the White House Tuesday. ... “The priority is to make sure we distribute these vaccines to Americans before we start shipping them around the world to get international access,” an official told Fox News, predicting that international assistance could come “late spring, early summer,” and after they “achieve vaccinating those who have a desire to be vaccinated.” (Singman, 12/7)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Health Workers, Nursing Homes Get A COVID-19 Vaccine First. After That, It's Tricky
One of the greatest scientific feats of the past century may be a week away: The rollout of a vaccine against a virus that scientists didn’t even know existed a year ago. Vaccines developed by Pfizer, Moderna and others appear to be far more effective than anyone expected, which will make them an invaluable tool in turning the tide of a pandemic now spiraling out of control. But what’s the best way to use that tool? (Wosen and Robbins, 12/6)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Vaccine Plans Stretch To Reach As Many As Possible; Business Closures Push Many San Diegans Past Brink
With so much need now, public health leaders say they plan to administer the entire first batch of coronavirus vaccine when it arrives and count on a second shipment for the second doses that will be due three weeks after the first to establish full immunity. Citing “directions from the state,” a county official said Sunday that the full 28,000 doses that the region expects to receive soon will be quickly deployed to a like number of front-line health care workers and skilled nursing home residents. (12/7)
Los Angeles Times:
Hospitals Face Tough Choices As ICUs Fill Up With COVID-19 Patients
With intensive care units across California rapidly filling with COVID-19 patients, hospitals have a limited number of tools available to free up more capacity in the coming weeks as cases are expected to surge. Back in the spring, the government opened a so-called “surge” hospital in Los Angeles and even docked a Navy medical ship in San Pedro harbor to take overflow patients if medical centers filled up. But officials found that those supplemental facilities did not treat many patients and did not provide the same level of care as traditional hospitals. (Lin II, Money and Karlamangla, 12/8)
The Bakersfield Californian:
Critical Care Beds Fill Up At Local Hospitals As COVID-19 Surge Looms
The critical care units at area hospitals are filling up, driven by increasing numbers of COVID-19 cases, hospital leaders said Monday while urging the public to do all it can to minimize further spread of the virus. About 120 patients were in intensive care units at Kern's 10 acute care hospitals on Monday, including several critical care patients being held in emergency departments because some hospitals have no free ICU beds. About 40 percent of those patients, or approximately 50, are COVID-19 patients. (Shepard, 12/7)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Front Lines Brace For Inevitable Surge In Hospitalizations
On Friday afternoon, there was a feeling of weary inevitability among those walking the halls of Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego. As a dwindling supply of intensive care beds triggered a fresh round of community restrictions from the state, a certain level of fatigue was visible in many eyes, whether peering at patients through face shields or squinting through windows into rooms where a growing number of beds are being filled with newly-admitted COVID-19 patients. (Sisson, 12/5)
Bay Area News Group:
San Mateo County Will Not Issue Stay-At-Home Order As Other Bay Area Counties Shut Down, Health Officer Says
San Mateo County public health officials will not be following in the footsteps of other Bay Area counties who have implemented new stay-at-home measures as the coronavirus surge continues. In a letter to county residents, public health officer Dr. Scott Morrow said he has not decided, so far, to advance on the shelter-at-home order in the way other counties have. The state’s new region-by-region stay-at-home order took effect Sunday night in Southern California and the San Joaquin Valley, where the capacity of intensive care units fell to 10.9% and 6.3% respectively, according to state data. (Toledo, 12/7)
Los Angeles Times:
Central Coast Counties Try To Break From Stay-At-Home Order
Three Central Coast counties said Monday they may seek approval to separate from the Southern California region that is subject to the state’s stay-at-home order to curb the spread of the coronavirus. Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties will request that the state consider them a separate region for determining restrictions if the capacity in their intensive care units exceeds 15% in the next three weeks, according to a Ventura County news release. (Miller and Lin II, 12/7)
Bay Area News Group:
Yosemite Closes All Hotels And Campgrounds Due To Pandemic
Yosemite National Park closed all hotels and campgrounds on Monday, shutting down overnight accommodations for at least three weeks as the COVID-19 pandemic worsened across California and the nation. Park officials said Yosemite will remain open for day use visits between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. every day. But the park gates will be locked overnight until at least Dec. 28. Hiking, bicycling, sight-seeing and rock climbing is allowed. The park will have limited food service on a carry-out basis. Gas stations remain open. And some retail stores are open at 20% capacity. But visitor centers, organized tours and shuttle buses are closed, and wilderness permit and ranger walks are cancelled. (Rogers, 12/7)
Sacramento Bee:
Sacramento Area May Get Vaccine, COVID Shutdown This Week
Health officials on Monday said they suspect they will have to announce the shutdown of further businesses by the end of this week or early next week – this time restaurants, hair salons and barbers – as the capital region struggles to stem an increasing number of COVID-19 hospitalizations. However, the end of the week could also bring the first flush of dramatic and long-anticipated good news: The initial albeit limited doses of the coronavirus vaccine could arrive at local health facilities as early as Saturday. (Bizjak, 12/7)
The Bakersfield Californian:
Kern County Latino COVID-19 Task Force Announces This Week’s Testing Sites
The Kern County Latino COVID-19 Task Force announced five test sites that will be rolled out this week. In a news release, task force co-founder Jay Tamsi urged the importance of community testing, specifically after Kern County entered a stay-at-home order on Sunday night and coronavirus case counts continue to rise. Walk-ins are welcomed and encouraged and pre-registration is not required, according to the news release. People are asked to wear face masks and implement physical distancing protocols when on site. Here are this week’s testing locations. (12/7)
Fresno Bee:
Fresno Businesses, Workers Feel California Lockdown Impact
On the final day that salons and barbershops in Fresno County were allowed to remain open before the latest coronavirus stay-at-home orders went into effect, a local business owner reminded his employees to file for unemployment as soon as they could. “Hopefully, they’ll get their funds by Christmas,” said Matt Kneeland, a franchisee of six Sports Clips Haircuts in the central San Joaquin Valley. “But I don’t know,” added Kneeland, who has 41 employees. “Unemployment takes about three weeks before the funds come in. (Anteola, 12/6)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
National Guard Provided Assistance At Two Hard-Hit San Diego County Nursing Homes
The California National Guard was recently deployed to two San Diego County nursing facilities facing critical staffing shortages related to COVID-19. Stanford Court Nursing Center in Santee received support from 20 service members from Oct. 5-12, and Villa Las Palmas Healthcare Center in El Cajon received assistance from 20 service members from Nov. 9-23, Public Affairs and Media Relations Director Lt. Col. Jonathan M. Shiroma said via email. (Mapp, 12/7)
LA Daily News:
Social Isolation Takes Toll On Southern California Nursing Home Residents During Pandemic Holidays
Melody Taylor Stark would usually visit her husband twice a day at his Arcadia nursing home, sharing coffee and horoscopes on weekday mornings and having dinner together in the evening. But when the coronavirus pandemic struck, those visits came to an abrupt halt — for five months. “I saw a quick decline emotionally, a lot of depression in someone who is normally an optimistic person,” said Stark, an electronic health records specialist. “At least a couple times or more a week, (he would say), ‘Oh, Melody, this is no way to live.’" (Gazzar, 12/7)
Fresno Bee:
Fresno Councilwoman Esmeralda Soria Positive For COVID-19
Fresno City Council member Esmeralda Soria announced Monday night that she has tested positive for COVID-19. Soria made the announcement through a news release in which she said she has canceled all public appearances the moment she felt symptoms. Soria said she will follow her doctor’s orders and remain in self-quarantine. (Valenzuela, 12/7)
KQED:
'Like A War Zone': California Doctors, Already Besieged, Fear Worst Is Yet To Come In COVID Surge
The entire country is now suffering a shortage of health care workers with enough training to care for COVID-19 patients. Some who have those skills are at home taking care of children because schools are closed. Others are sick themselves or nursing loved ones. The virus has killed hundreds, potentially thousands of health care workers in the U.S. Because hospitals across the country are running short on trained personnel, it’s making it harder for California to recruit from the same pool of overworked providers. (McClurg, 12/8)
Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
What It Will Mean For Health Care When California’s Nurse Practitioners Get More Freedom Under New Law
What happens when there isn’t a family doctor in the house? Most likely, a nurse practitioner can help. Whether it’s writing prescriptions, ordering tests or offering treatment options for patients with chronic conditions like diabetes, NPs perform much of the same work as family doctors. (Sarfaty, 12/7)
Los Angeles Times:
Alarming COVID-19 Surge Prompts Shutdown Of L.A. Schools
Prospects for reopening campuses this school year dimmed Monday for hundreds of thousands of Los Angeles students with the hard shutdown of all in-person tutoring and special services amid a dangerous coronavirus surge — and officials declining to estimate when children could return to classrooms. The decision by the nation’s second-largest school district stands to intensify an impassioned debate over the safety of operating schools that divides parents, educators and experts. Throughout California, school districts are responding differently. (Blume and Esquivel, 12/7)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Proposed Legislation Would Require California Public Schools To Reopen In March If Case Counts Are Low
California’s public schools would be forced to reopen when case counts dip and county officials give the go-ahead under proposed state legislation by San Francisco Democratic Assemblyman Phil Ting. The bill would require schools to resume in-person learning within two weeks of their county moving into red, orange or yellow tiers. Most counties have recently returned to the most stringent purple tier due to the new surge. (Tucker, 12/7)
Santa Rosa Press Democrat:
Zoom Fatigue, Isolation Complicate College Admission Season For Sonoma County High School Seniors
Hannah Dyer has spent a lot of time in her senior year thinking about the SAT. But not for the reasons you might think.
The difficulty of even scheduling the college entrance exam in the middle of a pandemic has caused much more stress than the test itself, said the Windsor High School senior, who dreams of attending the Air Force Academy. “They’ve scheduled about five, and four out of five have been canceled,” Dyer said. “I really had my heart set on the Air Force Academy, and I wanted to take the test and make sure I had the best chance (of getting in). But I just couldn’t get a test.” (Tornay, 12/8)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Newsom Taps S.F. Health Officer Tomás Aragón To Lead California Public Health Department
San Francisco Health Officer Tomás Aragón, a high-profile local voice throughout the coronavirus pandemic, was named head of the California Department of Public Health on Monday, rising to become one of the top officials shaping the state’s response to the crisis. Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Aragón’s appointment, which comes after Dr. Sonia Angell abruptly announced her resignation in August after less than a year on the job. (Sanchez and Fancher, 12/7)
Sacramento Bee:
Why California Lawmakers Want To Expand Health Coverage For State’s Undocumented
As the coronavirus pandemic unequally impacts the wages and health of California’s immigrant workers, state Assemblyman Joaquin Arambula, D-Fresno, is seeking to re-introduce legislation that expands health care for undocumented adults. “The COVID-19 pandemic has made it cruelly clear that everyone in California must have access to health care, including undocumented adults,” Arambula said in a statement. “COVID-19 has mercilessly hit hardest our communities of color, especially those who work in our fields and in other essential jobs to keep our economy and health care delivery system going during this crisis.” (Bojórquez, 12/8)
Modesto Bee:
Stanislaus County Announces More Locations For Free Drive-Thru Flu Vaccines
Starting this week, Stanislaus County public health will host drive-thru flu vaccine clinics in Patterson and Ceres, and additional locations are slated in the coming weeks. All of the vaccines are free and available on a first-come, first-serve basis. The clinic in Patterson will be held at Hammon Senior Center at 1033 W. Las Palmas Ave. on Wednesday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. In Ceres, the drive-thru clinic will be at the Ceres Community Center at 2701 4th St., on Dec. 14, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Public health officials are hoping for a repeat of the successful clinic at Johansen High School in Modesto last Friday that immunized 182 people. The drive-thru clinics are also being used as models for delivering COVID-19 immunizations, as availability of one or more vaccines is anticipated in the next few months. (Mink, 12/7)
San Francisco Chronicle:
BART Police Reverse Dozens Of Overdoses: ‘A Body In The Morgue If Narcan Wasn’t Around’
The Bay Area’s mental health, substance abuse and homelessness crises continue to bleed into BART’s train system, challenging its leaders to respond to these safety and public health plights. Drug use in public is a misdemeanor, but officers need to see someone doing drugs to arrest and charge them with the crime. BART’s board debates the best way to tackle the issue, trying to balance helping people in crisis while ensuring other riders remain safe. This year, the agency added ambassadors who can link people to social services and is trying to hire more officers, make fare gates more secure and beef up partnerships with county social services. (Moench, 12/8)
Capital Public Radio/KXJZ:
Sacramento Mayor Announces Proposal To Fast Track Approval Of Temporary Housing Sites
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg has announced plans to create a “master plan” to address the city’s homelessness crisis. The proposal would aim to pre-approve sites for temporary housing solutions ahead of time rather than leaving it to individual projects to get sites permitted. Steinberg said in the past, this piecemeal approach has slowed the process. “It takes many months to figure out how to match the funding with the right provider, to find the right site for a tiny home village,” he said. “The process is often laborious. And it’s in part because if we’re also honest about it, this is a relatively new role for a city. We’re not a health and human services agency.” (Mizes-Tan, 12/7)
Bay Area News Group:
Coronavirus: How California Renters Are At Risk Of An Eviction Tsunami
Two million Californians could be forced from their rental homes early next year, and the bad omens are happening now, all around them. They’re in the credit card bills they stack in a corner, the personal relationships they test by borrowing money, the hours waiting on the phone hoping to get their unemployment claim approved — all of it adding up to debts on paper and holes in their lives. These renters — people like struggling single mother Aleida Ramirez of Concord — are on the edge of an eviction cliff. Once they fall, there’s no telling how long it will take them to climb back up, especially in a state like California, where nearly everything costs more. (Duara, 12/7)