The Washington Post: Pfizer-BioNTech Coronavirus Vaccine For Children Under 5 Could Be Available By The End Of February, People With Knowledge Say 
Coronavirus vaccines for children younger than 5 could be available far sooner than expected — perhaps by the end of February — under a plan that would lead to the potential authorization of a two-shot regimen in the coming weeks, people briefed on the situation said Monday. Pfizer and its partner, BioNTech, the manufacturers of the vaccine, are expected to submit to the Food and Drug Administration as early as Tuesday a request for emergency-use authorization for the vaccine for children 6 months to 5 years old, which would make it the first vaccine available for that age group. Older children already can receive the shot. (McGinley, Sun and Johnson, 1/31)

NBC News: Covid Vaccine: Novavax Asks FDA To Authorize For Adults
Novavax asked the Food and Drug Administration on Monday to authorize its protein-based Covid-19 vaccine for adults. The vaccine is already available for use in at least 170 countries, but if cleared for emergency use in the United States, it would provide an alternative to the popular mRNA-based shots from Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna. For certain groups of people — particularly young men — the mRNA vaccines carry a slightly elevated risk of a heart condition called myocarditis. Novavax's vaccine has not been linked to myocarditis. (Lovelace Jr., 1/31)

Politico: FDA Gives Full Approval To Moderna's Covid-19 Shot 
The approval for people ages 18 and older will make it easier for schools and workplaces to require vaccination against the virus, now that there are two approved products to choose from, including Pfizer-BioNTech's Covid shot. It will also allow Moderna to market its vaccine directly to consumers. (Foley, 1/31)

The Bakersfield Californian: Adventist Health Offering Kids Free Immunizations Against Vaccine-Preventable Diseases 
Adventist Health Bakersfield is offering a number of free vaccine clinics in February at the following times and locations. (1/31)

The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat: New COVID Cases In Sonoma County In Decline But January Deaths Continue
Sonoma County health officials have reported eight COVID-19 deaths since Friday, bringing the total number of pandemic fatalities to 445, even as the rate of virus transmission continues to decline from what was likely the peak of the winter surge in mid-January. On Monday, health officials reported the latest two deaths: a vaccinated man between 70 and 80 who died at home on Jan. 18; and an unvaccinated woman between 70 and 80 who died at home on Jan. 22. Both had underlying health conditions, officials said. (Espinoza, 1/31)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Finally, The Pandemic Surge Appears To Be Slowing In San Diego 
San Diego County logged about 11,000 new coronavirus cases over the weekend, about half as many as one week ago, according to the latest update from the county health department released Monday. It’s the second consecutive weekend with the region showing a declining trend, an overall fall that matches the pattern nationwide and that correlates with modeling predictions. (Sisson, 1/31)

Los Angeles Daily News: LA County’s COVID Hospitalization Number Falls Again 
The number of COVID-positive patients in Los Angeles County hospitals fell again on Monday, Jan. 31, continuing a weeklong series of daily declines, but another 40 virus-related deaths were reported. The fatalities increased the county’s overall death toll from the virus to 28,963. Another 10,715 COVID cases were reported Monday, giving the county a cumulative pandemic total of 2,659,414. (1/31)

San Francisco Chronicle: It’s 2 Years Since COVID Came To Bay Area. Where Are We Now?
Public health experts marked the second anniversary of the Bay Area’s first detected COVID-19 case by expressing growing optimism that the worst of the coronavirus pandemic is in the rearview mirror. They looked ahead to a day when they could ease restrictions and bring normalcy back to the region. But despite some promising trends in case counts and hospitalizations, that may not happen for some time. (Vaziri, 1/31)

Reuters: U.S. CDC Warns Against Travel To Mexico, Brazil, Singapore Over COVID-19
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Monday advised against travel to a dozen countries because of high rates of coronavirus infection, including Mexico, Brazil, Singapore, Ecuador, Kosovo, Philippines and Paraguay. The CDC now lists nearly 130 countries and territories with COVID-19 cases as "Level Four: Very High." It also added Anguilla, French Guiana, Moldova and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to its highest level on Monday. (Shepardson, 1/31)

AP: Austin To Governors: Guard Troops Must Get COVID-19 Vaccine 
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, in letters to seven governors, is reaffirming the need for members of their states’ Army and Air National Guards to get the mandatory COVID-19 vaccine or lose their Guard status. In nearly identical letters signed late last week, Austin tells the governors that the virus “takes our service members out of the fight, temporarily or permanently, and jeopardizes our ability to meet mission requirements,” according to copies obtained Monday by The Associated Press. (Baldor, 1/31)

Military.com: Inside The Secretive Networks Of Military COVID-19 Vaccine Refusers 
For this story, Military.com spoke with three service members who are currently serving in the Air Force. All of their names are being withheld to protect their identities out of concern over retribution from their superiors. All three spoke about why they are refusing the vaccine and, although their specific reasons varied, all cited religious objections to the shot and filed for religious exemptions with the Air Force. (Toropin, 1/31)

Politico: Navy Secretary Del Toro Tests Positive For Covid 
Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro has tested positive for coronavirus, according to a statement released Monday. Del Toro returned from official travel on Friday afternoon, the statement said, and had received negative tests on Jan. 21 and the morning of Jan. 28. He was Pascagoula, Miss., last week, where he toured Ingalls Shipbuilding. Mississippi Republican Rep. Steven Palazzo and Sens. Roger Wicker and Cindy Hyde-Smith also took part in the shipyard tour. (Ward, 1/31)

Oaklandside: You'll Need To Show Proof Of Vaccination To Enter Oakland Bars, Restaurants, Gyms
Beginning Feb. 1, people are required to show proof of a COVID-19 vaccination before entering certain businesses in Oakland. (DeBolt, 1/31)

Sacramento Bee: Republicans Blast Gavin Newsom For Posing Maskless In Picture 
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday acknowledged that he briefly posed maskless for a picture during Sunday’s NFC championship football game. “I was very judicious yesterday. Very judicious. And you’ll see in the photo that I did take, where Magic was kind enough, generous enough to ask me for a photograph, and in my left hand’s the mask and I took a photo. The rest of the time, I wore it as we all should. Not when I had a glass of water or a thing. And I encourage everybody else to do so. And that’s it,” Newsom said during a Monday morning press conference. (Sheeler, 1/31)

Los Angeles Times: Newsom, Garcetti Slammed For Maskless Photos At Rams-49ers Game 
Sunday’s showdown between the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers at Inglewood’s SoFi Stadium was a pivotal moment for two California teams, but the uproar that followed had little to do with the Rams advancing to the Super Bowl. Former Laker Earvin “Magic” Johnson took to Twitter to share images of him with several prominent politicians and other luminaries at the football game — including Gov. Gavin Newsom, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti and San Francisco Mayor London Breed — who were all photographed without face masks. (Smith, 1/31)

Bay Area News Group: Santa Clara County Officials Announce Stricter Testing Rules For Healthcare Providers
Santa Clara County on Monday began requiring healthcare providers to offer patients a COVID-19 test within 24 hours in an attempt to shift more testing responsibility to hospitals and clinics who the county says haven’t been doing their part. “The county has been carrying a disproportionate burden of testing throughout the pandemic,” said Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody at a press conference Monday. “By a very wide margin.” (Greschler, 1/31)

Orange County Register: Campuses In Orange County Starting To Return To Pandemic Normal 
After three weeks of online courses to start the winter quarter, UC Irvine students returned to classrooms in person on Monday – with masking and vaccination requirements – as the county appears to be coming off an omicron-fueled winter surge of coronavirus. The decision to resume in-person instruction was based on several factors, including declines in new cases and the percentage of tests coming back positive and the availability of beds for isolation and quarantine, said David Souleles, director of UCI’s COVID-19 Response Team. (Sheets, 1/31)

Voice of OC: School Absences Declining As OC’s Fourth COVID Wave May Be Cresting
The pandemic’s impact to classrooms across Orange County may finally be softening as local school districts have reported a drop in their absent rates.  Attendance rates have improved in at least five local school districts, according to various school officials, although case counts remain relatively high and even increased in the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified District. (Elattar, 1/31)

Los Angeles Times: UC Riven Over In-Person Vs. Online Classes Amid Omicron 
UCLA students staged a sit-in Monday to demand continued online learning options as the University of California’s reopening of classrooms amid the continuing pandemic sparked widespread division over remote vs. in-person instruction. After a largely in-person fall term, the UC system’s nine undergraduate campuses shifted to remote classes through January as a precaution against the highly contagious Omicron variant. But the return to mostly in-person classes — encouraged by high vaccination rates and signs that the surge has peaked — is anything but smooth. (Watanabe, 1/31)

Capitol Weekly: State Stem Cell Agency's First Royalties: $15 Million From Stanford 
The California stem cell agency says it has received $15.6 million in royalties from Stanford University, the largest such payment by far in the 17-year history of the state research agency. Until the announcement Jan. 27, the agency, officially known as the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), had received only $557,292 in royalties. (Jensen, 1/31)

CalMatters: Has California’s Landmark Law Cleaned Communities’ Dirty Air? 
A four-year-old state law, known as AB 617, is supposed to clear the air for low-income communities of color that bear the brunt of California’s air pollution. The law established the Community Air Protection Program, which tasks residents and local officials with shaping regulations and steering state money to a handful of hotspots. Hailed as “unprecedented,” the law was supposed to create a “groundbreaking program to measure and combat air pollution at the neighborhood level.” (Becker, 1/31)

Voice Of San Diego: Mayor Announces Major Midway Homeless Camp Clean-Up 
Mayor Todd Gloria announced Monday that he has ordered a major clean-up of a Midway District homeless camp that has grown dramatically over the last year. Gloria said the city has notified residents staying along much of a stretch of Sports Arena Boulevard between Rosecrans Street and Pacific Highway that they will need to move Tuesday to allow city crews to clean the area. By one count in January, the growing camp documented in an NBC 7 story last week included 94 tents and an estimated 183 people. (Halverstadt, 2/1)