Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Bay Area Cities Go to War Over Gas Stoves in Homes and Restaurants
Environmentalists say gas appliances spew greenhouse gases and exacerbate asthma. Restaurant owners and chefs say you can’t cook food properly with electricity. (Miranda Green, )
L.A. Elementary Schools Cleared To Reopen: Los Angeles County elementary school campuses are cleared to fully reopen for the first time in nearly a year because of dropping coronavirus rates, health officials confirmed Monday night. However, Los Angeles Unified School District said its campuses would not reopen until all staff was vaccinated. Read more from the Los Angeles Times, CBS LA, CNN and KTLA.
In related news from the San Francisco Chronicle —
Health experts say CDC school reopening guidelines miss the mark
State Vaccine Data Show Racial Inequities: Black and Latinx Californians are under-represented among those who have received the covid vaccine, early numbers from the California Department of Public Health show. Roughly 6.2 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered in California so far. Of those, 16% were given to Latinx residents and 3% to Black Californians. Read more from CapRadio.
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
Los Angeles Times:
Dodger Stadium COVID Vaccine Site To Reopen For 2nd Doses
Dodger Stadium and several other COVID-19 vaccination sites that were shuttered last week due to shortages are set to reopen Tuesday, though continuing supply problems mean the vast majority of shots administered will be second doses, Los Angeles officials said. People vaccinated in mid-January were automatically slotted into appointments for most of the city’s anticipated weekly supply of 54,000 Moderna doses and 4,000 Pfizer doses, a prioritization that the city said complied with directives by county and federal health officials. (Ryan, 2/15)
Bay Area News Group:
Mass Vaccination Site At Oakland Coliseum Opens Tuesday
The Oakland Coliseum site will open Tuesday to provide up to 6,000 vaccines per day to eligible residents. Healthcare workers, residents of skilled nursing homes and assisted living facilities, food and agriculture workers, teachers and other childcare staff, emergency services workers and all residents 65 and older are now able to sign up for an appointment at the Coliseum site. (Sciacca, 2/15)
LA Daily News:
Dignity Health Opens Mass Coronavirus Vaccination Site At Carson Sports Complex
The Dignity Health Sports Complex in Carson, home of the Los Angeles Galaxy, has become the latest mass vaccination site to open in LA County. Hundreds of cars streamed through the parking lot in well-defined lanes by mid-morning Monday, Feb. 15, in a process that was lasting about an hour for each person. First, health care workers did a quick health screening for those getting inoculated. The vaccine was then administered. And that was followed by a 15-minute waiting period to observe if any side effects arise. (Rosenfeld, 2/15)
San José Spotlight:
Following COVID-19 Vaccine Scandal, Good Samaritan Permanently Closes Vaccine Clinic
Good Samaritan Hospital, one of the largest medical centers in the county, is permanently closing its COVID-19 vaccine clinic, claiming that it has vaccinated all of its staff and therefore fulfilled its responsibilities. The news comes three weeks after the hospital faced backlash for allowing teachers and staff at an affluent Los Gatos school district to skip the line for COVID-19 vaccines by pretending to be health care workers. The story, first reported by San José Spotlight, generated widespread outcry and led to the county withholding future vaccine doses from the hospital. In an email obtained by this news organization, the hospital’s Chief Medical Officer Klaus Thaler told staff that state-level changes in vaccine distribution have caused uncertainty about how the hospital’s vaccine supply will be impacted. (Reese, 2/14)
San Francisco Chronicle:
San Francisco Will Pause Vaccinations At Moscone Center, City College As Supplies Run Out
A little more than a week ago, Moscone Center opened in San Francisco as a high-volume COVID-19 vaccination site. But now, already facing vaccine shortages from the federal government, the center is temporarily shutting down. The closure, announced Sunday by Mayor London Breed, was the latest local setback in a troubled national vaccination program that has left California and Bay Area cities unable to meet demand. (Johnson, 2/15)
Bay Area News Group:
Coronavirus: Does Your Medical Condition Get You In California’s Vaccine Line?
With damaged airways, Kai Levenson-Cupp, 19, lives in fear that COVID-19 could worsen the asthma that already leaves him gasping for breath. Brooke Vittimberga, 25, has a weakened immune system from complications of a bone marrow transplant, so is also very vulnerable to the virus. But neither of these serious health problems is likely to get them to the front of the COVID-19 vaccine line, despite the state’s newly expanded eligibility criteria that will pave the way for millions more Californians to get vaccinated starting March 15. For vaccine access, they have the wrong diagnoses. (Krieger, 2/15)
Southern California News Group:
California's Medical Marijuana Retail Workers Move To Head Of Vaccine Line, Ahead Of Teachers
It was with a sense of accomplishment that young cannabis entrepreneur Jerred Kiloh scheduled his first COVID-19 vaccine appointment for Feb. 11 in San Francisco. Kiloh, owner of the Higher Path Collective in Sherman Oaks and president of the United Cannabis Business Association, was one of the movers and shakers responsible for nudging medical marijuana retail workers toward the front of California’s vaccine eligibility line, before some educators, emergency workers and food and agriculture workers. “Since 1996 we’ve been deemed medical, so how can you redefine us as something different all these years later?” Kiloh said. “Front-line health care workers are supposed to be in Tier 1. We are front-line workers.” (Sforza, 2/16)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
COVID-19 Vaccine Access, Not Hesitancy, Main Barrier For San Diegans Of Color
A limited supply of COVID-19 vaccine combined with language and technology barriers are keeping many San Diegans of color waiting for their shot at immunity. Most White San Diegans eligible for the vaccine have gotten a shot, with roughly 551 vaccinated per 1,000 eligible residents, compared to 527 for Latinos, 520 for Asians and 349 for Black San Diegans, according to data on current vaccinations from the county’s vaccine dashboard and eligibility estimates from the San Diego Workforce Partnership. (Wosen and Lopez-Villafana, 2/14)
Orange County Register:
Orange County Makes Push To Vaccinate Those With Less Access
But COVID-19 in Orange County and across the country is not strictly an older adults’ problem. Many of the communities here suffering most from the disease share a few factors: they’re poorer, they’re denser and they’re less White. And even with the OC Health Care Agency sticking thousands of arms a day at two big vaccination sites and health care providers calling in their own members to receive doses, some seniors – especially in those disadvantaged communities – have been missed by the efforts. County officials are working to correct that and prepare for when eligibility for vaccination expands to more of the population, but it’s a battle on multiple fronts: limited vaccine supplies, limited access to technology, incomplete data, concerns about vaccine safety and a host of other issues. (Robinson, 2/15)
Los Angeles Times:
Data Issues Plague California's COVID-19 Vaccine Efforts
Omitted doses, uploading errors, lag times and software mishaps. California’s vaccine rollout has been plagued by data issues, leaving the state unable to keep track of how many doses of the lifesaving COVID-19 vaccine are available at any one time. The implications are far-reaching: Gov. Gavin Newsom has pushed to speed up inoculations, in part because the state’s data appeared to show vaccine providers were sitting on doses, prompting the governor to threaten to take supplies from those not moving quickly enough. Now county officials say they are worried the data accuracy issues will cause future allotments to be curtailed based on flawed conclusions from faulty figures. (Gutierrez, 2/14)
LA Daily News:
Kaiser Says Pfizer Vaccine Likely Not Cause Of Woman’s Death At Cal Poly Pomona
A woman with a history of heart-related illness died shortly after receiving her first dose of the Pfizer BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at Cal Poly Pomona Friday, Feb. 12, though it was not believed her death was related to the vaccine, authorities said. The 78-year-old woman received the injection around noon at Cal Poly Pomona, said Dr. Michael E. Morris, physician director of Kaiser Permanente’s Southern California COVID-19 Vaccination Program. She was then seated in an observation area when she complained of feeling discomfort and later lost consciousness while being evaluated by medical personnel, Morris said. (Percy, 2/13)
LA Daily News:
Details Emerge On California’s Coronavirus Vaccine Contract With Blue Shield
California leaders on Monday, Feb. 15, released the first round of details of the long-promised contract with healthcare giant Blue Shield of California to administer the state’s mammoth coronavirus vaccine rollout. Much, however, was not yet spelled out, including the precise role Los Angeles County officials will play in the system. Under the contract — which runs from Feb. 1 through Dec. 31 — Blue Shield is now tasked with building a statewide vaccine network “to ensure the rapid delivery of current supply of the COVID19 vaccine to Californians.” (Carter, 2/15)
Bay Area News Group:
Blue Shield, California Vow To Speed Up Coronavirus Vaccine Rollout
Under a contract that gives it control over the state’s vaccine rollout, health insurance giant Blue Shield intends to make it possible to vaccinate 3 million per week by March 1. The 55-page contract between Blue Shield and California, which was made public Monday, comes after Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Blue Shield would take over the administration of the vaccines in an effort to fix a sluggish, confusing rollout. To this point, counties allocated vaccine doses to hospitals, medical centers and other sites as they saw fit. The Oakland-based, non-profit insurance provider now has officially taken on that role, and will continue to do so at least until Dec. 31, when the contract ends. (Sciacca, 2/15)
Los Angeles Times:
Blue Shield To Call Shots Under California Vaccine Contract
Blue Shield of California will create an algorithm to determine where to allocate COVID-19 vaccines statewide with the goal of being able to administer 3 million shots a week by March 1, according to a contract made public Monday that grants the insurance giant far-reaching powers in overseeing the state’s distribution of doses. The company will attempt to drastically scale up the number of daily doses, but that goal will largely depend on the supply sent to the state. California received a little more than 1 million vaccine doses in the last week from the federal government. (Gutierrez, 2/15)
San Francisco Chronicle:
California Aims To More Than Double Vaccination Rate In New Partnership With Blue Shield
California aims to vaccinate up to 3 million people a week by March 1 — more than double its current rate — under a distribution contract with Blue Shield that took effect Monday. The goal was set even as counties continued to face frustrating supply problems. The partnership with Blue Shield is meant to repair what has so far been a bumpy, chaotic vaccination rollout in California, highlighted in the Bay Area this week by one major immunization site opening while two others closed because of vaccine shortages. (Allday, 2/15)
Fresno Bee:
CA Will Pay Blue Shield Up To $15M Under New Vaccine Contract
California could pay insurance company Blue Shield up to $15 million for expenses as it helps the state increase and accelerate COVID-19 vaccinations under a contract the Newsom administration released Monday afternoon. Blue Shield’s work officially begins Monday as the state’s “third party administrator” for vaccine distribution. The company will be able to bill the state up to $15 million in third-party costs and non-staff costs. That doesn’t include staff time, which Blue Shield will provide for free, according to the contract. (Bollag, 2/15)
Fresno Bee:
Coronavirus Update: California At Nearly 3.4 Million Cases; Pharmacies Begin Vaccinations
California reached a total of 3,399,878 cases of the coronavirus on Valentine’s Day, according to the state Department of Public Health. The state also reported a total of 46,843 deaths related to the virus. By Sunday, the state reported that a total of 45,703,217 residents had been tested for COVID-19. CVS, Walgreens and Walmart began vaccinations for the virus, as part of the Federal Retail Pharmacy Program, a state and federal program intended to broaden the protection effort to a wider, more diverse audience. (Guy, 2/14)
San Francisco Chronicle:
'The Problem Is Tomorrow's Variants': Renowned Bay Area Epidemiologist Predicts Prolonged Pandemic
It will take years, not months, to gain the upper hand in the coronavirus pandemic — and it will require thinking well beyond our borders, says Dr. Larry Brilliant. The 76-year-old Bay Area epidemiologist, who has worked to eradicate smallpox, polio and co-founded the Seva Foundation in Berkeley to combat blindness, has a unique perspective on the subject. For years, Brilliant warned of a pandemic on the scale of the one we are living through. He even served as the senior technical adviser on the 2011 motion picture “Contagion,” filmed partly at the San Francisco 49ers old stadium, Candlestick Park — during which time he presciently predicted that epidemiologists would become rock stars and stadiums would become mass vaccination sites. (Vaziri, 2/15)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Quiet Giant Who Helped Slow AIDS Crisis Has UC San Diego On Fast Track Out Of Coronavirus Pandemic
In the early 1980s, as AIDS was beginning its deadly tear, a Catholic priest told a radio audience in Boston that he sympathized with people who didn’t want to be around anyone who had the disease. Robert “Chip” Schooley about popped a vein. The young Harvard physician and infectious disease expert got in touch with the station and relayed a blunt message to the priest: If you ever make a comment like that again, I will reveal that the church is keeping priests who have AIDS out of sight at a monastery in Newton. (Robbins, 2/14)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
ECMO Patients Bear Silent Witness As Pandemic Hits One-Year Mark
As the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic arrives, the understanding of what’s possible when caring for patients with severe respiratory illness has been reset. When San Diego County’s first COVID-19 patient began showing symptoms on Feb. 14, 2020, the same day the county declared a public health emergency due to the coming pandemic, nobody could have imagined just how much the system would eventually have to stretch to meet the demands of a disease capable of quickly stealing a person’s breath. (Sisson, 2/14)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Critics Question Revenue Projections, Labor Practices Of San Diego's Potential Choice For Ambulance Provider
A Danish company trying to take over ambulance service in San Diego is facing questions about its track record in labor negotiations and whether its plan to put 20 percent more ambulances on the road is financially viable. (Garrick, 2/14)
Sacramento Bee:
California AIDS Office Misspent Millions During Fraud Scheme
A California state office targeted by an employee’s $2 million fraud scheme had few protocols in place to stop theft or even to keep track of the tens of millions of dollars that flow through it, according to an independent audit. Schenelle Flores, 45, of Sacramento, pleaded guilty Thursday to a scheme in which she got the state Office of AIDS to pay for things like season tickets to the Sacramento Kings and a boat cruise for her daughter’s birthday party, according to court records. (Venteicher, 2/16)
Sacramento Bee:
Study: Cannabis Dispensaries Correlate With Fewer Opioid Deaths
Counties with greater numbers of cannabis dispensaries saw fewer opioid-related deaths, according to a study recently published by the University of California Davis. Study co-author Greta Hsu, a UC Davis professor of management, was careful to point out that correlation was not causality, and that further study of the subject is needed. “We’re trying to get as precise as we can but with this kind of data you don’t see causality,” she said. The study is the first of its kind to look at medical and recreational cannabis dispensary operations compared to opioid-related deaths, all at the county level. (Sheeler, 2/13)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
San Diego Startup Equip Nets $13M For Telehealth Platform To Treat Eating Disorders
San Diego startup Equip, which uses a telehealth platform to bring a top quality outpatient treatment for eating disorders to more people virtually, has raised $13 million in Series A venture capital funding. The new financing, announced this week, builds on the $4 million in seed funding that the female-founded company received after opening its doors in 2019. Equip plans to use the money to expand its geographic reach, continue building its clinical team, further develop its technology platform and launch programs with more insurance companies to grow the business. (Freeman, 2/12)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Dexcom Unveils New Corporate Venture Fund To Invest In Sensor, Health Monitoring Startups
Dexcom, a maker of wearable continuous glucose monitors for people with diabetes, said Thursday that is launching its first corporate venture capital fund to invest in sensing, data analytics, remote patient monitoring, population health and related technologies. (Freeman, 2/12)
The Bakersfield Californian:
From Bakersfield Origins, CityServe Now Feeds Millions
When Canyon Hills Assembly of God Pastor Wendell Vinson first envisioned CityServe, he believed it could be a way for churches across the country to band together to better provide aid to those in need. But there was no way he, along with co-founder Dave Donaldson, could have imagined how quickly their brainchild would take off. Started in 2017, CityServe found itself at the right place to make a big difference when the coronavirus pandemic shuttered businesses and caused millions to go unemployed. (Morgen, 2/15)