Palm Springs Desert Sun: COVID-19: Coachella Valley Sees Slight Increase In Cases Again
Between Friday and Monday, Riverside County added 308 new COVID-19 cases — the lowest reported number of cases over a weekend period since October. (Sasic, 3/28)

The New York Times: COVID Tests, Elusive Just Months Ago, Are Now Plentiful
Earlier this month, Juliana Park came upon what appeared like a mirage while shopping at a Target in San Jose. There, in the pharmacy department, around the corner from the allergy medicine, was an entire shelf of COVID-19 antigen home tests. Box after box of them, all for the taking. “My jaw literally dropped under my mask,” said Park, 26, who works in communications for a Bay Area labor union. “I looked to my left, I looked to my right. Why aren’t people running to this corner?” (Kurutz, 3/29)

CIDRAP: Contact Tracing May Have Averted 1.4 Million US COVID Cases In 2 Months
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) modeling study used data from 59 US case investigation and contact tracing (CICT) programs to estimate that the programs prevented 1.11 to 1.36 million COVID-19 cases, and 27,000 to 34,000 hospitalizations over 60 days in winter 2020-21, well before the Delta and Omicron variant surges. The researchers collected data from Nov 25, 2020, to Jan 23, 2021, for analysis from July to September 2021. (3/28)

The New York Times: U.S. Virus Deaths Drop To Lowest Point Since Summer 
Fewer than 800 coronavirus deaths are being reported each day in the United States, the lowest daily average since before the Omicron variant took hold late last fall. The last time the rate was this low was in mid-August, according to a New York Times database. Trends in deaths lag behind cases and hospitalizations by weeks because of the time it takes for people to become seriously ill, and the time needed to complete and file death records. (Hassan and Cahalan, 3/29)

CIDRAP: COVID-19, Flu An Especially Dangerous Pair
Adult COVID-19 patients also infected with the flu are four times more likely to require mechanical ventilation and 2.4 times more likely to die than if they had COVID-19 alone, finds a UK study published late last week in The Lancet. (Van Beusekom, 3/28)

Bay Area News Group: COVID-19: San Jose Sharks Drop Vax, Test Requirements At SAP Center
Responding to updated health guidelines from the state, Sharks Sports & Entertainment announced Monday that starting this weekend, fans attending hockey games at SAP Center will no longer be required to show proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test for entry. The change is in line with the Chase Center’s modification announced last week. (Pashelka and Kenney, 3/28)

AP: Convoy Protesting COVID Mandates Rolling On To California 
A group of truck drivers protesting COVID-19 mandates on roads and highways around the Washington, D.C., area in recent weeks will head to California next, an organizer announced Sunday night. During a livestream of the People’s Convoy nightly rally Sunday, organizer Mike Landis read a list of measures aimed at controlling COVID-19 in California, The Herald-Mail reported. (3/28)

The Wall Street Journal: Biden Administration Begins Vaccinating Asylum Seekers At Southern Border
The Biden administration has started vaccinating migrants claiming asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border for Covid-19, the Department of Homeland Security said Monday. The decision comes after months of debate within the Biden administration, in which time nonprofit organizations along the border including Catholic Charities started administering Covid-19 vaccines to those migrants released to nonprofit shelters so they could apply for asylum. (Hackman, 3/28)

The New York Times: Biden Administration Will Vaccinate Migrants At Border 
According to directions given to senior homeland security officials on Sunday, if single adults refuse to be vaccinated, they will be detained and put into deportation proceedings. If they request asylum and cannot remain in detention, they will be released with a monitoring device “with stringent conditions.” If migrant families refuse vaccination, they will also be given monitoring devices with the same conditions. The White House has said little about whether it will soon lift the public health order, which the Trump administration put in place at the start of the pandemic. (Sullivan, 3/28)

NBC News: WHO Examining Covid Vaccines Linked To Potential Hearing Problems
The World Health Organization is examining rare reports of hearing loss and other auditory issues following Covid-19 vaccinations. In a newsletter posted on its website, the international public health agency said that it has been made aware of sudden hearing problems, particularly tinnitus, or ringing of the ears, that may be associated with Covid vaccines. (Edwards, 3/28)

Orange County Register: An Augmented Reality Bear Helps Young CHOC Patients Through MRIs
Choco, the lovable mascot of the Children’s Health of Orange County, or CHOC, is help guide the young patients through a key medical procedure, making it less scary for them and more educational for adults. The CHOC bear is the star of the hospital’s new augmented reality app, staying with patients through a magnetic resonance imaging procedure every step of the way. Commonly known as an MRI, the procedure is used in radiology to produce images of the anatomy, enabling doctors to check for certain conditions. (Ponsi, 3/28)

Los Angeles Daily News: State Bill Calls For Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Storage Facility To Close In 2027 
Former Gov. Jerry Brown and current Gov. Gavin Newsom have expressed support for closing the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility, in the wake of the massive 2015 gas leak at the site. But despite the publicly stated support dating back to 2017 to close the facility within 10 years, there is currently no requirement to close the facility by a set date. ... Now, a state senator is hoping to lock in 2027 as the closure date, amid concerns that such promises are being ignored. ... In the aftermath of the natural gas leak at the facility that let loose 100,000 metric tons of methane gas into the air, over the span of about four months. (Chou, 3/28)

San Luis Obispo Tribune: Report: NRC Didn’t Properly Inspect Diablo Canyon Pipes
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission did not properly inspect equipment at Diablo Canyon, just months before a leak in its once-through cooling system shut down the nuclear power plant, according to a new report. On Monday, the U.S. Office of the Inspector General released an event inquiry report detailing findings on the NRC’s oversight of the plant. The OIG regularly conducts audits and investigations of NRC programs and operations. (Leslie, 3/28)

San Francisco Chronicle: California Wildfire Smoke May Rise To Practically Unbearable Levels In Next Decades
The unrelenting wildfire smoke that’s etched in the memories — and lungs — of many Californians after several difficult fire seasons is expected to worsen in coming years. The extent of the uptick, though, may be far greater than previously thought. Residents in the Pacific Northwest and parts of Northern California could see particle pollution from wildfires increase more than 50% by the middle of the century, compared with recent decades, and triple by century’s end, new research shows. (Alexander, 3/28)

Capitol Weekly: Deadly Highways: Fewer Crashes, But More Fatalities
The pandemic-prompted shift to at-home work dramatically reduced the number of cars on the road, so people drove faster, drank more, paid less attention and got lazy about their seatbelts, all of which contributed to the highest rate of fatal accidents in more than a decade. ... Speeders really had a field day when traffic was down. In California, the number of drivers caught going more than 100 miles per hour nearly doubled in the first nine months of the pandemic. (Shuck, 3/28)

CalMatters: California Police Team With Mental Health Crisis Workers
The man sat silently on a cluster of boulders when the Nevada County Sheriff’s Office mobile crisis team pulled up. His phone, an open can of Dr. Pepper and a colorful glass marijuana pipe splayed out beside him as he looked out on the wooded valley below. Minutes before, siren blaring, sheriff’s Deputy Galen Spittler raced his patrol truck through the winding Penn Valley roads to respond to a report of a 33-year-male — one they had placed on a psychiatric hold last fall — assaulting his mother. Now the man stood calmly, barely responsive, as Spittler checked him for weapons. (Koseff, 3/28)

Palm Springs Desert Sun: Yucca Valley Man Encourages Others To Get Screened For Colorectal Cancers
John Calvert celebrated a recent Friday with three rings of a bell. It's a tradition among those with a cancer diagnosis that signals the end of their treatment. Surrounded by doctors and staff members from Desert Regional Medical Center's Comprehensive Cancer Center, Calvert struck the bell once for himself, a second time for all those who supported him, and a third time for everyone at the Palm Springs hospital. The only sound louder than the bell chiming was the roar of applause that followed from the small crowd. (Sasic, 3/28)

San Francisco Chronicle: Surprising Study Reveals Greater Risks For Moms With Female, Vs. Male, Partners
A surprising, first-of-its kind study from Stanford University reveals that women have a greater risk of complications during and after childbirth — including induced labor, postpartum hemorrhaging, and even having twins or triplets — if their partner is female instead of male. “The disparities faced by people who were mothers in partnership with a mother were striking,” said Stephanie Leonard, a Stanford instructor and lead author of the study being published Monday in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. (Asimov, 3/28)

AP: Walmart To End Cigarette Sales In Some Stores 
Walmart is not the first national retail chain to cut off cigarette sales even on a trial basis, but it is the largest. Target ended cigarette sales in 1996 and the drugstore chain CVS Health did the same in 2014. CVS Health sales in areas outside the pharmacy fell for a few quarters after it pulled tobacco products, and the company had predicted that missing tobacco products would hurt annual earnings by 7 to 8 cents per share. (D'Innocenzio, 3/28)

CIDRAP: CDC: Influenza Activity Increasing Across US
Late last week, the CDC Fluview update showed that rates of flu activity in the Unites States are increasing in a second wave of activity, though numbers are still below baselines for the 2021-22 flu season. Influenza A (H3N2) accounts for almost all influenza case detections, and 7.7% of submitted clinical lab samples were positive for flu in the past week. States in the Midwest and Southwest saw the highest levels of influenza positivity. (3/28)

EdSource: Parents’ Guide To 504 Plans And IEPs: What They Are And How They’re Different 
Each year, a greater percentage of students in California qualify for special education. Last year, about 13% of students in California’s K-12 public schools received individualized services for special needs, up from about 10% in the early 2000s. Navigating the special education landscape can be daunting for parents trying to get the best education for their children. Here’s a guide to Individualized Education Programs, 504 plans and other aspects of special education. (Jones, 3/29)

NBC News: Oscars Feud Was A ‘Missed Opportunity’ To Educate Public, Say Women With Alopecia
Dia DiRosa was about 6 years old when fistfuls of her hair started coming out as her mom washed it. She began waking up to clumps of hair on her pillow. Diagnosed with alopecia areata, DiRosa was the subject of stares, snickers and rumors. The medical condition results in loss of hair, which sometimes grows back and sometimes does not, left DiRosa completely bald for many years. (Chuck and Bellamy, 3/28)

AP: What Is Alopecia? Oscars Spat Centers On Hair Loss Condition 
The National Alopecia Areata Foundation says the condition affects about 2% of the population, or as many as almost 7 million Americans. It can occur at any age, but most often during the teen years or young adulthood. Jada Pinkett Smith is 50.Other public figures with the condition include Ayanna Pressley, a Democratic congresswoman from Massachusetts, British actor and comedian Matt Lucas and bluegrass musician Molly Tuttle. Alopecia tends to run in families. Total hair loss affecting the entire body can happen, but is rare. The condition can also cause dents and ridges in fingernails and toenails, but affected people are otherwise healthy. (Tanner, 3/28)

The Baltimore Sun: Oscar Controversy Shines Light On Baltimore Native Jada Pinkett Smith’s Hair Loss With Alopecia 
After an eventful Oscars on Sunday night, a disease that causes hair loss is dominating conversations. And the woman at the forefront of the conversation is Baltimore native Jada Pinkett Smith. Her husband, Will Smith, slapped Chris Rock on stage during the 94th Academy Awards after he made a joke about her hair loss... Pinkett Smith, who grew up in West Baltimore’s Park Heights neighborhood, recently shaved her head because she was “struggling with alopecia,” as she explained in an Instagram video in December. (Oxenden, 3/29)