Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
New Covered California Leader Urges Renewal of Enhanced Federal Aid for Health Premiums
Jessica Altman took over in March as executive director of California’s health insurance marketplace, which serves 1.8 million people. She warns that if Congress does not renew the tax credit enhancements that have made health plans more affordable, consumers will face significantly higher premiums, which could cause many to forgo coverage. (Bernard J. Wolfson, )
Los Angeles Urged To Mask Up: Los Angeles County’s coronavirus-positive hospitalizations are rising again, and Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer urged residents Monday to again wear masks inside schools, stores, and workplaces. “This would give us a chance at slowing down spread,” Ferrer said. Read more from the Los Angeles Times.
Long-Awaited Report On Homelessness Released: Multiple Bay Area counties saw their homeless populations swell during the pandemic, according to data released Monday, despite an increase in federal and state funding for new shelters, housing, and other resources. Read more from the Bay Area News Group, San Francisco Chronicle, and AP. Keep scrolling for more coverage.
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
San Francisco Chronicle:
Homelessness Surged 35% In One Bay Area County. Here’s What New Data For Each Region Reveals
The Bay Area’s homeless population swelled significantly in several counties during the pandemic — with Contra Costa County up 35% and Alameda County reporting a 22% jump — while the tally dipped slightly in San Francisco and Sonoma since 2019, according to new data released Monday. The numbers come from one-day “point-in-time” surveys conducted earlier this year, which had been delayed by the pandemic, and reflect uneven results in regional efforts to manage the homelessness crisis. (Hepler, Ravani and Jung, 5/16)
The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat:
Sonoma County’s Homeless Population Increased 5% During Pandemic
Sonoma County released new figures Monday showing its homeless population grew 5% during the pandemic, the first reported increase since after the 2017 North Bay fires, as a chronic housing shortage continues to drive one of the region’s most pressing humanitarian crises. Preliminary results from the county’s “point-in-time” count of people living outdoors and in shelters earlier this year found 2,893 homeless residents. That’s up from 2,745 unhoused people identified during the last count in February 2020, the month before the pandemic took hold. (Varian, 5/16)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Alameda County Sees 22% Jump In Homelessness In Long-Awaited Count
The population of homeless people living in Alameda County increased by 22% over the past three years, underscoring the depth of a statewide crisis that has been particularly severe in Oakland, according to figures from the latest count obtained by The Chronicle. The “point-in-time count” — taken during one night in February — showed that 9,747 people experienced homelessness countywide, the overwhelming majority of them unsheltered, meaning they lived in tents or vehicles. (Ravani, 5/16)
The Oaklandside:
Oakland’s Homeless Population Surpasses 5,000 People During The Pandemic
Oakland’s homeless population has grown by about 1,000 people since the start of the pandemic, putting the total number of residents living without permanent housing at 5,055, according to new data released Monday. But while hundreds more people are living without permanent housing, many in hazardous conditions, some in the homeless community feared they’d see an even larger increase during the COVID-19 crisis. Instead, the growth rate in the city’s homeless population has slowed, from 47% between 2017-2019, to 24% from 2019-2022. (Orenstein, 5/16)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Oakland Saw A 24% Surge In Its Homeless Population Despite Efforts To Tackle The Crisis
The population of homeless people living in Oakland increased by 24% over the past three years, a sharp contrast to San Francisco, which saw a slight dip in the number of unhoused. The new point-in-time count, conducted on a night in February as required by the federal government, shows 1,718 sheltered people and 3,337 unsheltered people for a total of 5,055 people. Oakland accounts for nearly half of the county’s overall homeless population of 9,747. (Ravani, 5/16)
Berkeleyside:
Berkeley’s Homeless Population Dropped 5% During The Pandemic, Report Says
In the last three years, the number of homeless people living in Berkeley dropped about 5% to 1,057, even as the homeless population rose 22% in Alameda County over the same period, according to initial data from a new report. It’s the first time in recent history that overall numbers went down in Berkeley. (Yelimeli, 6/16)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Mandated Treatment? Renovated Barracks? East County Grapples With How To Respond To Homelessness
East County leaders voted on a range of proposals last week to reduce the number of people on the streets, ahead of a new census expected to show an increase in the region’s homeless population. El Cajon threw its support behind a proposed court system that could more easily force people into mental health treatment, while La Mesa simultaneously pledged to cooperate with its neighbors to find housing and rejected a proposal to turn an old U.S. army barracks into a shelter. (Nelson, 5/16)
CapRadio:
Job Program Provides Some Hope In Neighborhood At Center Of Sacramento’s Homelessness Crisis
Carrying a shovel along 7th Street in Sacramento’s River District, Shawna Barnes scoops up old bottles and cans at homeless encampments. Sometimes she finds buckets full of human waste. Barnes is part of the Clean and Safe Team, which consists of five homeless and formerly homeless residents who pick up trash at encampments in the River District, a neighborhood at the center of the region's homelessness crisis. City leaders say the team could be replicated citywide and has the potential to transform the lives of its employees. (Nichols, 5/16)
Los Angeles Times:
COVID Eviction Bans Are Ending, But Some Renter Protections Remain
Rental housing in Southern California has long been a landlord’s market, with the demand for homes greatly exceeding the supply. That’s true today to an extreme degree, with available units the scarcest they’ve been in recent memory, as The Times reports. But that doesn’t mean landlords are in a happy place either. During the first two years of the pandemic, California tenants failed to make billions of dollars in rent payments as their wages dropped and expenses rose. To avoid an epic surge in homelessness, state and local officials restricted evictions and lawsuits to collect unpaid rent. (Healey, 5/17)
Voice of OC:
Authorities: Suspect In Laguna Woods Shooting Was Politically Motivated By ‘Hate’ For Taiwanese
John Cheng, who authorities identified as a sports medicine doctor living in Laguna Niguel, died after what’s been described as an act of heroism in the moments the shooting unfolded – “tackling” the shooter to disarm him and sustaining fatal gunshot wounds in the process. Without the actions of Cheng, “there’s no doubt” there would’ve been additional casualties at the church, Barnes said. Churchgoers wrestled down and disarmed Chou, who was armed with two handguns, said authorities in previous remarks on Sunday. By the time deputies got there, churchgoers had “hogtied” Chou with an electrical extension cord. (Pho, 5/16)
Los Angeles Times:
Police: Laguna Woods Shooting Was Politically Motivated Hate Crime
The suspect in a shooting that killed one person and injured five at a Taiwanese church in Laguna Woods appeared to be motivated by political hatred of Taiwan, officials said Monday. David Wenwei Chou, 68, of Las Vegas, left notes in Chinese in his car stating he did not believe Taiwan should be independent from China, said Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes. (Fry, Winton, Park and Money, 5/16)
AP:
Authorities: Hate Against Taiwanese Led To Church Attack
A gunman motivated by political hatred against Taiwan chained shut the doors of a California church and hid firebombs inside before shooting at a gathering of mostly elderly Taiwanese parishioners, killing a man who tackled him and possibly saved dozens of lives, authorities said Monday. David Chou, 68, of Las Vegas — a U.S. citizen who authorities say grew up in Taiwan — drove to Orange County on Saturday. The next day, he attended a lunch held by Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church, which worships at Geneva Presbyterian Church in the community of Laguna Woods. Though he knew no one there, he spent about an hour mingling with about 40 attendees and then executed his plot, authorities said at a news conference. (Taxin, Ritter and Bharath, 5/17)
Orange County Register:
Laguna Woods Church Shooter Attacked Parishioners Over China, Taiwan Tensions, OC Sheriff Says
Sometime after the prayer service ended and before the luncheon began on Sunday, May 15, authorities believe David Wenwei Chou entered the dining hall at a Laguna Woods church carrying a life-long hatred of Taiwanese people and enough weaponry to kill dozens. Chou allegedly used padlocks, Super Glu and nails to seal most of the dining hall doors. He also dropped two bags – one carrying magazines of ammunition and another carrying four devices described as Molotov cocktails – behind a black curtain, authorities said. (Ritchie, Harmonson, Cain and Emery, 5/16)
AP:
US Deaths From COVID Hit 1 Million, Less Than 2 1/2 Years In
The U.S. death toll from COVID-19 hit 1 million on Monday, a once-unimaginable figure that only hints at the multitudes of loved ones and friends staggered by grief and frustration. The confirmed number of dead is equivalent to a 9/11 attack every day for 336 days. It is roughly equal to how many Americans died in the Civil War and World War II combined. It’s as if Boston and Pittsburgh were wiped out. (Johnson, 5/16)
Bay Area News Group:
How Bay Area's COVID Death Rates Compared To U.S. Counties
The list is long, but it’s not hard to find the Bay Area among the lowest COVID-19 death rates for the U.S.’s 140 largest counties. Try numbers 1 (San Francisco), 2 (San Mateo), 5 (Contra Costa), 9 (Alameda) and 10 (Santa Clara). That’s according to a Bay Area News Group analysis of data on COVID-19 death rates through May 7, the most recent available from the CDC, and 2020 U.S. Census population figures for counties with more than 500,000 residents. (Rowan, 5/16)
San Francisco Chronicle:
‘Living With COVID’ In The Bay Area Might Mean Coping With Big Swells In Cases For Years
The tide of coronavirus infections rising over California, and the Bay Area in particular, in recent weeks offers a glimpse of what “living with COVID” may mean for a few years yet, health experts say, as the virus continues to evolve at breakneck speed. This springtime swell, coming so close on the heels of the winter omicron surge, underscores the challenges still facing the state and nation against a virus that is proving infuriatingly adept at causing widespread transmission, even in populations with high rates of community immunity due to previous infection and vaccination. (Allday, 5/17)
The New York Times:
How Often Can You Be Infected With The Coronavirus?
A virus that shows no signs of disappearing, variants that are adept at dodging the body’s defenses, and waves of infections two, maybe three times a year — this may be the future of Covid-19, some scientists now fear. The central problem is that the coronavirus has become more adept at reinfecting people. Already, those infected with the first Omicron variant are reporting second infections with the newer versions of the variant — BA.2 or BA2.12.1 in the United States, or BA.4 and BA.5 in South Africa. (Mandavilli, 5/16)
San Francisco Chronicle:
How The Latest COVID Surge Is Wreaking Havoc On Bay Area Restaurants — Again
The buzz was starting to build around Handroll Project, a new San Francisco sushi restaurant with an impressive pedigree, when everything came to a grinding halt last week. A chef tested positive for COVID-19, then two staff members started feeling sick. So before it could even officially open, Handroll Project shut down for four days — a major blow for a new restaurant just gaining momentum. Without enough staff to carry the business through the weekend, the owners worried about jeopardizing their grand opening planned for this Wednesday. (Kadvany, 5/17)
Voice Of San Diego:
How A San Diego Church Became A Nexus Of Anti-Vaccine, Anti-COVID Lockdown And Right-Wing Political Organizing
Jurgen Matthesius, the lead pastor of Awaken Church, and his family flew into San Diego on July 4, 2005. As they looked out of the plane’s window they saw fireworks, and Matthesius joked with his sons that the explosions were meant to welcome their arrival. Recounting this story at a political conference held at the church’s San Marcos campus in March, Matthesius said the moment gave him an opportunity to tell his wife and fellow pastor, Leanne Matthesius, and their three boys about God’s role in the founding of America and the drafting of its constitution. (McWhinney, 5/16)
Bloomberg:
US Set To Extend Covid Public Health Emergency Past July
The US government will extend the Covid-19 public-health emergency past mid-July, continuing pandemic-era policies as the nearly 2 1/2-year outbreak drags on. The Department of Health and Human Services has repeatedly renewed the public-health emergency since implementing it in January 2020. The declaration allows the US to grant emergency authorizations of drugs, vaccines and other medical countermeasures, as well as administer those products to millions of people at no out-of-pocket cost. It’s also enabled millions of Americans to get health coverage through Medicaid, among other benefits. (Griffin, 5/16)
Axios:
FDA Authorizes First Non-Prescription Test For COVID-19, Flu, RSV
The Food and Drug Administration authorized the first non-prescription COVID-19 test that can also detect the flu and RSV, the agency announced on Monday. In addition to COVID-19, the test can detect other respiratory viruses, including influenza A and B, commonly known as the flu, and respiratory syncytial virus, also known as RSV. With the newly authorized test from Labcorp, individuals can collect their own nasal swab at home and send the sample to Labcorp for testing. They can then access their results through an online portal, with a health care provider following up about positive or invalid results. (Shapero, 5/16)
CapRadio:
The Federal Government Is Offering Another Round Of Free COVID Tests
Americans can once again order free COVID-19 tests from the federal government by visiting COVIDtests.gov. In this round, the U.S. Postal Service will deliver eight free rapid antigen tests to any household in the U.S. that wants them, according to the website. The site suddenly appeared active Monday to offer the third round of free tests without a prior announcement. (Keith, 5/16)
NBC News:
Third Round Of Free Covid-19 Tests Now Available
The federal government started taking orders Monday for a third round of Covid-19 test kits to be mailed to any U.S. household. A Department of Health and Human Services website said Monday that all U.S. households were eligible to order a third round of tests. Each order now contains eight rapid antigen tests, the U.S. Postal Service website says. Previously, four tests were sent out at a time. A spokesperson for the White House said Monday night that more details were expected to be released Tuesday. (Helsel, 5/16)
Fortune:
Omicron Breakthrough Infection Can Provide A Better Immune Response Than Booster, Studies Show
With Omicron subvariants causing COVID cases to jump nationwide, two new studies offer a small consolation for vaccinated individuals who suffer breakthrough infections. The infection leaves you with protections that may be more effective than those offered by a second booster. One study was conducted by German biotechnology company BioNTech SE and the second by the University of Washington in collaboration with San Francisco-headquartered Vir Biotechnology. Both studies investigated the immune responses of various groups based on their vaccination and infection status. (Lodewick, 5/16)
The Washington Post:
Pfizer Vaccine Booster For Kids 5 To 11 Will Soon Be Approved
The Food and Drug Administration is expected to authorize booster shots of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine for children ages 5 to 11 as soon as Tuesday, making an extra dose available to protect school-age children as a descendant of the omicron variant is becoming dominant and cases tick upward. Outside experts who counsel the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, are scheduled to meet Thursday and are expected to recommend boosters for that age group. CDC director Rochelle Walensky is expected to concur shortly afterward. (McGinley and Johnson, 5/16)
Axios:
Novavax Is Confident COVID Vaccine Approval Is Coming
Officials at Novavax say they're confident their COVID-19 vaccine will receive an emergency use authorization from the FDA early next month, CNBC reports. The Maryland company received $1.6 billion from the federal government to speed the development of the shots early during the pandemic but has yet to make it to the U.S. market. Yet its protein-based COVID vaccine — which uses moth cells to produce shots — has been slowly gaining favor in the EU and the U.K. (Reed, 5/16)
The Oaklandside:
City Council This Week: COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Changes
Oakland’s mandate requiring people to show proof of a COVID-19 vaccination to enter restaurants, bars, gyms, entertainment venues, and other Oakland establishments is expected to end next week. The vaccine ordinance went into effect in February after the council approved it in December. Earlier this month the council voted to end the emergency ordinance but it needs a second vote. If the council, as expected, drops the requirement it will be effective as of Wednesday. However, individuals entering senior centers and assisted living facilities would still be required to show their vaccination cards and masks will now be required at large indoor events. (DeBolt, 5/16)
Los Angeles Daily News:
Unvaccinated Virtual Academy Teachers At LAUSD May Lose Jobs In A Few Months
For 36 years, teacher Janet Bregman has worked for the Los Angeles Unified School District. Now, three years shy of her planned retirement date, she said she’s being forced to get the COVID-19 vaccine or retire early. If she chooses the latter, Bregman, who teaches in the district’s online Virtual Academy, would miss out not only on three more years’ worth of salary but, she estimates, she’d receive about $1,500 less in monthly retirement benefits. “I’m fighting for my job. I’m fighting for my financial security,” Bregman said Monday, May 16, during a gathering of about three dozen educators and parents who oppose the district’s vaccination mandate for staff. (Tat, 5/16)
AP:
US Allows More Baby Formula Imports To Fight Shortage
Under fire from parents and politicians, President Joe Biden’s administration announced steps Monday to ease a nationwide shortage of baby formula, including reopening the largest domestic manufacturing plant and increasing imports from overseas. The Food and Drug Administration said it was streamlining its review process to make it easier for foreign manufacturers to begin shipping more formula into the U.S. (Perrone and Miller, 5/17)
Reuters:
Baby Formula Makers Ramp Up U.S. Supplies To Tackle Shortage
In the meantime, other baby formula makers have stepped up production and shipped extra supplies to the United States. Reckitt Benckiser is boosting baby formula production by about 30% and making more frequent deliveries to U.S. stores, an executive told Reuters on Tuesday. The company, which makes its U.S. formula in three facilities in Michigan, Indiana and Minnesota, has granted plants "unlimited overtime" to put in extra shifts, Robert Cleveland, senior vice president, North America and Europe Nutrition at Reckitt, told Reuters in an interview. ... [And] Nestle is flying baby formula supplies to the United States from the Netherlands and Switzerland, the company said in an emailed statement to Reuters on Tuesday. (Naidu, 5/17)
The Hill:
Pentagon: Military Bases ‘Not Immune’ To Baby Formula Shortage
The nationwide baby formula shortage is taking its toll at U.S. military bases across the globe, the Pentagon’s top spokesman said Monday. “We’re not immune to the same supply chain problems that other families across America are experiencing,” press secretary John Kirby told reporters. He said that current stock levels of available baby formula in the continental United States is at 50 percent at base commissaries — neighborhood grocery stores located on military installations — while it stands at 70 percent overseas. (Mitchell, 5/16)
CBS News:
Biden Signs Law Banning Infant Sleep Products Blamed For 200 Deaths
Infant sleep products blamed in the deaths of more than 200 babies in the U.S. will soon be outlawed. President Joe Biden on Monday signed into law legislation that prohibits the manufacture and sale of crib bumpers or inclined sleepers blamed for more than 200 infant deaths, the White House announced. Consumer advocates applauded the development, but noted that manufacturers and retailers have 180 days to comply, leaving additional time for the products to inflict more heartache. (Gibson, 5/16)
People:
President Biden Signs Bill Prohibiting Sale Of Crib Bumpers
The Safe Sleep for Babies Act of 2021 (H.R. 3182), signed into law on Monday, prohibits the manufacture and sale of crib bumpers or inclined sleepers for infants. ... According to the legislation, crib bumpers are defined as "padded materials inserted around the inside of a crib and intended to prevent the crib occupant from becoming trapped in any part of the crib's openings; they do not include unpadded, mesh crib liners." (Slater, 5/16)
Bay Area News Group:
With New Law, Is It Safe For Babies To Sleep In Car Seats?
It’s a well-known strategy for modern, frazzled parents with a tired, wailing baby: Strap her into a car seat and take her for a drive, letting the soft rocking motion of the car and the purr of the engine lull her to sleep for the rest of the night. But the Safe Sleep for Babies Act, a new federal law signed Monday by President Joe Biden, could spark parents’ questions about whether it’s considered dangerous to use this trick or to otherwise let their babies nap while driving them around to do errands or on road or plane trips. ... According to [Dr. Rachel Moon, chair of the AAP Task Force on Sudden Unexpected Death Syndrome (SIDS)] and other experts, it’s “fine” if babies fall asleep in car seats and strollers — but in a limited, supervised way and not as a substitution for a crib, bassinet, co-sleeper or play yard, which the AAP said are considered safe for sleep. (Ross, 5/16)
Sacramento Bee:
How Will CA Pay Bonuses To Hospital, Health Care Workers?
To get retention bonuses proposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, California front-line health care workers will have to be currently employed by one of California’s hospitals or skilled nursing facilities. If the bonuses are approved by the Legislature, the California Department of Health Care Services would oversee distribution of the funds and communicate the process for payment to specified workers via hospitals and nursing facilities, agency spokesman Anthony Cava said. (Anderson, 5/17)
Los Angeles Times:
Decades Later, Former Foster Children Allege Abuse At MacLaren Children's Center
When she was a teenager, the woman spent three weeks at MacLaren Children’s Center in El Monte. On many of those nights, she said, an employee at the long-troubled facility for foster children crawled into bed beside her. The woman, who is 37 now, recalls how she reported the sexual assaults to another staff member, who threatened to put her on “lockdown” if she spoke about the abuse to anyone else. (Queally, 5/17)
CalMatters:
Special Needs Patients Who Need A Dentist Have Few Options
The first time Namirah Jones visited the dentist at age 5, her meltdown brought the office to a halt. Her mother, Mia Costley, her grandmother and a dental assistant held her down while she screamed. The dentist couldn’t even get a mirror in her mouth. “That’s when it was determined that no dentist could ever work on her; she would have to be put to sleep,” Costley said from their apartment in Corona. (Hwang, 5/17)
Los Angeles Times:
U.S. Appeals Court Vacates Gun Conviction Because COVID Rules Had Closed Trial To The Public
A federal appeals court Monday vacated a man’s gun conviction in a lower court in Northern California because COVID-19 protocols had precluded the public from observing his trial. In a 3-0 decision, a panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals found that the district court’s restrictions last year — which provided the public with an audio stream of the trial, but not video — had violated defendant James David Allen II’s right to a public trial under the 6th Amendment. (Rector, 5/16)
Sacramento Bee:
Why Do Men Strangle Women? What Domestic Violence Experts Say
Time and again, Matt Huckabay has read or watched coverage of the aftermath of a domestic violence story – after someone has killed a loved one or mowed down strangers. This is how domestic violence gets defined because this final monstrous act is what the public sees, said Huckabay, who runs a batterers’ intervention program established 20 years ago in Placerville. Counselors in that program and others around the state go deeper with those perpetrators willing to let them in and examine the source of the rage that fuels the behavior. (Anderson, 5/17)
Sacramento Bee:
Why Strangulation Matters In Sacramento CA Church Shooting
David Mora Rojas, a father of three, provided Sacramento residents with a grisly example of why those who study strangulation in domestic violence cases describe it as a dress rehearsal for murder. On Feb. 28, Mora gunned down his three young daughters and their chaperone at a Sacramento church, then killed himself. (Anderson, 5/17)
Los Angeles Times:
California Properties At Risk Of Wildfire Expected To See Sixfold Increase In 30 Years
The number of California properties facing severe wildfire risk will grow sixfold over the next 30 years when considering only the impact of climate change, according to projections released Monday by a nonprofit research group. Just over 100,000 properties in the state currently have a 1% or greater annual chance of being affected by wildfire. The number is expected to reach about 600,000 by 2052, according to the data from First Street Foundation. (Wigglesworth, 5/16)
Sacramento Bee:
Is My California Home At Risk For Wildfires? New Tool Lets You Check Your ZIP Code
More than 71 million U.S. homes have some level of risk for wildfire, a study found, as hot temperatures begin to feed fires in California. Just last week, the Coastal Fire burned about 200 acres in Orange County, resulting in evacuations and more than 30 homes damaged or destroyed, according to the city of Laguna Niguel. The fire is 90% contained, as reported by Cal Fire, but fire season is barely starting. (Truong, 5/16)