The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat: Kaiser Permanente Reinstates COVID-19 Mask Mandate Amid Spike In Cases, But Most Still Mild
A spike in local COVID-19 infections has led Kaiser Permanente, the county’s largest primary care provider, to begin requiring staff, patients and visitors to wear masks at its Santa Rosa facilities. (Espinoza, 8/22)

Los Angeles Times: Masks Mandated For Some At Lionsgate HQ As COVID Outbreaks Rise
The mask mandate is back for employees at Lionsgate headquarters in Santa Monica, as COVID-19 cases in the state and nationwide have been on the upswing again. The policy change came after several employees tested positive for COVID-19, according to an internal memo. The change requires employees on two floors to wear a medical-grade face covering when indoors, unless actively eating, drinking or alone. (Spencer, 8/22)

CNN: It May Be Time To Break Out The Masks Against Covid, Some Experts Say
 If you’re at high risk of serious illness or death from Covid-19, it’s time to dust off those N95 masks and place them snugly over your nose and mouth to protect yourself from a recent uptick of the virus, according to a growing number of experts. That advice should go all the way up to 80-year-old President Joe Biden, said Dr. Jonathan Reiner, a cardiologist. “Octogenarians comprise the highest-risk group for complications following Covid infection,” Reiner said. “At least until the numbers start to drop again, it would be appropriate for President Biden to take some precautions and wear a mask in crowds.” (LaMotte, 8/23)

Stat: Covid-19 Hasn’t Fallen Into A Seasonal Pattern — Yet
To most people on the planet, the Covid-19 pandemic is over. But for many scientists who have been tracking the largest global infectious disease event in the era of molecular biology, there is still a step that the virus that caused it, SARS-CoV-2, hasn’t yet taken. It has not fallen into a predictable seasonal pattern of the type most respiratory pathogens follow. (Branswell, 8/23)

The Mercury News: “Downright Orwellian”: San Jose Church That Paid $1.2 Million In Covid Fines Sues County Over Surveillance
A San Jose church ordered to pay $1.2 million in fines for defying public health mandates at the height of the pandemic is suing Santa Clara County, accusing them of putting the non-denominational Christian church and its congregants under unconstitutional surveillance. (Hase, 8/22)

USA Today: $1B For New COVID Vaccines, $300M For New Antibody To Protect Vulnerable
The Biden administration announced Tuesday that it is allocating $1 billion for midstage COVID-19 vaccine trials to begin this fall, $300 million for the development of a new monoclonal antibody to protect people who are immunocompromised, and $100 million to explore new technologies to help prevent and treat the infection. The administration had said it intended to spend $5 billion on Project NextGen to help develop new tools to protect against COVID-19. These are the first specific allocations from that pot of money. (Weintraub, 8/22)

Reuters: Novavax's Updated COVID Shot Shows Immune Response Against Subvariant Eris
Novavax Inc said on Tuesday its updated protein-based COVID-19 vaccine generated an immune response against emerging forms of coronavirus such as the "Eris" subvariant in small studies in animals. (8/22)

Los Angeles Times: Baby Is Born Amid Evacuation At White Memorial Hospital
Hundreds of patients, including some infants and others in critical care, had to be evacuated early Tuesday from Adventist Health White Memorial Hospital in Boyle Heights after part of the complex lost power, authorities said. The patients from the neonatal intensive care unit, obstetrics unit and others in the hospital’s Specialty Care Center were transferred to other facilities on the campus and to other area hospitals, the Los Angeles Fire Department said. One woman gave birth during the evacuation, a hospital official said. (Lin and Petri, 8/22)

Times Of San Diego: ‘Brazilian Butt Lifts’ Doctor Pleads Guilty To Posing As Plastic Surgeon At Del Mar Center 
A man who posed as a plastic surgeon and saw patients at a Del Mar cosmetic surgery center he owned pleaded guilty Tuesday to felony and misdemeanor charges. Dario Moscoso, 70, was charged in 2019 will allegedly consulting female patients at the now-shuttered Del Mar Cosmetic Contouring Surgery Center regarding procedures such as “Brazilian butt lifts” and breast augmentations, despite not being licensed to practice medicine. (Ireland, 8/22)

NPR: 1 In 5 Women Experienced Mistreatment From Medical Staff In Their Last Pregnancy
One in five women experienced mistreatment while receiving medical care for their most recent pregnancy, according to a survey released Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The women reported signs of mistreatment, such as being verbally abused, having their requests for help go unanswered, having their physical privacy infringed upon and receiving threats to withhold treatment. (Archie, 8/22)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Grossmont Healthcare District Awards $1.3 Million To East County Wellness Nonprofits
Grossmont Healthcare District announced it has granted more than $1.3 million in community grants and sponsorship awards to 39 wellness-focused nonprofit organizations working in East County. (Mapp, 8/22)

Politico: Califf Urges Congress To Give FDA More Power To Respond To Drug Shortages
Congress should grant the FDA more authority to address drug shortages, Commissioner Robert Califf said Tuesday. The domestic generic drug industry is a victim of its own success, with product prices too low to sustain quality manufacturing and distribution, Califf said during a webinar hosted by the Alliance for a Stronger FDA, which advocates for agency appropriations. (Gardner, 8/22)

Los Angeles Daily News: Temecula School Board Discussing Policy To Tell Parents If Students Are Transgender 
The Temecula Valley Unified school board on Tuesday night, Aug. 22, is discussing a policy to notify parents if their students are transgender, becoming the latest Southern California board to consider such rules. (Hofmann, 8/22)

Voice of OC: Orange Unified School District Considers Notifying Parents Of Transgender Students
Teachers and staff members in Orange Unified School District may be forced to inform parents if their children identify as transgender or request to be treated as a gender that differs from their biological sex. The school board first considered the proposal at its meeting last Thursday with dozens of public comments on both sides of the issue. (Hicks, 8/22)

Los Angeles Daily News: Dueling Protests In Los Angeles Clash Over LGBTQ Issues In School 
A mass of protestors wearing black and white “leave our kids alone” t-shirts were met with a group of rainbow clad LGBTQ+ allies in downtown Los Angeles on Tuesday, Aug. 22, as the debate over how gender and sexual identity should be taught in school continued to rage. (Harter, 8/22)

Los Angeles Times: Crowd Protests LGBTQ+ Education In Los Angeles; Two Arrested At LAUSD Offices
About 150 demonstrators who oppose LGBTQ+ education marched on Monday from City Hall to the Los Angeles Unified School District headquarters, where two counterprotesters were taken into custody as dozens of officers kept the opposing groups apart after heated exchanges. The demonstrators came from across Southern California including San Diego, Antelope Valley, Glendale and Los Angeles. A few identified themselves as parents at Saticoy Elementary School, where fighting broke out between opposing sides during a demonstration over a Gay Pride activity in June. (Blume, 8/22)

Modesto Bee: Health Agency Reports 4 West Nile Cases In Stanislaus County
Stanislaus County health officials reported Tuesday that four people have been infected with serious cases of West Nile disease. The county Health Services Agency said in a news release the local cases are the first in 2023. The four adults were stricken by the dangerous neurological form of the illness. (Carlson, 8/22)

CalMatters: Toxic Trash: California’s Aging Hazardous Waste Sites Have Troubling Safety Records
California produces millions of tons of hazardous waste every year – toxic detritus that can leach into groundwater or blow into the air. It’s waste that can explode, spark fires, eat through metal containers, destroy ecosystems and sicken people. It’s dangerous material that we have come to rely on and ignore – the flammable liquids used to cleanse metal parts before painting, the lead and acid in old car batteries, even the shampoos that can kill fish. It all needs to go somewhere. (Lewis, 8/22)

LAist 89.3 FM: Could Providing Mental Health Services To Unhoused Angelenos On The Street Lead To Long-Term Treatment?
Countless Angelenos struggle every day with finding — and affording — the right mental health help. Getting and maintaining that help can prove even more difficult if you live on the streets with a severe mental illness. The latest homeless count from the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) found that 25% of unhoused people in L.A. County self-reported experiencing severe mental illness. That’s up from 24% from last year's count. (8/22)

Politico: Employers Grappling With Spike In Mental Health Needs, Cost Increases For 2024
Large employers are seeing their workforce’s mental health needs skyrocket as the nation recovers from a pandemic that left many people isolated and lonely. About 77 percent of large employers reported an increase in the mental health needs of their workforces, according to the Business Group on Health’s 2024 Large Employer Health Care Survey, released Tuesday. That’s a 33-percentage-point increase over last year, when 44 percent of employers saw an increase in employees’ mental health needs. (Hooper, 8/22)

Los Angeles Times: Occidental College President Stepping Down Due To Health 
As Occidental College welcomed a new crop of students Monday, they could not have known they were the last class of freshmen to hear a welcome address by college President Harry J. Elam Jr. Elam, who took on the role in 2020, announced Tuesday that he would be ending his tenure early due to a recent diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease, a progressive neuro-degenerative illness that affects movement. (Childs, 8/22)