California’s Health Care Workers Must Get A Covid Booster: California will require its health care workers to get a covid-19 vaccine booster, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced Tuesday evening. California is the second state after New Mexico to require the boosters. Read more from The Sacramento Bee, Los Angeles Times and AP.
Some UC Schools Will Temporarily Go Remote: At least five University of California campuses will delay their return to on-campus learning in early 2022, switching to remote instruction for at least the first two weeks of January in response to the omicron variant. Read more from The Modesto Bee and Southern California News Group.
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
Marin Independent Journal:
Biden calls for free rapid tests to fight omicron
Government officials took new steps Tuesday to counter the rapid spread of the COVID-19 omicron variant, with President Biden promising that increasingly hard-to-find rapid tests will soon be available for free. ... The president’s announcement came a day after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that new infection rates of super-transmissible omicron have quickly overtaken the highly contagious delta variant that spawned waves of outbreaks through the summer and fall. Omicron now accounts for about three out of four U.S. cases, although it is less prevalent in California.
“We should all be concerned about omicron, but not panicked,” Biden said, adding that those who are vaccinated can safely celebrate the upcoming holidays. “If you and those you celebrate with are vaccinated, particularly if you’ve gotten your booster shot, you should feel comfortable. You’ve done the right thing.” (Woolfolk, 12/21)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Bay Area COVID Testing Ramps Up As Omicron Arrives. Will It Be Enough?
Bay Area health systems and labs are once again ramping up staff and capacity at testing sites in anticipation of an omicron-fueled wave that is expected to hit the region within days. Local officials are also deploying a new tool: tens of thousands of free home antigen tests that they are distributing to residents. Those efforts came even before President Biden on Tuesday announced the White House would buy and ship 500 million tests to Americans in January. (Ho, 12/21)
The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat:
Sonoma County Health Advocates Distribute 120,000 Free Rapid Tests To Low-Income And Latino Families
Hoping to blunt the disproportionate impact of another winter surge of COVID-19, a coalition of local health advocates is distributing more than 100,000 rapid tests to disadvantaged Latino and low-income families in Sonoma County. The effort comes at a critical time when residents across Sonoma County are gearing up for Christmas and New Year’s gatherings, and the threat of a new, more transmissible COVID-19 variant is quickly emerging. (Espinoza, 12/21)
Los Angeles Times:
Rapid At-Home COVID Tests In Short Supply Amid High Demand
One highly sought-after item to prepare for safer holiday gatherings is frustratingly hard to find — at-home rapid COVID-19 tests. A surge of coronavirus cases tied to the Omicron variant ahead of Christmas weekend has prompted a crush of demand for the over-the-counter antigen tests that can be conveniently taken at home. (Shalby and Lin II, 12/21)
Los Angeles Times:
How To Get A COVID Test As Omicron's Threat Grows
With coronavirus cases rising and the Omicron variant threat growing, testing for COVID-19 has become more commonplace. Many families who plan holiday events are using both home and outside tests to make sure it’s safe to gather. There are hundreds of testing sites across Southern California, and rapid test kits can be bought at pharmacies or ordered online. (Lin II, 12/20)
CNBC:
Walgreens, CVS Limits How Many At-Home Tests Customers Can Buy
Walgreens and CVS Health on Tuesday limited how many at-home Covid tests customers can purchase as demand for tests surges ahead of the holidays and as the omicron variant spreads throughout the U.S. Walgreens has imposed a limit of four at-home tests per purchase, while CVS is allowing six tests per purchase. The purchase limits apply in-store as well as online. (Kimball, 12/21)
Reuters:
Walmart Limits Online Ordering Of COVID-19 Tests To Eight Kits
Walmart Inc said on Tuesday demand for at-home COVID-19 testing kits was "extremely high" and that it had set a limit of eight test kits per online order. (Soni, 12/21)
Modesto Bee:
Do At-Home COVID Tests Detect The Omicron Variant?
More than 500 million at-home COVID-19 tests are set to be distributed to people across the United States, but are they effective at detecting the fast-spreading omicron variant? The U.S. will purchase the tests and provide them free to Americans who request them through a website, CNN reported. The tests will be available in January by mail. (Sweeney, 12/21)
The New York Times:
All Anyone Wants For Christmas Is A Covid Test
Abbott Laboratories, which made headlines back in August for destroying materials used in its tests, citing limited shelf life, said the company is currently making more than 50 million BinaxNOW rapid antigen test kits every month. In January, the company said, it will increase its output to 70 million a month. “We actually maintained usable test components, many of which have been in short supply during the pandemic — such as reagent bottles, cardboard packaging, swabs, nitrocellulose strips and even paper labeling — so that we could have them in the event that we needed to scale back up, which is exactly what’s happening now,” John Koval, a company spokesman, said in a statement. (Cherelus and Kambhampaty, 12/21)
Bloomberg:
New Omicron Severity Study Shows Hospitalization Rate 80% Lower Than Delta
South Africans contracting Covid-19 in the current fourth wave of infections are 80% less likely to be hospitalized if they catch the omicron variant, compared with other strains, according to a study released by the National Institute for Communicable Diseases. Once admitted to the hospital, the risk of severe disease doesn’t differ from other variants, the authors led by scientists Nicole Walter and Cheryl Cohen said. (Kew, 12/22)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Omicron Suspected After Marin Holiday Party Leads To 28 Breakthrough Cases
At least 28 people who attended a recent holiday gathering in Marin County have tested positive for the coronavirus in an outbreak likely caused by the highly infectious omicron variant, the county health officer said Tuesday. Face coverings were not required at the indoor party, which was held before the state re-instituted a universal mask mandate, said Dr. Matt Willis, the health officer. (Allday and Johnson, 12/21)
The New York Times:
Omicron Will Surge Despite Biden’s New Plan, Scientists Say
Even as President Biden on Tuesday outlined new plans for battling the highly contagious Omicron variant, public health experts warned that the measures would not be sufficient to prevent a grim rise in infections and hospitalizations over the next few weeks. The administration’s strategy includes doubling down on vaccination campaigns and propping up hospitals as they confront a large influx of patients. Federal officials will direct resources, including Army doctors, to support health care systems and distribute rapid tests to Americans. (Rabin and Anthes, 12/22)
The Washington Post:
You’re Vaccinated And Boosted. How Should Omicron Affect Your Plans?
But how should omicron factor into your plans after vaccination? Infectious-disease experts give a range of answers. Some think it’s best to skip the New Year’s Eve party, as the country weathers a new wave of disease. Others underscore that Americans must “live with the virus” — especially as vaccines seems to protect well against the worst illness but are less effective at stopping milder cases of omicron. (Knowles and Firozi, 12/21)
Modesto Bee:
Can You Get Sick Faster From The Omicron COVID Variant?
With the omicron coronavirus variant’s spread in the U.S. — and across the globe — it’s easy to wonder how it compares with the delta variant or the original virus strain. Can you get sick quicker from omicron? Early data and experts suggest it’s likely. (Marnin, 12/21)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
UC San Diego Says New COVID-19 Drugs May Have Limited Impact Fighting Omicron This Winter
The Biden administration moved Tuesday to calm the public about the Omicron variant, saying that it would quickly open additional vaccination sites and buy 500 million rapid test kits that could be sent to the public. But scientists say the new variant could greatly reduce the effectiveness of existing therapeutic drugs. And the new drugs going before the FDA for approval might be of limited value. The Union-Tribune discussed the situation with Dr. Davey Smith, director of infectious diseases at UC San Diego. He also helps developed COVID-19 drugs. (Robbins, 12/22)
The New York Times:
Hospitals Scramble As Antibody Treatments Fail Against Omicron
Hospitals, drug companies and Biden administration officials are racing to address one of the Omicron variant’s biggest threats: Two of the three monoclonal antibody treatments that doctors have depended on to keep Covid-19 patients from becoming seriously ill do not appear to thwart the latest version of the coronavirus. The one such treatment that is still likely to work against Omicron is now so scarce that many doctors and hospitals have already run through their supplies. (Jewett, Zimmer and Robbins, 12/21)
AP:
South Africa's Case Drop May Show Omicron Peak Has Passed
South Africa’s noticeable drop in new COVID-19 cases in recent days may signal that the country’s dramatic omicron-driven surge has passed its peak, medical experts say. Daily virus case counts are notoriously unreliable, as they can be affected by uneven testing, reporting delays and other fluctuations. But they are offering one tantalizing hint — far from conclusive yet — that omicron infections may recede quickly after a ferocious spike. ... After hitting a high of nearly 27,000 new cases nationwide on Thursday, the numbers dropped to about 15,424 on Tuesday. (Meldrum, 12/22)
San Francisco Chronicle:
San Francisco Case Rates Double In Five Days As Omicron Tightens Grip
The highly infectious omicron variant appears to be well established in the Bay Area and likely is fueling outbreaks and early surges in COVID-19 cases across the region, health officials said Tuesday. Case rates have doubled in San Francisco over just the past five days, almost certainly due to omicron spreading in the community, said Dr. Grant Colfax, head of the Department of Public Health. He said the city has now identified 32 omicron cases, but he expects there are many more. (Allday, 12/21)
Los Angeles Daily News:
LA County Warns Of COVID-19 Surge’s Potential Impact On Hospitals
Los Angeles County public health officials on Tuesday, Dec. 21, warned of a worst-case scenario for the region’s health care system this winter, even if the soon-to-be-dominant omicron variant of the coronavirus turns out to be no more virulent than its predecessor, the delta variant — unless vaccination rates increase and folks work to limit the virus’ spread. “It can still be a major threat to our hospital system and our residents,” said LA County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer, as she updated the Board of Supervisors on the status of the pandemic in the region. (Carter, 12/21)
CapRadio:
Q&A: Holiday Tips From UC Davis Infectious Disease Expert
More than 109 million people are expected to travel over the next two weeks despite a new COVID-19 surge, with omicron leading the way accounting for nearly three quarters of new cases. Dr. Dean Blumberg, chief of pediatric infectious diseases at UC Davis Health spoke with CapRadio's Randol White to answer questions and concerns as we head into the holiday travel and party season. (12/21)
Los Angeles Times:
Imperial County Medical Groups Decry 'Unproven' Virus Meds
The Imperial County Board of Supervisors defied the warnings of medical groups Tuesday by hearing a presentation from two doctors who have promoted COVID-19 treatments, including ivermectin, that authorities say have not been proved to work. The decision alarmed the Imperial County Medical Society, which had urged supervisors to “not contribute to the dissemination of false or misleading information by legitimizing unproven treatments.” (Alpert Reyes and Vives, 12/21)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Family Of Man Who Died Of COVID After Wife’s Work Exposure Can Sue The Company, Court Rules
The family of a man who died from COVID-19 that he caught from his wife, who was exposed at work, can sue her employer for damages, a state appeals court ruled Tuesday, saying household members are not bound by the limits placed on employees by California's workers' compensation law. (Egelko, 12/21)
The Bakersfield Californian:
PPE Donations Pick Up Locally As The Omicron Variant Raises Surge Concerns
No matter what the magazines say, this holiday season's must-have gift isn't a neck massager or a multi-device charging station. Same as last year, it's PPE — personal protective equipment — judging by a recent surge in local philanthropy. Just in time for the arrival of the highly contagious omicron coronavirus variant, large charitable organizations with access to masks and sanitation supplies are once again giving them out for free. (Cox, 12/21)
Bay Area News Group:
SafeTraces Deploys Anti-COVID Aerosol Tech To Detect Risky Buildings
SafeTraces hopes to lend an assist to the wide-ranging battle against the coronavirus by deploying aerosol-based technologies to identify risky buildings imperiled by hazardous air circulation. The biotech company’s liquid aerosol system uses DNA markers and software analysis to help property owners determine whether poor ventilation and air circulation might be allowing virus-like particles to remain in the air inside a building and its rooms. (Avalos, 12/22)
KQED:
What Is Long COVID? Experts Explain Symptoms And Answer Common Questions
Angela Meriquez Vázquez initially experienced mild cold symptoms when she was diagnosed with COVID in March 2020. This acute phase lasted three months until Vázquez began to develop increasingly worrying symptoms which included blood clots, mini strokes, seizures, and newly developed food allergies. Her symptoms were dismissed by medical professionals leading Vázquez to question her trust in the health care system. Now, more than a year and a half after her initial COVID diagnosis, Vázquez says she’s nowhere near back to normal. Once an avid runner, she now suffers from chronic fatigue syndrome, bouts of confusion, sleep apnea, heart palpitations, and severe migraines. (Jackson-Retondo, 12/21)
AP:
2021 On Track To Surpass Last Year As Nation's Deadliest
U.S. health officials say 2021 is shaping up to be even deadlier than last year. It’s too early to say for sure, since all the death reports for November and December won’t be in for many weeks. But based on available information, it seems likely 2021 will surpass last year’s record number of deaths by at least 15,000, said Robert Anderson, who oversees the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s death statistics. Last year was the most lethal in U.S. history, due largely to the COVID-19 pandemic. A CDC report being released Wednesday shows 2020 was actually even worse than the agency previously reported. (Stobbe, 12/22)
NBC News:
U.S. Death Rate Soared 17 Percent In 2020, Final CDC Mortality Report Concludes
Death rates for Americans ages 15 and older rose sharply in 2020, hitting Black and Hispanic Americans the hardest, according to a report released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The report — the agency’s finalized data on 2020 death rates — confirmed that life expectancy in the United States fell last year by nearly two years, the largest one-year drop since World War II. (Sullivan, 12/22)
Los Angeles Times:
San Jose Wants To Require COVID-19 Booster Shots
As concerns about the Omicron variant of COVID-19 spread across the nation, San Jose is poised to become the first city in California to require booster shots as a mandatory component of vaccination. San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo announced the proposal Tuesday. If approved by the City Council, it would require all San Jose city employees to receive booster shots as a condition of employment and anyone who enters city-owned facilities to do the same. (Smith, 12/21)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Oakland To Require Proof Of Vaccination At Businesses Like Bars, Restaurants And Theaters
The Oakland City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to require patrons to show proof of COVID vaccination in indoor restaurants, clubs, theaters and other businesses amid increasing concerns about the highly transmissible omicron variant. The emergency ordinance, introduced by Council Member Dan Kalb, also applies to City Hall, senior centers, gyms, museums and other entertainment venues. The ordinance requires adults to show their photo identification card and a proof of vaccination to enter most businesses. However, to enter City Hall, visitors can show a negative test taken within three days in place of proof of vaccination. (Ravani, 12/21)
Bay Area News Group:
Oakland Will Require COVID-19 Vaccine To Dine Indoors
With COVID-19 surging again as the omicron variant rapidly spreads across the nation and world, the Oakland City Council has declared that diners and people entering other public gathering places must show proof that they’re vaccinated. In approving the emergency ordinance Tuesday, Oakland followed the lead of Berkeley and of San Francisco and Contra Costa counties, which recently issued similar orders. (Sciacca, 12/21)
City News Service:
LA Won’t Have To Pay Firefighters Who Refuse Vaccine During Termination Proceedings, Judge Rules
A judge Tuesday denied a preliminary injunction sought by a group of Los Angeles firefighters who sued the city, asking to be paid pending due process hearings before possible termination for refusing to be vaccinated against the coronavirus. Saying the balance of harms weighed against granting their request, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael P. Linfield issued his final ruling a day after hearing arguments in the lawsuit filed Sept. 17 by the nonprofit Firefighters4Freedom Foundation. (12/21)
The Washington Post:
Garland, Justice Dept. Say Prisoners Can Stay In Home Confinement
The Justice Department ruled Tuesday that the U.S. Bureau of Prisons is not required to reimprison thousands of federal inmates who were granted home confinement to limit the spread of the coronavirus — even after the federal health emergency ends. The decision reverses a January order issued in the final days of the Trump administration and allows the federal agency to avoid recalling prisoners en masse. (Nakamura, 12/21)
Los Angeles Times:
Low Vaccination Rates Driving Inland Empire Hospitalizations
The crowded conditions at some Inland Empire hospitals are generating concern as officials get ready for the spread of the highly infectious Omicron variant. While hospitals are in better shape now than they were during last winter’s COVID-19 surge, Riverside and San Bernardino counties are seeing a higher rate of COVID-19 hospitalizations than other areas of Southern California. (Evans and Lin II, 12/22)
Capital & Main:
Low Vaccine Booster Rates In California's Nursing Homes Alarm Experts
The early months of the coronavirus’s arrival in the U.S. exacted a horrific toll on the nation’s elderly, particularly those in skilled nursing and long-term care (LTC) facilities. In California, the pandemic’s deadly path through nursing homes exposed systemic staffing shortages, inadequate safety measures and the slipshod manner in which the industry is overseen. Nearly two years later, some of the nation’s most vulnerable residents are again at risk. And if their uptake of booster shots doesn’t escalate rapidly, experts fear another wave of severe illness and COVID death despite relatively high rates of vaccination among the elderly. (Kreidler, 12/21)
Modesto Bee:
Oakdale District Won’t Enforce COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate
The Oakdale Joint Unified School District says it won’t enforce California’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate for students and staff. In a 4-1 vote last week, the school board passed a resolution saying it will petition state officials to downgrade the requirement to a recommendation. (Isaacman, 12/21)
Modesto Bee:
Study: Teacher, Student COVID Cases Show Importance Of Masks
Rules requiring teachers to wear face masks in schools helped slow transmission of the coronavirus, a new study examining German schools finds. Though the first identified COVID-19 cases in one German region’s schools were most often reported among children, outbreaks were more serious when adults were the first ones infected. This was especially true during one period earlier in the pandemic, when campuses held face-to-face classes but staff were only required to wear masks some of the time, according to the study published in the journal Frontiers in Public Health. (Jasper, 12/22)
The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat:
Sonoma County Firefighters Hope To Help Ease Blood Shortage With Annual Competition
As blood banks across the U.S. struggle to keep up with ongoing demand amid lagging supply, Sonoma County firefighters hope to curb the local shortage with their annual blood drive competition. The 16th annual Bucket Brigade Blood Drive Challenge is a friendly competition that takes place every year and involves scores of Sonoma County fire departments in December and January. (Minkler, 12/21)
Los Angeles Daily News:
Meet A Doctor Who Brought Humanity To Patients During COVID’s Deadliest Days
He was there to give hope to his dying COVID patients suffering excruciating pain and misery isolated in sterile hospital rooms. Sometimes, Dr. Thomas Yadegar, along with the medical team at Providence Cedars Sinai Medical Center in Tarzana, held the hands of the dying throughout 2020 when love ones were turned away to avoid spreading the deadly virus. In the early days, medical teams weren’t sure what they were dealing with. (Love, 12/20)
CIDRAP:
Report Underscores Superbug Risk Of Medical Tourism
An investigation led by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has linked an outbreak of extensively drug-resistant infections among US medical tourists in 2018 and 2019 to a single facility and surgeon in Mexico. The results of the investigation, published last week in Emerging Infectious Diseases, revealed that 38 US patients who traveled to Tijuana, Mexico, for bariatric surgery from January 2018 through December 2019 came back with an infection caused by carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa—a virulent and opportunistic pathogen capable of causing severe illness. Of the 38 patients, 31 were operated on by the same surgeon, with 27 undergoing surgery at the same facility. (Dall, 12/21)
Modesto Bee:
Listeria Recall: Walmart, Albertson’s, Others’ Bagged Salads
Listeria found in a Fresh Express bagged salad caused the recall of not only over 60 Fresh Express bagged salad varieties, but store brands of Walmart, Albertson’s, Safeway, BJ’s Wholesale Club and other stores in 19 states and two Canadian provinces. And a Tuesday night update from the FDA and CDC says the CDC has found 10 people sickened by the same strain of listeria since 2016, one of whom has died. (Neal, 12/21)
KQED:
Managing Anxiety In The Age Of Everything
It's beyond doubt: A long list of stressors is playing havoc with our mental health. As The Washington Post reported in December, more than 4 out of 10 adults — or 43% — said they suffered from anxiety or depression, according to a Census Bureau pulse survey taken in November 2020. The pandemic's prolonged impact on youth mental health has proved "devastating" according to a public advisory from the U.S. surgeon general. (Severn, 12/21)
inewsource:
San Diego’s First Race And Equity Officer Wants To End Racism. But How?
San Diego hired its first chief race and equity officer over the summer, and months later questions are still being raised about what she will do. Kim Desmond will oversee the new office of race and equity and report to Mayor Todd Gloria. Her job, Gloria’s office says, is to provide advice and guidance to city departments and create new ways to improve transparency in local government. (Durham, 12/21)
San Francisco Chronicle:
San Francisco Gets $54.7 Million To Buy SoMa Building For Homeless Housing
San Francisco has secured $54.7 million in state funds that will help the city purchase a 160-room SoMa building to house formerly homeless people. Officials said Tuesday the money from California’s Project Homekey is to buy and operate the Panoramic building at Mission and Ninth streets. (Morris, 12/21)