San Francisco Says It’s Not Opening Supervised Drug-Use Sites: San Francisco’s plan to open a dozen so-called wellness hubs where people can use drugs under the supervision of trained staff, including a couple by next June, has stalled because of legal and logistical issues. Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle. Keep scrolling for more on the opioid crisis.
LA’s In-Home Caregivers Could Get Pay Raise: Caregivers who attend to elderly and disabled people in their homes in Los Angeles County could get a wage boost under a proposal approved Tuesday by the county Board of Supervisors. Workers have argued that the county’s current rate of $16 an hour has made it difficult to scrape by amid rising costs for rent, gas, and groceries. Read more from the Los Angeles Times.
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:
L.A. County Facing A Full-Blown Coronavirus Surge As Cases Double, Deaths Rise
Los Angeles County appears in the midst of another full-blown coronavirus surge, with cases doubling since Thanksgiving. The spike — which partially captures but likely does not fully reflect exposures over the Thanksgiving holiday — is prompting increasingly urgent calls for residents to get up to date on their vaccines and consider taking other preventive steps to stymie viral transmission and severe illness. (Money and Lin II, 12/6)
San Francisco Chronicle:
COVID Levels Rising In Bay Area Wastewater. Is The Surge Here?
The Bay Area is experiencing another sharp spike in the coronavirus, as wastewater samples from the region’s sewer sheds show a new COVID-19 surge is already under way and could soon surpass the previous winter wave in the number of people who get infected. “We remember that the last two winters have been extraordinarily difficult. I, unfortunately, need to tell you that this winter is shaping up to be no different,” Dr. Sara Cody, the health officer for Santa Clara County, said at a Tuesday press briefing. “Our wastewater numbers are absolutely skyrocketing.” (Vaziri, 12/6)
The Desert Sun:
California Continues To See High Rates Of COVID-19, Flu, RSV Cases
California is continuing to see steep infection rates of COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus cases this year with concerns that the worse is yet to come. (Sasic, 12/6)
KQED:
Where Can I Find A New COVID Booster Shot Near Me Ahead Of The Holidays?
New Moderna and Pfizer booster shots of the reformulated COVID-19 vaccine are now available — and Bay Area residents are being urged to get one ahead of the holidays amid a sharp rise in infection rates. The updated booster shots, called bivalent vaccines and sometimes referred to as "the omicron booster," target both the original strain of the coronavirus and the widespread BA.4/BA.5 omicron subvariants that have largely evaded previous boosters. These new booster shots "can help restore protection that has waned since previous vaccination and were designed to provide broader protection against newer variants," said CDC Director Rochelle Walensky when authorizing the shots back in September. (Severn, 12/6)
CIDRAP:
Meta-Analysis Estimates 29% Vaccine Effectiveness Against Long COVID
A meta-analysis of six studies estimates that one dose or more of COVID-19 vaccine is 29% effective against symptoms persisting for at least 3 weeks after infection, or long COVID. (Van Beusekom, 12/6)
Reuters:
Pfizer Partners With Clear Creek Bio To Develop Oral COVID-19 Drug
Pfizer and Clear Creek Bio Inc on Tuesday announced a collaboration to identify a potential drug candidate and develop a new class of oral treatment against COVID-19, as Pfizer seeks to expand its anti-infective pipeline. (12/6)
CIDRAP:
COVID-19 Rebound Found Uncommon After Antiviral Treatment
Early reports suggested a link between nirmatrelvir-ritonavir (Paxlovid) and viral rebound, but more recent studies have concluded that rebound may be simply part of the natural course of some COVID-19 cases. (Van Beusekom, 12/6)
Politico:
Defense Bill Rolls Back Pentagon’s Covid Vaccine Mandate
A compromise defense policy bill released Tuesday night would end the Pentagon’s policy requiring troops to receive the Covid vaccine — and kicking out those troops who refuse it — delivering a win to Republicans who railed against the policy. A final version of the National Defense Authorization Act included the measure after conservatives threatened to hold up the bill to curtail the vaccine mandate. The policy became a point of contention in talks in recent days between Democratic and Republican leaders over the bill. (O'Brien, 12/6)
The Hill:
Democrats Make Major Concession On Vaccine Mandate
In a compromise with Republicans, House Democrats are allowing language into the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) that repeals the coronavirus vaccine mandate for U.S. service members a year after it was enacted, House Armed Services Committee ranking member Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) confirmed to The Hill Tuesday. The bill, which lays out how an $847 billion Defense Department top line will be allocated in fiscal 2023, is tentatively set to be released as early as Tuesday evening and voted on by the House Thursday, Rogers said. Asked if he believes the language will stick amid all the last-minute jostling over the bill, Rogers replied: “Yes.” (Mitchell, Frazin and Lillis, 12/6)
The Wall Street Journal:
Lawmakers Agree To Rescind Military’s Covid-19 Mandate In Defense Deal
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) hailed the revocation of the vaccine mandate as a victory for the military and common sense. But the policy change doesn’t reinstate troops discharged for refusing the vaccine, as Mr. McCarthy and other Republicans had wanted. (Wise and Ferek, 12/6)
Roll Call:
New Wrinkle In Veterans Dispute As Negotiators Seek Omnibus Deal
Democrats want to reclassify some Veterans Affairs spending as mandatory during the current negotiations for a fiscal 2023 omnibus, but Republicans object to the effort as a chance for Democrats to increase nondefense spending in other policy areas. (McPherson and Quigley, 12/6)
Bloomberg:
Cannabis Banking Measure Left Off Defense Bill In Setback For Industry
A marijuana banking measure was left out of a must-pass defense bill, significantly narrowing the chances that legislation to clear the way for legal cannabis businesses to use the financial system can get passed before Democrats lose control of the House in January. (Dillard, 12/7)
Sacramento Bee:
CA Hospitals Have Little Room For Kids As Flu, RSV Surge
“This is no longer just focused on kids,” said Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly. “It’s the pediatric kid systems who continue to be stressed — and the adult systems who are experiencing overall hospital census numbers that rival some of the hardest moments of the pandemic.” (Anderson and Angst, 12/6)
CIDRAP:
Probe Details Mpox Infection In California Health Worker
An investigation into an occupational mpox infection in a California physician found multiple possibilities for transmission, including contact with contaminated surfaces. Investigators from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and their partners in California detailed their findings yesterday in a letter in Emerging Infectious Diseases. (Schnirring, 12/6)
Axios:
FDA Fast-Tracks Review Of Over-The-Counter Opioid Drug
A nasal spray for reversing opioid overdoses could become available over-the-counter as early as next March after the Food and Drug Administration gave it priority review. Advocacy groups, medical associations and federal agencies have said expanding the availability of naloxone is critical to addressing the addiction epidemic that killed more than 100,000 Americans last year. (Moreno, 12/7)
NBC News:
Drug Deaths Among Pregnant Women Hit A Record High
The number of pregnant women and new mothers dying from drug overdoses grew dramatically as the pandemic took hold, reaching a record high in 2020, a new study finds. The research, published Tuesday in JAMA, provides a stark look at how substance use disorder is harming pregnant people who are less likely than others to seek or receive help for a dependency on opioids and other drugs. (Edwards, 12/6)
Fast Company:
This Breakthrough Fentanyl Vaccine Could Curb The Opioid Crisis
A new vaccine in development at the University of Houston aims to help those who are addicted by blocking fentanyl from entering their brain or spinal cord, preventing the drug’s euphoric effects, and, ultimately, averting an overdose or relapse. (Toussaint, 12/7)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Why Has S.F. Evicted Hundreds Of Homeless People From Supportive Housing? City Leaders Vow To Find Out
Months after a Chronicle investigation exposed the troubling number of people returning to homelessness after being evicted from city-funded supportive housing programs, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors is planning to hold a hearing to better understand what’s driving the displacement. Supervisor Dean Preston, who represents a large section of central San Francisco including the Tenderloin, requested the hearing at the board’s Tuesday meeting. He said he hopes the probe, which will be taken up by a board committee, will explain why hundreds of formerly homeless people have been pushed out of housing in recent years. (Palomino and Thadani, 12/6)
CapRadio:
Sacramento City And County Approve Homelessness Partnership
Sacramento’s city and county governments unanimously approved a partnership agreement on Tuesday that calls for the agencies to work together to reduce the region’s growing homelessness emergency. Called the Homeless Services Partnership Agreement, the deal commits the county to opening up to 600 new homeless shelter beds. It also requires the local governments to form joint city-county outreach teams to visit encampments. (Nichols and Lam, 12/6)
San Francisco Chronicle:
8 Ways To Improve San Francisco Housing For Homeless People
Supportive housing is the linchpin of San Francisco’s effort to pull homeless people off the streets. The idea is that the city’s most vulnerable can rebuild their lives but that they need help with challenges like poor health, joblessness and drug addiction. The city, which now spends more than $600 million a year on homelessness services, hopes to add hundreds of new supportive housing units over the next few years. But how these units are created matters. (Fagan, Avila and Blanchard, 12/6)
Oaklandside:
Volunteer Chefs Keep Oakland’s Pandemic-Era Free Fridges Full Of Hearty Meals
Every other day, Gary Wade walks a few blocks from his home in West Oakland to City Slickers Farms. He says hello to everyone, and hangs out with the chickens. Then he goes to their “town fridge” to grab some fresh greens. If he’s lucky, he’ll also find a home-cooked meal from Community Kitchens’ Home Chef Volunteer Program. The meatloaf is his favorite. (Dennis, 12/6)