LAUSD Employees Fired For Not Getting Vaxxed: Nearly 500 Los Angeles Unified school employees were fired Tuesday for refusing to comply with a district mandate that they get their covid-19 vaccine shots. The school board voted 7-0 in separate motions to terminate the workers. Employees were required to receive their second dose by Nov. 15. Read more from Southern California News Group.
In related news –
34,000 LAUSD Students Won’t Meet Vaccine Deadline: About 34,000 students have not yet complied with the covid-19 vaccine mandate in the Los Angeles Unified School District — and there’s no longer enough time for students who have not gotten their first shot to be fully vaccinated by the Jan. 10 start of the second semester, portending significant disruption to their education as they will be barred from campus. Read more from the Los Angeles Times and Bay Area 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
San Francisco Chronicle:
California ‘Definitely Seeing Omicron Across The State’ As Wastewater Yields Clues
The omicron variant of the coronavirus has been detected in wastewater samples in areas of Sacramento and Merced counties, but public health officials emphasized that the delta variant continues to pose the biggest immediate threat. The number of omicron cases diagnosed in California stands at just 10, but the wastewater sample suggests that there are more cases circulating, state epidemiologist Dr. Erica Pan said in a panel discussion on Tuesday. (Vaziri, 12/07)
Sacramento Bee:
Omicron COVID Variant Detected In Sacramento County Wastewater Last Month, Officials Say
Researchers have detected the omicron variant of COVID-19 in recent wastewater samples in Sacramento. “Sacramento County Public Health was notified on Friday, December 3 that there were low concentrations detected of the HV69-70 mutation that’s being used as a marker for omicron in a Sacramento sample collected on Tuesday, November 30,” Sacramento County spokeswoman Janna Haynes said in an email. (McGough, 12/7)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Omicron Variant In California: Even Less Severe Omicron Will ‘Still Be Nasty’ In Spread, Prominent UCSF Doctor Says
Bay Area experts say that despite worries about the omicron variant’s ability to spread quickly, nothing yet known about it warrants behavior changes outdoors. California now has reported nine omicron cases in all, though public health officials said they expect to find many more in the coming weeks. As colleges of all kinds grapple with how to come back from a pandemic that deepened existing educational inequities, some students are wondering if they can. (Vaziri, Beamish, Galbraith and Fracassa, 12/07)
Bay Area News Group:
COVID: How Bad Is Omicron? Here's What New Research Is Telling Us
The new omicron variant is spreading fast. But research is beginning to catch up. Because an early case was detected in San Francisco, local scientists have quickly started growing the virus in high-security labs at UC San Francisco, UC Berkeley and Stanford. Using cell cultures, they’ll soon learn how readily it transmits, whether it can dodge our defenses and outcompete delta. In mice, they’ll study whether it produces illness that is severe or mild. (Krieger, 12/07)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
With Omicron Variant Inbound, County Board Votes To Explore Ways To Increase Rapid Testing, Early Treatment
County supervisors had their first monthly COVID-19 report since the Omicron variant became a global concern on Tuesday, but did not pepper public health leaders with questions about how local coronavirus policies would change if cases and hospitalizations surge significantly this winter. (Sisson, 12/7)
NBC News:
CDC Zeroes In On Anime Convention To Understand Omicron Variant
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has reached out to tens of thousands of people who attended a recent anime convention in Manhattan as it works to understand the risks of the Covid-19 omicron variant. CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said during a White House media briefing Tuesday that the agency is looking at the convention, which ran from Nov. 19-21 and was attended by a Minnesota man who later tested for omicron, as a way to collect data on the transmissibility of the variant. (Bush, 12/7)
The Washington Post:
First Lab Results Show Omicron Has ‘Much More Extensive Escape’ From Antibodies Than Previous Variants
The first in-depth laboratory study of the omicron variant of the coronavirus offers a mixed bag of bad news and good news. The bad: This variant is extremely slippery. It eludes a great deal of the protection provided by disease-fighting antibodies. That means people who previously recovered from a bout of covid-19 could be reinfected. And people who have been vaccinated could suffer breakthrough infections. But the findings of the study, which tested the omicron variant of the coronavirus against the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, aren’t entirely bleak. The study, released Tuesday, found that even if the power of vaccines is diminished in the face of omicron, there’s still some protection afforded against the virus. And it suggests that booster shots could be key in the battle with the variant. (Johnson and Achenbach, 12/7)
The Hill:
First Study Of Omicron Shows Pfizer Vaccine May Be Less Effective
The omicron variant of the coronavirus partially evades antibody immunity from two doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, according to initial data from South Africa published Tuesday. The small study of 12 patients conducted by the Africa Health Research Institute found there was about a 40-fold reduction in vaccine-induced neutralizing antibodies compared to the ancestral strain of the virus. Six of the 12 people were previously infected with COVID-19 during South Africa’s first wave. (Weixel, 12/7)
Reuters:
Study Suggests Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine May Only Partially Protect Against Omicron
The Omicron variant of the coronavirus can partially evade the protection from two doses of Pfizer Inc and partner BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine, the research head of a laboratory at the Africa Health Research Institute in South Africa said on Tuesday. Still, the study showed that blood from people who had received two doses of the vaccine and had a prior infection were mostly able to neutralize the variant, suggesting that booster doses of the vaccine could help to fend off infection. (Erman, 12/8)
The Washington Post:
First Plant-Based Coronavirus Vaccine Shows ‘Positive’ Results, Say GlaxoSmithKline And Medicago
Pharmaceutical companies Medicago and GlaxoSmithKline announced on Tuesday “positive efficacy and safety results” from a global trial using what they say is the world’s first plant-based coronavirus vaccine. ... Plant-based vegan and vegetarian alternatives in food and materials markets have become increasingly popular globally, as consumers choose them for environmental or religious reasons, but Brian Ward, medical officer at Medicago, told The Washington Post that it would not be appropriate to categorize the vaccine candidate as such: “The plants that are used simply act as bioreactors to produce the antigen.” (Suliman, 12/7)
Marin Independent Journal:
Marin Reports COVID Spike But No Omicron Variant
Marin’s COVID-19 cases have surged in the last two weeks, but the increase can’t be blamed on the new omicron variant. “The delta variant is our dominant variant and it continues to be,” Dr. Matt Willis, the county’s public health officer, told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. “That is an important reality for us with all of the attention being paid to omicron. The surge we’re seeing in cases now is in fact being driven by the delta variant.” (Halstead, 12/8)
San Francisco Chronicle:
COVID Cases Are Rising Quickly In Highly Vaccinated Marin. Here’s Why The Mask Mandate Isn’t Coming Back
Marin County’s COVID-19 case rates have more than doubled in the past 10 days and are now the highest in the Bay Area. But the county, which has one of the highest vaccination rates in the country, is not seeing a rise in hospitalizations or deaths — illustrating what is perhaps the region’s clearest example of vaccination successfully preventing the worst COVID outcomes. The county is shifting to hospitalizations, instead of case rates, as its main metric to form pandemic response policies, health officer Dr. Matt Willis told county supervisors Tuesday. This includes the criteria to reimpose indoor mask mandates in stores and other public settings — a mandate that Marin lifted on Nov. 1. (Ho, 12/07)
Los Angeles Times:
California Prepares For Winter COVID-19 Surge; If Not From Omicron, Then From Delta
California is preparing for a winter COVID-19 surge — if not from the newly identified Omicron variant, then from the Delta variant, which still poses a severe threat and has already caused surges in other states. It’s still far from clear what kind of increase California will see, and the state has been doing better than other parts of the country. But officials say they want to be ready. (Lin II and Money, 12/07)
San Francisco Chronicle:
‘Just A Cold’? During COVID, How To Know If It’s OK To Go To Holiday Gatherings When You Have The Sniffles
Experts say that especially with the arrival of the omicron variant and its many unknowns, the pandemic places far more responsibility on a guest who has symptoms that could be consistent with COVID-19. Testing, observing health protocols and ensuring clear communication are key to keeping everyone as safe as possible, they say, especially guests who may be more vulnerable. (Hwang, 12/07)
Bay Area News Group:
San Jose: Extends Outdoor Dining Street Closure To Summer 2022
Despite the pandemic’s unpredictable trajectory, San Jose is making one thing certain: the beloved parklets and sidewalk seating areas that have livened up barren streets and allowed restaurant owners to keep their lights on during recent trying times are here to stay. Using $700,000 in COVID-19 federal relief funds, San Jose officials plan to help restaurants transform temporary seating areas set up in on-street parking spaces or sidewalks during the COVID-19 pandemic into permanent fixtures across the city. (Angst, 12/07)
NBC News:
Biden's Plan For Free At-Home Covid Test Could Be Ineffective, Experts Warn
Sabrina Corlette, a co-director of the Center on Health Insurance Reforms at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy, said not all families will be able to pay up front for at-home tests, which can cost more than $20. Even for people who can afford it, part of the challenge for the Biden administration will be to make people aware of the reimbursements. Private insurance holders "may not know how to save their receipt or that their health plan will even cover it," Corlette said. "So that's almost the first step, is just making sure people know that they can now do this." It is also unclear whether the plan will limit the number of tests people can be reimbursed for and whether there will be certain restrictions on who qualifies for reimbursement. (Egan, 12/7)
NBC News:
Judge Issues Nationwide Injunction Against Biden's Vaccination Mandate For Federal Contractors
A federal judge on Tuesday issued a nationwide injunction against a vaccine mandate for federal contractors, ruling that President Joe Biden probably exceeded his authority by imposing the requirement. Judge R. Stan Baker, who's based in Georgia, temporarily blocked implementation of the administration after a lawsuit from numerous states and a trade group argued that letting the mandate take effect on Jan. 4 would cause "irreparable injury" to workers who could be forced out of their jobs. (Gregorian, 12/7)
Capital & Main:
DeBlasio Sets Vaccine Precedent In New York. Will California Follow?
Maybe it took a politician with little to lose in order to get it done. On Monday, Bill DeBlasio, the outgoing mayor of New York City, announced the most sweeping COVID vaccination mandate yet seen in the U.S. At least, by appearances that’s what he did. What DeBlasio’s order may actually wind up doing is giving cover to business owners who have long wanted to put mandates in place, but weren’t eager to face personal blowback from their employees. (Kreidler, 12/7)
Bay Area News Group:
Contra Costa Health Told To Keep Issuing COVID Vaccine Fines
Restaurants in Contra Costa County that refuse to check customers for proof of vaccination against COVID-19 soon may discover that health enforcement inspectors won’t be playing nice with them anymore. The Board of Supervisors made it clear Tuesday that restaurants should be fined if they don’t follow the county’s mandate that eateries, gyms and bars cannot serve indoor diners who aren’t inoculated. (Mukherjee, 12/07)
NBC News:
Thousands Of Service Members Miss Covid Vaccination Deadlines
Thousands of active-duty service members have failed to comply with the Biden administration’s Covid-19 vaccine mandate, raising the prospect that they will be forced to leave their positions or the military altogether. The vaccination deadline for active-duty members of the armed services has passed for the Air Force, Navy and the Marine Corps. The Army's deadline is Dec. 15. (McCausland, 12/7)
The New York Times:
Lawmakers Reach Deal To Overhaul How Military Handles Sexual Assault Cases
House and Senate negotiators reached a landmark agreement on Tuesday that would strip military commanders of most of their authority to prosecute sexual assaults and myriad other criminal cases, a move that Pentagon leaders, lawmakers and presidents have resisted for nearly a generation. The legislation, part of a broad defense policy bill, comes after nearly two decades of efforts by female lawmakers and survivors’ groups, and in spite of fierce last-minute lobbying against the proposal by military lawyers. (Steinhauer, 12/7)
Stars And Stripes:
New Air Force Rules Allow Hands In Pockets, Slew Of Uniform And Appearance Changes
Loosened Air Force dress and appearance standards have taken effect, giving airmen license to put their hands in their pockets and talk on cellphones while walking, among other changes. The rules, which were implemented Friday, also allow men an extra half-inch bulk of hair or cosmetic scalp tattoos “to create a natural hair appearance” to compensate for thinning hair. Women are now permitted to have eyelash extensions of their natural hair color, and they can wear headbands or scrunchies up to 2 inches wide. Also, hosiery is optional for their dress uniforms. (Garland, 12/7)
Marin Independent Journal:
Marin County Parents Could Face Prosecuting For Sending COVID-Positive Child To School
The Marin County District Attorney’s Office is reviewing whether to charge the parents who sent a COVID-positive child to school in Corte Madera. County authorities referred the case to prosecutors for possible violation of public health laws. Authorities allege the parents knowingly sent their infected child and a sibling to school and failed to notify school officials about the infection. (Brenner, 12/08)
Orange County Register:
Pandemic Once Closed Schools; Now It’s Financing Them
Christmas came early this year for Orange County’s school districts, in the form of hundreds of millions of dollars from state and federal COVID-19 relief funds. The money will buy things as diverse as new air filtration systems, computers, WiFi hot spots, classroom projectors and, of course, lots of face masks. It also will pay for people to help students: more teachers, counselors, aides, special education experts and campus nurses, with a special emphasis on addressing the mental health needs of students. Depending on the district, the money also will be used for improvements in gyms and other facilities. (Kopetman, 12/07)
Los Angeles Times:
Surgeon General Advisory: Youth Mental Health Crisis Looms
Citing mounting evidence of ongoing harm, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy on Tuesday issued a public health advisory on the mental health challenges confronting youth, a rare warning and call to action to address what he called an emerging crisis exacerbated by pandemic hardships. Symptoms of depression and anxiety have doubled during the pandemic, with 25% of youth experiencing depressive symptoms and 20% experiencing anxiety symptoms, according to Murthy’s 53-page advisory. There also appear to be increases in negative emotions or behaviors such as impulsivity and irritability — associated with conditions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or ADHD. (Blume and Gomez, 12/07)
The Washington Post:
A youth mental health crisis was already brewing. The pandemic made it worse, surgeon general says.
The situation painted across the U.S. surgeon general’s 53-page advisory is dire. Compared with 2019, emergency room visits for suicide attempts rose 51 percent for adolescent girls in early 2021. Among boys, there was a four percentage point increase. Depression and anxiety doubled during the coronavirus pandemic, with 25 percent of youths experiencing depressive symptoms and 20 percent suffering anxiety symptoms, according to the report published Tuesday. (Paul, 12/7)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Mental Health Teams That Respond To Emergencies In Lieu Of Police Will Soon Be Available Countywide
Behavioral health teams that can respond to mental health and substance use emergencies instead of police will be available to all county residents starting Wednesday, officials announced. Every year, officers and deputies across the county respond to tens of thousands of mental health calls. Many of these calls are rightly classified as emergencies and require a speedy response, but county and law enforcement leaders agree that these situations don’t always benefit from the presence of officers. (Winkley, 12/7)
The New York Times:
Pediatricians Find Children Need Much More Than Vaccines
Near the end of one of the first days that 5- to 11-year-olds could get a coronavirus shot last month, Dr. Anne Steptoe, a pediatrician, sat hunched in her cramped office between packages of diapers, onesies and children’s books, cataloging the week’s patients on her laptop. One teenage girl had been sleepless and suicidal; another was anemic. Several young boys had gained weight during the pandemic. A 10-year-old had been plagued by asthma attacks and was using her inhalers incorrectly. Another child of the same age needed a mental health consultation after angry outbursts at school. (Weiland, 12/7)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Borrego Health To Shutter Two Clinics At Center Of Federal Lawsuit, Lay Off 100-Plus Employees
The Borrego Community Health Foundation, the little-known but giant federal health care provider that has been under criminal investigation for more than a year, is closing two of its clinics and laying off more than 100 workers. Officials from the Borrego Springs-based nonprofit known as Borrego Health announced the decision late last week, saying the move became necessary after its landlord canceled leases for the Barstow and San Bernardino clinics. (McDonald, 12/7)
Los Angeles Times:
Harris Urges Senate To OK $3 Billion For Maternal Health
Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday urged Congress to allocate an additional $3 billion for maternal healthcare and expand postpartum Medicaid coverage to one year as part of the proposed social safety net and climate package now before the Senate. Harris’ call to action came during the White House’s first Maternal Health Day of Action event, held to draw attention to the fact that the U.S. maternal mortality rate is more than double that of most other developed nations. (Logan and Evans, 12/07)
San Francisco Chronicle:
‘Pharma Bro’-Founded Company Settles With California, FTC For $40M Over Drug Price Hikes
The Federal Trade Commission and seven states, including California, announced a settlement of up to $40 million on Tuesday against Vyera Pharmaceuticals for raising the price of a potentially life-saving medication, Daraprim, from $17.50 to $750 per tablet — more than 4,000% — after obtaining exclusive rights to the drug in 2015. But the FTC and the states will proceed with a trial next week against the company’s founder and former chief executive, Martin Shkreli. Daraprim treats the parasitic infection toxoplasmosis, which can cause serious illnesses in pregnant women and can be fatal for those with weakened immunity systems, such as HIV patients. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and medical organizations have recommended the drug in the past as the initial therapy of choice. (Egelko, 12/7)
Stat:
Shkreli's Former Company Pays $40 Million For Blocking Drug Competition
The infamous saga began when Vyera Pharmaceuticals, previously known as Turing Pharmaceuticals, bought Daraprim, a drug taken by HIV patients, and raised the price by more than 4,000% — from $17.50 a tablet to to $750. The move galvanized criticism of the pharmaceutical industry at a moment when the cost of prescription drugs was becoming a pocketbook issue for many Americans. {Martin] Shkreli, a former hedge fund manager who seemed to sport a perpetual smirk, quickly became reviled for his smarmy responses to an outraged public. He later was sentenced to jail for unrelated securities fraud, but now faces a Dec. 14 trial for stifling competition because he refused to agree to the settlement with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and six states. (Silverman, 12/7)
Bay Area News Group:
Elizabeth Holmes Trial: Feds Fight To Re-Focus Jury On Damning Evidence
After Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes’ emotional turns on the witness stand last week, the prosecution on Tuesday worked to turn the proceedings back to the most damning evidence against her. Prosecutor Robert Leach, cross-examining Holmes at her criminal fraud trial in U.S. District Court in San Jose, showed jurors an email Holmes’ brother Christian, a product manager at the now-defunct Palo Alto blood-testing startup, sent to Holmes and former company president and chief operating officer Sunny Balwani. Holmes’ brother described an “action plan” to hide from a group of visiting potential investors that Theranos could not always use its much-hyped finger-stick method of blood collection, instead needing to draw blood from veins with a needle. (Baron, 12/07)
The New York Times:
Elizabeth Holmes Caps Her Testimony With A Round Of Denials
For the six days that Elizabeth Holmes, the founder of the failed blood-testing start-up Theranos, took the stand in her fraud trial, she blamed others, accused a former boyfriend of abusing and controlling her, and reframed her actions as trying to do good for her company. On Tuesday, Ms. Holmes capped her defense with flat denials. “I don’t think I did that,” she said in response to a question about whether she had minimized the findings of a devastating regulatory inspection at Theranos. She then blamed her company’s lawyers for “doing a lot of the talking in that meeting.” (Griffith, 12/7)
The Wall Street Journal:
Elizabeth Holmes’s Testimony: Moments That Might Influence Jurors
Elizabeth Holmes’s surprise turn on the witness stand in her criminal-fraud trial has given jurors a close look at the control she held over her blood-testing startup Theranos Inc., and at the alleged torment she endured in her personal life at the same time. Her six days of testimony have included moments that helped and hurt her case, trial observers say. (Randazzo, 12/7)
The Washington Post:
The Elizabeth Holmes trial is the hottest ticket in Silicon Valley
Cissy Fitzsimmons usually enjoys listening to true-crime podcasts while walking on the beach near her Santa Cruz home. But for the past two weeks, she has been leaving her house at 4 a.m. and driving 40 miles to watch a case play out in real life. The trial of Elizabeth Holmes, the former CEO of failed blood-testing start-up Theranos, has become a circus of spectators at the Silicon Valley courthouse. Since Holmes began testifying in mid-November, the line to get one of the limited seats in the courtroom often stretches to more than 50 people before 7 a.m., winding past the courthouse gates. Testimony isn’t televised or otherwise available for streaming. (Lerman, 12/7)
AP:
Biden's Supreme Court Commission Releases Final Report
The makeup of the Supreme Court has come into even sharper focus following a ban on abortions after six weeks in Texas and arguments last week on a Mississippi case in which the 6-3 conservative-leaning court signaled a willingness either to overturn or substantially roll back abortion rights enshrined in the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision and its 1992 ruling in Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which reaffirmed Roe. A decision isn’t expected for months. The commission’s review was a campaign promise Biden made in response to pressure from activists and Democrats after the court’s composition tilted sharply to the right during former President Donald Trump’s term. He’s largely avoided the topic since. (Long, 12/8)
Politico:
Most Voters Back Abortion Rights But Are Not Swayed By Threat To Roe, Poll Finds
Far more voters say they want the Supreme Court to leave Roe v. Wade in place than not, but the issue isn't a key motivator heading into the midterm elections, according to a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll. Justices by next June are expected to decide whether to scrap the half-century-old decision underpinning abortion rights and let states chose if they want to ban the procedure early in pregnancy. Already, activists on both sides of the issue are framing the stakes for voters and pouring millions of dollars into ads, voter mobilization efforts and direct campaign donations. (Ollstein, 12/7)
AP:
If Roe Falls, Some Fear Ripple Effect On Civil Rights Cases
If the Supreme Court decides to overturn or gut the decision that legalized abortion, some fear that it could undermine other precedent-setting cases, including civil rights and LGBTQ protections. Overturning Roe v. Wade would have a bigger effect than most cases because it was reaffirmed by a second decision, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, three decades later, legal scholars and advocates said. The Supreme Court’s conservative majority signaled in arguments last week they would allow states to ban abortion much earlier in pregnancy and may even overturn the nationwide right that has existed for nearly 50 years. A decision is expected next summer. (Whitehurst, 12/8)
KQED:
Abortions Services Are Still Hard To Find For Rural And Low Income Californians
If the Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade, Californians won’t lose the right to an abortion. The right to have one is codified into state law. But having the right to an abortion isn’t the same as having good access to one — especially if you’re low income or live in rural parts of the state, where 40% of mostly rural counties in California — home to hundreds of thousands of people in the state — have no clinics that provide abortions. (Cruz Guevarra, Orr, Cabrera-Lomelí and Montecillo, 12/08)
KQED:
California Reparations Task Force: Berkeley Housing Advocate To Highlight Sharp Decline In Black Residents
California’s reparations task force, a statewide group charged with developing recommendations that address the impact of slavery in the state, is scheduled to meet this week to discuss ongoing housing issues, such as gentrification. The first of its kind in the nation, the task force was created through AB 3121, authored by then-Assemblymember Shirley Weber, now the state's first Black secretary of state. The task force has been investigating anti-Black discrimination in California that continued after slavery, working to educate the public on its research, determining the compensation for Black Californians, and drafting an apology. The task force also is researching: the history of environmental racism, where higher concentrations of pollution have been found in Black neighborhoods, and the devastating effects of white supremacy and overpolicing. (Gonzalez and Watt, 12/07)
inewsource:
San Diego County Clears Encinitas Hemp Farm Blamed For Health Issues
Environmental regulators found no evidence that the pesticides used on an Encinitas hemp farm impacted the health of its neighboring residents, but the investigation prompted by the neighbors’ complaints did find the hemp farm operator was misusing pesticides. San Diego County conducted the investigation after neighbors complained for months of nausea, dizziness and respiratory problems. (Sequeira, 12/08)
Santa Cruz Sentinel:
Judge Tosses Lawsuit Against Santa Cruz Syringe Exchange Program
The Superior Court of California rejected a lawsuit a community group filed against a local syringe exchange program. “This is a massive victory for us,” said Harm Reduction Coalition of Santa Cruz County Fiscal Director Kate Garrett in a statement. “We have wasted so much time having our resources drained by this lawsuit and being forced to turn our attention away from the fight against HIV, COIVD-19, hepatitis, overdoses and all of the other harms our participants experience.” (Stuart, 12/08)
Los Angeles Times:
Why Car Crash Deaths Have Surged During COVID-19 Pandemic
It was a tally that shocked the experts: 38,680 deaths on U.S. roadways last year, the most since 2007 even though pandemic precautions had dramatically reduced driving. “This was completely unprecedented,” said Ken Kolosh, a researcher at the nonprofit National Safety Council. “We didn’t know what was happening.” (Baumgaertner and Mitchell, 12/08)
Sacramento Bee:
How Christmas Decorations Cause House Fires: What To Know
Between 2015 and 2019, U.S. fire departments responded to an average of 790 home fires per year that started with holiday decorations, according to a report from the National Fire Protection Association, a leading fire resource. Fires caused by holiday decorations, excluding Christmas trees, resulted in an annual average of one death, 26 fire injuries and $13 million in direct property damage.More than two of every five decoration fires happen because decorations are placed too close to a heat source, according to the report. (Taylor, 12/08)