Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Tech Companies Mobilize to Schedule Vaccine Appointments, But Often Fall Short
Techies and startups have thrown together vaccine appointment websites to address the chaotic rollout of covid shots. But software can’t replace vaccines, and for many people the sites are just another piece of the vaccination “Hunger Games.” (Miranda Green, )
A Grim Covid Tally: California, the most populous state, was poised to surpass New York as the state with the most coronavirus deaths. The Golden State hit 44,974 coronavirus deaths on Tuesday, closing in on New York’s 45,140 deaths. Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
S.F. Bay Oil Spill Prompts Health Advisory: An oil spill Tuesday afternoon at the Chevron Refinery sent at least a hundred gallons of oil, if not more, into San Francisco Bay waters. Residents were warned of possible eye, skin, nose or throat irritation. Contra Costa County Supervisor John Gioia said Tuesday night that the amount leaked could be as much as 600 gallons. He noted that some oil appeared to have washed up on the city shoreline. Read more from the Bay Area News Group.
Also —
Have you tried to get a covid vaccine? Confusion over eligibility, technical glitches and shortages are just a few of the issues people face when trying to set up an appointment to get vaccinated against covid-19. Tell us your stories.
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
Fresno Bee:
COVID Vaccine: Fresno County Doubles Allotment For The Week
Fresno County more than doubled its allotment of coronavirus vaccines this week. County public health officials had expected to receive 8,000 doses of the two vaccines for distribution — equal to the amount it received last week. Instead, it received 19,000 doses, which it will work to distribute over the next seven days. Officials weren’t exactly sure the reason for the increase, or if they can expect a similar allotment next week. Local officials have requested the state to inform them about how much vaccine they will receive over the next four weeks, which would help with distribution plans. (Tehee, 2/9)
Orange County Register:
OC Won’t Start Vaccinating Teachers, Food Workers For At Least Two Weeks
Orange County will wait at least another two weeks before offering COVID-19 vaccine shots to educators, food service workers and others who are newly eligible under state guidelines, county Health Officer Dr. Clayton Chau said Tuesday. Feb. 9. The additional time will help the county get through a waiting list of people 65 and older who haven’t been vaccinated yet, Chau told the Orange County Board of Supervisors. So far, about 100,000 of Orange County’s seniors, plus most of the county’s health care workers who wanted shots, have been inoculated, Chau said – but those two groups together equal more than 700,000 people, and vaccine supplies continue to be limited. (Robinson, 2/9)
CalMatters:
Teacher Vaccines In California Determined By Location, Luck
Teacher vaccinations have emerged as a central point of contention in California’s charged debate over reopening schools as unions representing teachers and school employees have listed vaccine access as one of their demands before returning to campuses. But, faced with a limited supply and dueling priority groups, many of California’s largest counties have not yet begun offering vaccines to teachers. And though some counties expect to begin vaccinating teachers within the next week or so, several others told CalMatters that their supply’s scarcity makes it difficult to project when their educators could expect a dose. Some counties don’t expect to offer vaccinations to teachers until a month from now or late March. (Cano, 2/9)
San Francisco Chronicle:
S.F. Teachers, Emergency Responders And Food Workers Eligible For Vaccine Starting Feb. 24
Teachers and child care workers, emergency responders, food and agricultural workers in San Francisco will be eligible to receive the coronavirus vaccine starting Feb. 24, San Francisco Mayor London Breed announced at a news conference Tuesday. The expanded vaccine eligibility is “a really exciting thing,” Breed said, but noted that supply remains limited. Currently, health care workers, long-term care residents and people 65 and older are the only groups eligible to receive the vaccine in San Francisco. (Vaziri, Bobrowsky and Thadani, 2/9)
Bay Area News Group:
Marin County To Widen Vaccine Access To 65-Plus Bracket
Marin County will expand the pool of people eligible for coronavirus vaccines to residents 65 and older beginning next week, the county’s public health officer said Monday. The change represents the first time that many of the the roughly 33,000 Marin residents between the ages of 65 and 74 will be able to book appointments to get vaccinated. The county has so far reserved its limited supply of vaccine doses for residents age 75 and older, in addition to people living in senior care centers, health care workers and other occupational groups. (Pera, 2/9)
The Desert Sun:
COVID-19 Vaccine: Palm Springs Convention Center To Become Vaccination Site
The Palm Springs Convention Center will open as a COVID-19 vaccine site on Friday, according to Dr. Geoffrey Leung, Riverside University Health System-Medical Center chief of family medicine. The move will take some pressure off Riverside County's vaccination site in Indio. Clinics at the Palm Springs site will be operated by Curative Inc., and appointments will be scheduled through Curative's website. Information about when appointments could be booked was not immediately available. The convention center was previously used as a COVID-19 testing site, also operated by Curative. (Sestito, 2/9)
The Bakersfield Californian:
County Unveils Drive-Thru COVID-19 Vaccination Site At Fairgrounds, Awaits More Doses Before Its Launch
On Tuesday, the Kern County Public Health Services Department unveiled what will become a major part of its mass vaccination plan: its drive-thru facility at the Kern County Fairgrounds. Nearly three weeks old, the fairgrounds site was implemented as a centralized location to get Bakersfield and the county vaccinated. The latest piece to that puzzle is the drive-thru amenity which, when fully running, should be able to accommodate about 3,500 Kern residents per day looking to get the COVID-19 vaccine. But the project won’t officially be operational until the county starts to get a lot more vaccine doses. (Gallegos, 2/9)
Los Angeles Times:
Mass-Vaccination Site Launches At 49ers Stadium In Santa Clara
A mass-vaccination site launched Tuesday at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, where 15,000 people are expected to be inoculated each day once vaccine supplies increase. A joint effort between the San Francisco 49ers, who play their home games at the stadium, and the Santa Clara public health system, the site will start by offering about 5,000 shots a day, county officials said. NFL officials earlier this month offered all of their stadiums to the federal government to be used as vaccine-distribution sites, the Associated Press reported. (Seidman, 2/9)
Bay Area News Group:
Coronavirus: California's Largest Vaccine Site Launches At Levi's Stadium
In a bid to dramatically boost the number of residents receiving the coveted coronavirus vaccine, the 49ers and Santa Clara County on Tuesday opened Levi’s Stadium as what officials hope will become California’s largest vaccination site in the coming weeks. On Tuesday, just 500 people were slated to get a shot, but that figure is expected to rise to several thousand a day by next week, and the stadium could accommodate up to 15,000 appointments a day if California can get enough vaccine, which is currently very limited in supply. “The goal is pretty straight forward,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday morning during a news conference outside the stadium in Santa Clara. “The goal is to design a system that has only one limitation: that is supply,” (Webeck and DeRuy, 2/9)
AP:
California Uses ZIP Codes, Outreach To Boost Vaccine Equity
In California, which has prioritized seniors and health care workers, Gov. Gavin Newsom has announced a federal partnership for mass vaccination sites set to open next week in Oakland and east Los Angeles, saying the locations were chosen to target working-class “communities that are often left behind." “Our focus is on equity, in and around that census tract, not just ZIP code," Newsom said Tuesday. “I don’t want folks coming from all over the Bay Area that are well resourced, that have vehicles, for example, that can get ahead of the line, literally not just figuratively, to take advantage of that." Newsom also says a new state vaccine distribution system will pay providers to offer shots in vulnerable neighborhoods and communities of color. Insurer Blue Shield of California will run the program and collect demographics on who's getting the shots. (Har and Taxin, 2/9)
Modesto Bee:
Stanislaus Officials Say COVID Vaccine Isn’t Fairly Allocated
Stanislaus County officials said Tuesday the county is dealing with the reality of not getting a proportional allocation of coronavirus vaccines for residents and essential workers. Vito Chiesa, chairman of the county Board of Supervisors, said the state is allocating more vaccine to affluent counties near the coast, while Stanislaus struggles to provide the shots to teachers, agricultural workers and people who have front-line jobs serving the public. Stanislaus has been able to administer 9,433 doses per 100,000 residents, which is about half the doses administered in Napa County per capita, according to the Los Angeles Times vaccination tracker. Stanislaus officials say all the doses allocated to the county each week are injected or distributed to approved health care providers. (Carlson, 2/9)
LA Daily News:
LA County Vows To Increase Equity For Coronavirus Vaccines In Hardest Hit Areas
One of the key aspects health officials tried to rely on to ensure the coronavirus vaccine reaches people in communities hardest hit by the virus involved using dozens of federally qualified health clinics specially tailored to provide care in underserved areas. There was just one problem. The vaccines being administered at those health clinics were not earmarked in any way for patients who use the clinic or for other people in the nearby community. Instead, many of those vaccination appointments have been snatched up by others, often driving from miles away for coveted doses. (Rosenfeld, 2/9)
Los Angeles Times:
The Frantic Race To Curb Racial Inequities In L.A. COVID-19 Vaccine Distribution
As stark disparities emerge in vaccination rates, L.A. County officials are jump-starting efforts to improve access for people of color. Strategies include creating more vaccination sites as well as better public messaging campaigns, improving access to transportation and reserving spots at neighborhood vaccination locations before people from other parts of the county can scoop them up. “We have a lot of work to do to fix this,” L.A. County public health director Barbara Ferrer said Tuesday at a county Board of Supervisors meeting. “However way you cut this data, it’s clear that in some of our hardest-hit communities, there are populations that are not getting vaccinated at the same rate as other groups.” (Vives, Cosgrove and Karlamangla, 2/10)
Modesto Bee:
Half Of California Prison Employees Are Reluctant To Get COVID Vaccine, Officials Say
Many California prison staff members have been reluctant to get their COVID-19 vaccination, according to testimony from a senior California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation official at a legislative hearing this week. “We had a very detailed online survey at the beginning of this (vaccination) effort. They found that about half the people want the vaccine now, and another quarter said ‘I’d like to see my buddy here go first but I want it,’” said Dr. Joseph Bick, director of Correctional Health Care Services at the department. (Sheeler, 2/9)
Sacramento Bee:
CA School Reopening Deal Could Come This Week, Newsom Says
Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature are getting close to a deal on reopening elementary schools and hope to announce a final plan this week, the governor said Tuesday morning. Newsom said he met with lawmakers Monday night and that negotiations are progressing. A key sticking point has been vaccines, and whether teachers will need to be vaccinated before returning to classrooms. Teacher unions argue schools shouldn’t require teachers to return unless they’ve been offered the vaccine. (Korte and Bollag, 2/9)
Sacramento Bee:
Sacramento County Nets $60 Million For COVID-19 Efforts
Unlike the previous allocation from the federal government, this one comes with a lot of strings attached. The purpose is limited to public health functions that the county is still sorting through. Dr. Olivia Kasirye said the grant will allow the Sacramento County’s public health division to substitute general fund revenue used in its budget with the new money. Supervisor Phil Serna said he hoped to avoid the same kind of public spectacle created last year when the county was given Coronavirus Relief Fund dollars. A decision by county administrators to direct most of the money to the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office proved controversial among residents who complained for months. (Finch II and Bizjak, 2/10)
Sacramento Bee:
Placer: Fewer COVID Deaths In January, More Vaccine Needed
The toll of COVID-19 on Placer County turned out not to be as deadly in January as public health officials feared. Forty-eight people died of the virus last month compared to an all-time high of 80 in December, said Dr. Rob Oldham, health and human services director and interim public health officer for Placer County. Of those who died, 91% had at least one underlying health condition, according to the county’s monthly epidemiology report. Oldham called the downward trend in COVID-19 activity “good news.” (Sullivan, 2/9)
AP:
California Probes Whistleblower Allegations From COVID Lab
The California Department of Public Health is investigating whistleblower allegations of mismanagement and incompetence, including reports of workers sleeping on the job, at the state's new billion-dollar COVID-19 testing laboratory. Internal documents from the PerkinElmer-run lab north of Los Angeles detail alleged problems like contamination causing inconclusive tests, swapped samples and inaccurate results sent to patients, according to records obtained by CBS13 TV in Sacramento. Documents also reveal that some employees handling patient specimens were unlicensed and inadequately trained, the report said. (2/9)
The New York Times:
How Covid Overwhelmed One L.A. Hospital In California’s Worst-Hit County
Over the New Year’s holiday, the grown children of two immigrant families called 911 to report that their fathers were having difficulty breathing. The men, born in Mexico and living three miles from each other in the United States, both had diabetes and high blood pressure. They both worked low-wage, essential jobs — one a minibus driver, the other a cook. And they both hadn’t realized how sick they were. Three weeks later, the men — Emilio Virgen, 63, and Gabriel Flores, 50 — both died from Covid-19. Their stories were hauntingly familiar at Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital, by size the hardest-hit hospital in the hardest-hit county in the state now leading the nation in cases and on the brink of surpassing New York with the highest death toll. In the intensive care unit on Jan. 21, Mr. Virgen became No. 207 on the hospital’s list of Covid-19 fatalities; Mr. Flores, just down the hall, became No. 208. (Fink, 2/8)
Ventura County Star:
Long-Awaited Study Shows No Major Health Concerns From Water Wells On Oxnard Plain
The area under study lies on the Oxnard Oil Field, an expanse in eastern Oxnard and southwestern Camarillo that contains more than 370 active, idled and abandoned oil and gas wells. It is classified by the state as high priority for groundwater monitoring, a recent report shows. The USGS study was issued late last month, almost two years after the Ventura County Board of Supervisors banned the drilling of wells using the steam injection process near the Fox Canyon Aquifer, which supplies drinking water for hundreds of thousands of county residents. The supervisors' temporary ban in April 2019 was triggered by preliminary results showing petroleum-related gases of unknown origin in three irrigation wells at the Oxnard field. The moratorium was extended repeatedly but expired in December, the maximum length it could run. (Wilson, 2/9)
Sacramento Bee:
Domestic Violence Grew ‘More Lethal’ In Sacramento County Amid Pandemic, Officials Say
Sacramento County had eight deaths linked to domestic violence in 2020, up from two in the prior year, according to a report that the District Attorney’s Office gave to the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. Dawn Bladet, the assistant chief deputy district attorney for the sexual assault and family violence bureau, said that her team “quickly recognized that the isolation of (the COVID-19) quarantine put domestic violence victims in a much more vulnerable place — often trapped within the same walls and unable to communicate for help.” Amid the pandemic, Sacramento County District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert devoted two of her Justice Journal podcasts to discussing how her office, law enforcement, community-based organizations and other district attorneys statewide are attempting to reach men, women and nonbinary individuals who are being abused in their homes. (Anderson, 2/10)
Southern California News Group:
California Man Sentenced To Prison In Erectile Dysfunction Drug Smuggling Scheme
A South Korean national who lived in Fullerton was sentenced Tuesday, Feb. 9 to nearly four years in federal prison for smuggling erectile dysfunction drugs into the United States and selling them as herbal enhancement products. Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office said 62-year-old Nam Hyun Lee — also called Daniel Lee — made millions of dollars from the scheme. He has been in federal custody since his arrest on October 31, 2018. Lee, who was living illegally in the United States, pleaded guilty in September to one count of smuggling misbranded drugs, namely Sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra, federal authorities said in a statement. He admitted that 21.4 kilograms of that drug was imported into the United States from China. In a plea agreement, Lee also admitted to smuggling Tadalafil, the active ingredient in Cialis. (Fausto, 2/10)
LA Daily News:
LA County Leaders Seek Faster Release Of FEMA Funds To Help Extend Hotel Rooms For Homeless
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday, Feb. 9, to lobby the federal government to more quickly fund the sheltering people experiencing homelessness in programs such as Project Roomkey — if not provide the funding upfront. The approval of the motion, authored by Supervisors Janice Hahn and Hilda Solis, comes on the heels of the Biden Administration’s announcement last month that the Federal Emergency Management Agency would provide 100% reimbursement, rather than the typical 75%, for local government spending on so-called “non-congregate” shelters. (Chou, 2/9)
Fresno Bee:
Fresno Considers Program To Reduce Evictions, Homelessness
Tenant activists are pressing the Fresno City Council to adopt a “right to counsel” program, where renters facing eviction would be provided with legal aid, similar to how public defenders are available for criminal defendants without representation. They say the program is critical in keeping people in their homes and off the streets. Evidence from cities with similar programs suggest there’s truth to that claim. A 2018 study found that evictions in New York City contributed to a significant and persistent increase in homelessness, along with higher emergency room use. (Bergstrom, 2/9)