Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
'It’s a Minefield': Biden Health Pick Must Tread Carefully on Abortion and Family Planning
President Biden vowed to reverse reproductive health restrictions enacted by President Trump. His pick to run HHS, Xavier Becerra, fought the Trump efforts but must now navigate a difficult legal and political landscape. (Noam N. Levey and Rachel Bluth, )
As Covid Cases Fall, Five Counties Move To New Tiers: California public health officials promoted five counties into looser, red-tier covid-19 restrictions Tuesday. Yolo, Humboldt, Marin, San Mateo and Shasta counties changed status. Read more from the Sacramento Bee, Los Angeles Times and Bay Area News Group.
40% Of California Prisoners Have Had Covid Shots: About 40% of people in the custody of California’s corrections system have received the covid vaccine, a figure praised by prison advocates. 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
San Francisco Chronicle:
Xavier Becerra Survives Fireworks-Free Senate Confirmation Hearing
Republicans have called Xavier Becerra a radical leftist, but during his first Senate hearing on his nomination to run the federal Health and Human Services Department, the atmosphere was collegial. Despite weeks of GOP attacks on the California attorney general, his exchanges with lawmakers on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Tuesday were polite and largely policy-related. But the friendly atmosphere didn’t foreshadow a landslide confirmation vote for Becerra, as many Republicans expressed reservations. (Kopan, 2/23)
The Hill:
Biden Health Nominee Faces First Senate Test
President Biden’s nominee to lead the massive federal health agency faced his first hearing in the Senate on Tuesday, with some Republicans indicating he doesn’t have the experience necessary for the job but others appearing to leave the door open to supporting him. (Hellmann, 2/23)
The Hill:
Pressed On School Reopening, Becerra Says It's A 'Local Issue'
Xavier Becerra, President Biden's nominee to be secretary of Health and Human Services, said Tuesday when pressed about school reopenings that they are a "local issue," declining to answer a specific question about the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance. (Sullivan, 2/23)
Modern Healthcare:
Becerra Supports Access To Care, Provider Funding During Confirmation Hearing
HHS secretary nominee Xavier Becerra on Tuesday threw his support behind efforts to improve access to care, aligning himself with President Joe Biden's healthcare agenda. During his confirmation hearing before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, the current California attorney general focused on issues affecting the healthcare industry, including coverage expansion, access to care and provider funding. He is also slated to appear before the full Senate and Senate finance committee on Wednesday. (Brady, 2/23)
Stat:
Republicans’ New Becerra Attack: He’s Not Sympathetic Enough To Pharma
Republican senators on Tuesday blasted President Biden’s health secretary nominee using an unexpected argument: He’s not sympathetic enough to the pharmaceutical industry. The attack on Xavier Becerra, California’s attorney general, is a surprising twist following years of agitation on Capitol Hill and from the Trump administration over high drug prices. But it also highlights the credibility that pharmaceutical companies may have earned after developing several Covid-19 vaccines in record time, and the challenge Becerra could face in balancing pricing frustrations with the industry’s central role in pandemic response. (Facher, 2/23)
Roll Call:
Video: Becerra Touts Health Care Record As GOP Targets Nomination
President Joe Biden’s pick to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Xavier Becerra, appeared Tuesday for his first of two Senate confirmation hearings. He started with the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Watch CQ Roll Call health care reporter Mary Ellen McIntire break down how Becerra presented his background, and where Republican senators may not see common ground. (McIntire and McKinless, 2/23)
CNBC:
FDA Staff Endorses J&J’s Single-Shot For Emergency Use
The FDA staff said it determined that the clinical trial results and safety data were “consistent with the recommendations set forth in FDA’s guidance Emergency Use Authorization for Vaccines to Prevent COVID-19.” J&J submitted its Covid vaccine data to the FDA on Feb. 4. The vaccine’s level of protection varied by region, J&J said, with the shot demonstrating 66% effectiveness overall, 72% in the United States, 66% in Latin America and 57% in South Africa, where the B.1.351 variant is rapidly spreading. The company said the vaccine prevented 100% of hospitalizations and deaths. (Lovelace Jr., 2/24)
NPR:
FDA Analysis of Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 Vaccine Finds It Safe, Effective
The Food and Drug Administration released an analysis of Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine Wednesday morning that supports its authorization for emergency use. On Friday, a panel of advisers to the agency will meet to evaluate the vaccine and make a recommendation about whether it should be given the OK. If the agency goes on to authorize the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, it would be the third, after those made by Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna, to be become available in the U.S. (Hensley, 2/24)
NPR:
Why The Johnson & Johnson Vaccine Has Gotten A Bad Rap — And Why That's Not Fair
In clinical trials, the Johnson & Johnson vaccine appears to be 66% effective at preventing moderate to severe cases of COVID-19 — compared to about 95% for Moderna and Pfizer. That has some people wondering if they should avoid the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Absolutely not, says Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the Brown University School of Public Health. "What I've been saying to my family is, as soon as the J&J vaccine is authorized, if that's what you can get, you should get it as soon as it's your turn in line," says Jha. (Shapiro, 2/22)
Los Angeles Times:
California Vaccine Equity Program Will Change After Misuse Of Codes
Gov. Gavin Newsom on Tuesday announced that California would be making changes to a program designed to address inequities in the distribution of the COVID-19 vaccine, after a Times report uncovered evidence that outsiders were misusing the program to grab appointments reserved for residents of neighborhoods hit hardest by the pandemic. “We don’t like to see those abuses,” Newsom said at a news conference in Sacramento. (Wick, Lau and Nelson, 2/23)
LA Daily News:
LA County Officials Have Harsh Words For Coronavirus Vaccine Inequity – And Line-Jumping Cheaters
Just one week away from expanding eligibility for the coronavirus vaccine by up to 1.8 million people, Los Angeles County officials are worried the online system required by the state to book appointments will continue to pose challenges in communities hit hardest by the pandemic. Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Hilda Solis said on Tuesday, Feb. 23, that she was “not surprised,” but nonetheless “disgusted” by certain people using any means necessary to obtain vaccine doses. “I can tell you I was very alarmed to hear that individuals had gained access from the code given hours before the pod was set up,” Solis said, describing a vaccination site at a public housing facility in Boyle Heights intended only for seniors who live there. “And somehow they were able to get in line ahead of the people this was intended for.” (Rosenfeld, 2/23)
Sacramento Bee:
Crowdsourcing Sites Target COVID-19 Vaccine Doses In CA, US
Vaccine hunting websites are merging social media savvy with old-fashioned phone calls, popping up nearly overnight to join a growing digital community dedicated to tracking down available COVID-19 vaccines. “We thought, ‘There has to be some better way.’ We went from conversation to website in less than 24 hours,” said Zoelle Egner, a co-organizer of the California vaccination information site VaccinateCA.com. The site debuted in January, one of the many crowdsourced vaccine tracking sites and online wait lists that have emerged across a nation where the death toll from COVID-19 surpassed 501,000 as of Tuesday evening, according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 49,000 in the state have died from the virus as of Tuesday, California Department of Public Health numbers show. (Smith, 2/24)
Sacramento Bee:
COVID Vaccine: Sacramento County Says Supply Insufficient
Sacramento County officials on Tuesday charged the state with short-changing them on vaccine doses under a new distribution system — and complain they have asked the state to recalculate planned shipments, but have so far been rebuffed. Local health officials say they have been told their weekly shipment this week will be 18% lower than last week at the same time that the state’s overall allocation is expected to increase nearly 23%. “This is just not acceptable,” county health chief Jim Hunt said in a report to the county Board of Supervisors. “We have pointed out the inequities.” (McGough and Bizjak, 2/23)
Orange County Register:
Orange County Plans To Open Multiple Vaccination Sites For School Employees
School employees could soon have access to multiple locations for receiving a COVID-19 vaccine shot as Orange County begins to inoculate its education sector. A vaccination site that, for now, is serving educators 65 years or older is expected to reopen for appointments in the Garden Grove Unified district on Wednesday, Feb. 24, as shipments of doses delayed by the recent winter storms across the country begin to arrive. Next, the Orange County Department of Education is planning to roll out several more vaccination pods (points of dispensing) on school properties throughout the county over the next several weeks, department spokesman Ian Hanigan said. (Albano, 2/23)
Los Angeles Times:
L.A. School Reopening Contingent On Teacher Vaccinations
Los Angeles schools Supt. Austin Beutner on Tuesday presented a plan to the school board for reopening campuses that includes the full period needed for employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19, delaying the return of elementary students to early April at best. School officials repeatedly targeted April 9 for a campus reopening date, but Beutner described the date as an estimate, saying that the crucial issue is access to vaccines for the 25,000 employees needed for the operation of elementary schools serving 250,000 students in the nation’s second-largest school system. (Blume, 2/24)
The Bakersfield Californian:
Rosedale Union School District Organizes Onsite Clinic To Vaccinate Hundreds Of Employees
Teachers who for months have been dealing with the challenges of distance learning — or extreme social distancing efforts in classrooms — seem to be ready for a change. Many are counting on newly available vaccines to help pave the way. "I've been waiting for this day," said Laurie Dunham, a second-grade teacher at Rosedale North Elementary School in northwest Bakersfield. Dunham was one of 250 teachers, administrators and other employees in the Rosedale Union School District to receive COVID-19 vaccinations Tuesday at a clinic set up through a partnership between the 650-employee school district and Priority Urgent Care. (Mayer, 2/23)
Fresno Bee:
Vaccine Eligibility Expanding In Fresno County. Here’s Who Can Get COVID Shots Next Week
Fresno County will see an expansion in the number of people eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine next week, as clinics open up to begin providing shots to workers in education and the food/agriculture industries. In particular, vaccines for the food and agriculture workers will involve more than people who work in food processing plants or workers in farm fields or orchards, said Joe Prado, community health division manager for the Fresno County Department of Public Health. (Sheehan, 2/23)
Los Angeles Times:
40% Of Inmates In California Have Been Vaccinated For COVID
About 40% of people in the custody of California’s corrections system have received the COVID-19 vaccine, a figure praised by prison advocates who say that only a fraction of the state’s vaccine is needed to protect a population that’s one of the most vulnerable to the virus. The vaccinations began Dec. 22 at the California Health Care Facility in Stockton, according to California Correctional Health Care Services. As of Monday, 37,588 incarcerated individuals and 24,959 staff members had received the vaccine. There are currently more than 94,000 people in the custody of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, or CDCR. (Miller, 2/23)
Bay Area News Group:
SamTrans To Offer Free Bus Rides To COVID Vaccination Sites
The San Mateo County Transit District on Thursday will begin offering free bus rides on existing lines to COVID-19 vaccination sites for people who live or work in the county. Passengers going to a vaccination site must let the bus operator know as soon as they board and show proof of a vaccination appointment or a vaccination card, the agency said in a news release Tuesday. Redi-Wheels and Redi-Coast paratransit services will also offer eligible participants free rides to and from vaccination sites. Riders, the agency said, need to indicate while booking their reservation that the trip is for the purpose of a COVID-19 vaccination. (Green, 2/23)
San Francisco Chronicle:
When Could S.F. Reach Herd Immunity As Vaccinations Speed Up? A UCSF Expert Explains The Math
After a sluggish start, San Francisco’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout has picked up in recent weeks. The city reached a high of nearly 6,000 daily vaccinations in mid-February before widespread shortages caused mass vaccination sites like Moscone Center to temporarily close. Still, things are looking up in San Francisco. Coronavirus case rates within the city and the broader Bay Area region have plummeted since early January, and experts say that’s at least in part due to vaccinations. Already, 18% of San Francisco’s 16-and-over population has been vaccinated, according to the city’s vaccine tracker. (Neilson, 2/23)
San Francisco Chronicle:
S.F. School Board Approves Plan With Labor Unions To Reopen Classrooms
San Francisco school officials unanimously approved a health and safety agreement with labor unions allowing the reopening of schools before the end of the academic year. The deal, approved during Tuesday’s school board meeting, is the first major hurdle in bringing the first students back into classrooms for in-person learning, although the unions and district are still at odds over what the school day will look like when classrooms reopen. Any return to in-person instruction — which is not a certainty — is likely at least two months off. (Asimov and Tucker, 2/23)
San Francisco Chronicle:
San Francisco Lifts Mandatory Travel Quarantine As Coronavirus Cases Fall
San Francisco is lifting its travel quarantine mandate amid dropping coronavirus cases and hospitalizations, though public health officials said people should still avoid non-essential trips outside the Bay Area and isolate at home if they return from out of state. The mandatory quarantine was put in place in mid December, when cases were exploding from a surge tied to Thanksgiving travel. The policy required people quarantine for 10 days after returning to San Francisco from anywhere outside the region. (Allday, 2/23)
Sacramento Bee:
California Could Restore COVID-19 Paid Sick Leave To Workers
California workers could get two more weeks of paid sick leave to care for themselves or their loved ones affected by COVID-19, under a proposal introduced by Democratic legislators this week. If passed, the package would restore a temporary benefit that expired at the end of last year and let more workers stay home to prevent the coronavirus from being spread at workplaces, legislators and labor advocates said. “Really, it’s a recognition of the hard work that essential workers have had to do while the rest of the society has been able to safely stay at home,” said Assemblywoman Wendy Carrillo, D-Los Angeles. (Park, 2/24)
Ventura County Star:
Life Could Return To 'Near Normal' By Late Summer, Says Ventura County Health Officer
Many COVID-19 restrictions could be eased and life could return to "near normal" by late summer, Ventura County Health Officer Dr. Robert Levin predicted Tuesday. "Many, many of us will have been vaccinated," said Levin who declined to be more specific than "late summer." "I’m thinking we’ll be traveling. We’ll be going to restaurants indoors and outdoors. We’ll be going to movies. "Levin talked about the timetable at a Ventura County Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday dominated by improving COVID-19 metrics. The gains have led to the ability of elementary schools to open and the likelihood a benchmark will be hit within days allowing football and many other outdoor high school sports to resume. (Kisken, 2/23)
LA Daily News:
Valencia’s New COVID-19 Lab Pushes Back After Report Of ‘Significant Deficiencies’
A Valencia COVID-19 testing lab that was found to have “significant deficiencies” during a recent state inspection says it has corrected the problems and believes the facility is not in danger of closure. The $25 million Valencia Branch Laboratory at 28545 Livingston Ave. was unveiled in late October and began processing tests Nov. 1. The 134,000-square-foot facility was converted for its new use by the Massachusetts-based diagnostics company PerkinElmer, which operates the lab under a $1.7 billion contract with the state. (Smith, 2/22)
The Bakersfield Californian:
2 Kern Medical Outpatient Pharmacies To Stay Open For Now
Kern Medical will continue operating its two outpatient retail pharmacies for now, the health care system announced Tuesday. It had previously said the two locations would shutter March 31 because of changes in the state's reimbursement for Medi-Cal pharmacy prescriptions that provide funds to operate the pharmacies. (2/23)
Fresno Bee:
Surprise Honors Doctors & Nurses At Fresno CA Hospital
Prominent Fresno defense attorney Tony Capozzi surprised Community Regional Medical Center staff, who he credits with saving his life, with recognition awards through the hospital’s Honor Your Care Hero program on Tuesday. Capozzi recently had treatment for a rare, life-threatening condition called arteriovenous malformation, a blood vessel abnormality, in his case involving his colon. Capozzi was in surgery for nine hours then spent 11 days in recovery. (Walker, 2/23)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
San Diego's Truvian Sciences Raises $105M To Bring Common Wellness Blood Tests Closer To Home
Truvian Sciences, a San Diego startup that’s developing a benchtop blood testing machine to bring rapid, point-of-care health screening to local pharmacies, medical clinics and corporate wellness centers, has raised $105 million in a third round of venture capital funding. The influx of capital will enable the company to pursue U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of its automated blood testing technology by the end of this year, said Chief Executive Jeff Hawkins. (Freeman, 2/24)
CNBC:
Tiger Woods Is ‘Awake, Responsive And Recovering’ After Car Crash And Emergency Surgery
A luxury SUV driven by Tiger Woods crashed and rolled over Tuesday morning in southern California, leaving the golf superstar with serious injuries, authorities and his agent said. Woods is “awake, responsive, and recovering in his hospital room” after undergoing emergency surgery, according to a statement posted on his Twitter account. Dr. Anish Mahajan, chief medical officer and interim CEO at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, said Woods “suffered significant orthopaedic injuries” to his lower right leg. A rod was inserted to stabilize his tibia and femur bones, while a “combination of screws and pins” were used to stabilize injuries to the bones of the foot and ankle, the statement posted on Woods’ Twitter account said. (Mangan, 2/24)
Bay Area News Group:
New Stanford Research: Why Zoom Meetings Can Wipe You Out
COVID-19 pandemic has moved our lives into a virtual space. Why is that so exhausting? The tiredness doesn’t feel earned. We’re not flying an airplane, teaching toddlers or rescuing people trapped in burning buildings. Still, by the end of the day, the feeling is so universal that it has its own name: Zoom Fatigue. Stanford University professor Jeremy Bailenson, founding director of the Stanford Virtual Human Interaction Lab, has some answers. In research published Tuesday in the journal Technology, Mind and Behavior, he describes the psychological impact of spending hours every day on Zoom, Google Hangouts, Skype, FaceTime, or other video-calling interfaces. It’s the first peer-reviewed article to analyze zoom fatigue from a psychological perspective. (Krieger, 2/23)
Bay Area News Group:
California Father And Son Must Pay Millions For National Drug Rehab Fraud, Judge Says
A father-son team must pay $26.7 million in restitution, and do time in federal prison, for fraudulently signing up addicts for health insurance and getting kickbacks from treatment centers in California. Jeffrey White played the dominant role creating the scam, leading his son Nicholas White into a scheme that used fake addresses to buy policies for clients in states where they didn’t actually live, but where Obamacare health care exchanges offered the most generous reimbursements for addiction treatment, the U.S. Department of Justice said. (Sforza and Saavedra, 2/24)
Capital Public Radio/KXJZ:
Sacramento Warming Centers Remain Closed Due To COVID-19 As Strong Winds Return
With wind gusts expected to hit 50 mph in the Sacramento region Wednesday, officials are urging unhoused residents to take advantage of a city parking garage for emergency shelter. While winds are not expected to reach the 60 mph the city saw earlier this winter, it will be plenty powerful enough to cause some damage. “It’s going to get quite windy,” said National Weather Service Meteorologist Jim Mathews. One option not in play for shelter are city-run warming centers after positive COVID-9 tests among volunteers forced their closure last week. (Fletcher, 2/23)