Latest From California Healthline:
California Healthline Original Stories
Stop Blaming Tuskegee, Critics Say. It's Not an 'Excuse' for Current Medical Racism.
The Tuskegee syphilis study is often cited as a reason Black Americans might hesitate to take the covid-19 vaccine. But many people say that current racism in health care and lack of access deserve more attention to move more Black Americans toward vaccine protection. (April Dembosky, KQED, )
Birx Joins Air-Cleaning Industry Amid Land Grab for Billions in Federal Covid Relief
Air-cleaning companies with limited oversight are targeting a growing market of schools desperate for covid-19 protection. Donald Trump’s former covid adviser lands with one that built its business, in part, on ozone-emitting technology. (Christina Jewett and Lauren Weber, )
Some People Luckier Than Others As Eligibility Opens Up Sporadically: A growing number of California’s 61 health departments have broken with state health guidelines and made covid shots available to potentially millions of additional people, sparking joy among locals, and frustration and envy from residents in counties that are sticking with stricter rules. Read more from the Los Angeles Times.
S.F. Janitors Seek Safer, Healthier Work Environments: Hundreds of San Francisco janitors planned to walk off their job sites citywide Wednesday morning as part of an unfair labor practice strike demanding workplace safety measures, including improved ventilation in the buildings they work, union officials said. Read more from the San Francisco Chronicle.
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
USA Today:
Obamacare Enrollment Period Extended For Health Insurance Subsidies
The Biden administration is extending for three more months a special opportunity for people to sign up for government-subsidized health insurance through the federally run marketplace. Instead of ending May 15, the special enrollment period will run through Aug. 15 to give people more time to take advantage of the expanded subsidies included in the recently passed $1.9 trillion stimulus package. (Groppe, 3/23)
The Wall Street Journal:
Biden Administration Extends Enrollment Period For Affordable Care Act
The Biden administration is giving people more time to sign up for health plans under the Affordable Care Act after already reopening a special enrollment period because of the pandemic. The Department of Health and Human Services said Tuesday that consumers will have until Aug. 15 to sign up for plans, extending the deadline from May 15. The special open-enrollment period began Feb. 15 to help people who had lost jobs because of the pandemic gain health-insurance coverage. (Armour, 3/23)
Modern Healthcare:
CMS Extends Open Enrollment Period Until Aug. 15
The Biden administration on Tuesday extended the exchange special enrollment period until Aug. 15, giving consumers in 36 states three more months to signup for coverage through HealthCare.gov. According to CMS, the change will allow more people to take advantage of greater financial assistance for marketplace plans under the American Rescue Plan. President Joe Biden signed the bill into law earlier this month. About 1 in 4 people who enroll in coverage through the federal website will be able to upgrade to a plan with lower out-of-pocket costs or a lower premium than their current plan, the agency said. Consumers can cash in on the additional savings starting April 1. (Brady, 3/23)
LA Daily News and Orange County Register:
Coronavirus: Vaccination Totals And Tier Levels For California Counties On March 23
As of Tuesday, March 23, the California Department of Public Health’s vaccine dashboard showed about 19.29 million doses have been shipped throughout the state (2.6 million in the past two weeks) and of those, 15.1 million have been administered. According to Bloomberg’s dashboard, 19.7% of California’s population has received at least one shot and 13.2% are fully vaccinated. California has the highest daily rate of doses administered in the country at 380,370 (up from 204,065 per day two weeks ago). The second-highest rate belongs to Texas with 169,185. (Snibbe, 3/23)
LA Daily News:
Can Coronavirus Vaccines Be Home Delivered? LA County Is Working On It
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, March 23, gave the green light to an effort that would deliver coronavirus vaccine to homebound people. The Board’s unanimous vote instructs the county’s Public Health Department and other county agencies to assess the needs of people who for health reasons or age cannot get to any site in the network of nearly 400 vaccination clinics throughout the county. (Carter, 3/23)
San Jose Mercury News:
Why Is Contra Costa Outpacing Santa Clara In Vaccines?
They are separated by about 30 miles, but Santa Clara and Contra Costa counties have suddenly become worlds apart in their quests to vaccinate residents against COVID-19. Contra Costa County flipped a switch this week, opening up vaccine eligibility to anyone 50 or older who lives or works in the county. But Santa Clara has been cancelling appointments for already-eligible older and high-risk residents and engaging in high-profile battles with both the state and now Kaiser Permanente that appear to be contributing to its woes. (DeRuy, 3/23)
Los Angeles Times:
California COVID Cases Fall Amid New York, Florida Surges
Despite rising coronavirus case rates in other parts of the nation, California is continuing to see its metrics trend downward. At least for now. Even as the state’s numbers remain comparatively positive, officials are urging caution — saying California can ill afford to see its progress reverse so soon after emerging from its own horrific fall and winter surge. (Money, 3/23)
LA Daily News:
Transmission Rate Spike Spurs Fear Of New Coronavirus Surge In LA County
With the encouraging wane of coronavirus statistics in Los Angeles County comes a red flag on this week, an increase in the rate of transmission. The transmission rate — a measure of just how “spreadable” the virus is at a given point in time — was at .93 as of Monday, March 23, an increase over last week’s .87 rate and .77 just weeks ago, according to the the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services. If the rate — otherwise known as “R,” or “R-naught” — gets above 1, spread of the virus becomes exponential. (Carter, 3/23)
San Francisco Chronicle:
S.F. Moves To Orange: 'Downtown Is Going To Start To Come Alive Again'
San Francisco lifted a handful of coronavirus restrictions Tuesday as cases continued to drop, and allowed offices to partially reopen for the first time since a brief period in the fall. “Downtown is going to start to come alive again,” Mayor London Breed said Tuesday, celebrating the city’s advance to the orange tier of the state’s reopening plan that loosened some restrictions on business and other activities. (Thandani and Vaziri, 3/23)
San Francisco Chronicle:
Why Experts Still Warn Against Indoor Dining, Even As S.F. Advances To Orange Tier
Despite indoor dining expanding across the Bay Area and San Francisco entering the orange tier on Tuesday, local infectious disease experts still warn that the activity presents some risk for even fully vaccinated people. One expert said he was even more concerned now than when indoor dining first started opening in early March. The Chronicle interviewed three health experts about the risk levels for vaccinated people interested in indoor dining two weeks ago. While they didn’t agree on every detail, they all warned that indoor dining may not be worth the risk for some vaccinated people, particularly those who are older with pre-existing health conditions — it’s possible vaccinated people still could get sick or transmit the virus to others. (Bitker, 3/23)
Fresno Bee:
U.K. Strain Crops Up In Madera County, California
A variant of coronavirus that emerged in the United Kingdom last fall has been discovered in a Madera County resident, the fifth person in the central San Joaquin Valley to be infected with the mutated strain. The B.1.1.7 variant, also called the U.K. variant, showed up in a test sample that was sent to a state testing lab for genetic sequencing. Officials with the Madera County Department of Public Health said the person has already completed an isolation period and is no longer contagious. (Sheehan, 3/23)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Young Man With COVID-19 Finally Leaves The Hospital After Six Months On Life-Saving Device
More than eight months after COVID-19 put him in a hospital bed, Eduardo Moreno left Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla on Tuesday with his family pushing him through a throng of cheering health care workers. The 32-year-old from Norwalk illustrates just how long the tail of this disease can be. Having gone down to Ensenada on July 3, he was among those who surged across the border about 10 days after the Fourth of July holiday, arriving by ambulance at Scripps Mercy Hospital Chula Vista on July 13. When his lungs began to succumb to inflammation, he was evacuated to La Jolla where he spent nearly six months on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation therapy. (Sisson, 3/23)
Capital & Main:
Small Businesses Exempted From California's Expanded Sick Leave
You could denote the past year of the pandemic by any number of markers, but it may ultimately be recalled for its seemingly nonstop barrage of temporary measures intended to help get U.S. residents through it. “Stopgap” has been the watchword of the realm. In that spirit, the latest COVID-19 relief measure signed last week by California Gov. Gavin Newsom fits right in. Senate Bill 95 expands sick leave for an estimated 10.4 million workers in the state by mandating up to two weeks of paid time off for those employees to deal with COVID-related issues, including symptoms and illness, vaccination, child care and schooling. (Kreidler, 3/23)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
Sweethearts Of 72 Years Hold Hands, Hug After A Year Of Social Distancing
Every day, for more than two years, Francis “France” Doiron drove from his home in Chula Vista to the nearby Birch Patrick Skilled Nursing Facility to visit with his wife, Roberta. He arrived each morning at 6:30 to greet her as she woke up and stayed until 6 p.m., when it was time for bed. Most days, the couple held hands and listened to their favorite songs. France, 95, visited his 92-year-old wife so frequently that staff sometimes thought he lived there, too. (Mapp, 3/23)
The Washington Post:
Saliva Test For Concussions Found By University Of Birmingham Researchers
Researchers say they can diagnose concussions accurately using a biomarker in saliva, a groundbreaking finding that raises the possibility that doctors and athletic trainers could rapidly determine whether someone suffered a concussion using an objective test, according to a peer-reviewed article published Tuesday in the British Journal of Sports Medicine. The implications reach beyond the playing field but are significant for sports — especially football, which for years has grappled with how to diagnose concussions and when to allow players to return to play after potentially suffering a brain injury. An objective test would not replace the standard clinical assessment based on symptoms, but it could provide a crucial supplement for confirming concussions or even finding ones that went unreported. (Kilgore, 3/23)
San Diego Union-Tribune:
No Health Checkpoints Going From San Diego To Tijuana, Mexican Consul Says
The Mexican consul general in San Diego said Tuesday that no health control checkpoints will be placed at border crossings from San Diego to Tijuana. On Thursday, the Mexico’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported via its Twitter account that restrictions would be imposed on all land traffic for nonessential activities on its northern and southern borders. In addition, sanitary control measures would be put in place. The consul general, Carlos González Gutiérrez, clarified the announcement after some believed additional health checkpoints would be installed at the border. (Mendoza, 3/23)
Fresno Bee:
Two Identical Central Valley Stillbirth Cases In Controversy
Attorneys question if a failure by local governments in the Central Valley to adequately invest in public health has led to what they describe as a region ill-equipped to support pregnant women and people with substance abuse. The lawyers who spoke to The Fresno Bee raised those questions as part of the ongoing legal battle in two Kings County murder cases involving stillbirths. Both women used drugs during their pregnancies. The Bee recently reviewed dozens of court documents related to the cases of Chelsea Becker and Adora Perez. (Amaro, 3/22)
Los Angeles Times:
Prince Harry Is Awarded A New Title: Chief Impact Officer
Britain’s Prince Harry has been awarded a new title that presumably he never expected: chief impact officer. BetterUp, a San Francisco-based startup devoted to promoting psychological well-being, announced “with great pleasure” Tuesday that the prince had joined the company to help sharpen its vision and build awareness of the importance of “mental fitness.” Harry, who is also known as the Duke of Sussex, has been a vocal advocate of mental health and spoken openly of the depression he suffered after the death of his mother, Princess Diana, when he was just a boy. (Chu, 3/24)
USA Today:
Prince Harry Has A New Job With Mental Health Organization BetterUp
More than a year after first stepping back from his official duties with the British royal family, Prince Harry has a new job with an American employee coaching and mental health organization. BetterUp, Inc. announced Tuesday the Duke of Sussex would be joining their team as its first chief impact officer, in a role in which he'll aim to "lift up critical dialogues around mental health, build supportive and compassionate communities, and foster an environment for honest and vulnerable conversations. (Yasharoff, 3/23)
Fox News:
LA Homeless Mull Staying As They Await Fate Of Massive Encampment: Report
As a massive Los Angeles homeless encampment in Echo Park faces possible closure and some people living there may not leave, according to reports on Tuesday. David Busch-Lilly, who lives at the park and has been homeless for 20 years, told the Los Angeles Times, "I've slept on the streets for the last 10 years in Venice, until the last seven months here and it felt like a retreat." He voiced dissatisfaction with city initiatives that seem to put a Band-Aid on the homeless problem. "These hotel rooms last three to six months, and then they tell you you're gonna go to a congregate shelter where you're gonna be separated from your partner, your pets, your possessions," he said. (Aaro, 3/24)