Los Angeles Times: California Ends COVID Test Mandate For Unvaccinated Workers 
California has rescinded coronavirus testing requirements for unvaccinated workers at schools, healthcare facilities and other congregate settings, the latest rule to be rolled back as the state enters what officials say is a new phase of the pandemic. The changes, which took effect Saturday, mean employees in those fields who have not completed their primary COVID-19 vaccine series will no longer need to undergo weekly tests. (Money and Lin II, 9/20)

The New York Times: California Rolls Out Covid Booster With Little Fanfare 
Gone are the days when Gov. Gavin Newsom crisscrossed the state urging Californians to roll up their sleeves for their Covid shots. Routine checks of vaccination cards to enter restaurants are a thing of the past. In downtown San Francisco, the Moscone Center, once the site of a mass vaccination clinic, has long since reverted to a convention center. Newly formulated Covid booster shots are now available to those 12 and older, tailored to protect against both the original version of the virus and the Omicron variant. But the distribution of the new shots in California, as in much of the rest of the country, has come with little fanfare. (Browning, 9/21)

The Washington Post: FDA Releasing Millions Of Moderna Boosters As States Warn Of Shortages 
The federal government is releasing millions of Moderna booster shots that were delayed by the Food and Drug Administration as a result of a safety inspection at an Indiana packaging plant, even as states report shortages and encourage people to get Pfizer boosters instead. (Diamond, 9/20)

AP: Official: Canada Likely To Drop Vaccine Requirement To Enter
Canada will likely drop the vaccine requirement for people who enter Canada by the end of September, an official familiar with the matter told The Associated Press on Tuesday. Canada, like the United States, requires foreign nationals to be vaccinated when entering the country. It is not immediately known whether the U.S. will make a similar move by Sept. 30.Unvaccinated travelers who are allowed to enter Canada are currently subject to mandatory arrival tests and a 14-day quarantine. (Gillies, 9/20)

The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat: Sonoma County Public Health Experts Qualify Biden’s Claim On Pandemic Being ‘Over’
Dr. Gary Green, one of Sonoma County’s leading infectious disease experts, says he knows what President Joe Biden meant when he recently declared the pandemic was "over." “The pandemic crisis is over but I would say the pandemic isn’t over in general,” Green said. (Espinoza, 9/20)

The Hill: Biden Clarifies COVID Comments: Pandemic ‘Basically Is Not Where It Was’ 
President Biden on Tuesday sought to clarify his comments from days earlier that the coronavirus pandemic “is over,” telling guests at a fundraiser that the COVID-19 situation is not as bad as it was. Biden attended a Democratic National Committee fundraiser in New York City ahead of his speech Wednesday to the United Nations General Assembly. At one point, speaking about efforts on the pandemic, Biden referenced his comments to Scott Pelley of CBS last week in which he said the pandemic was “over.” (Samuels, 9/20)

Los Angeles Times: Monkeypox Vaccine Eligibility And How To Get One
MPX vaccines are easier to get than ever before. L.A. County has expanded eligibility for the vaccine and made it more widely available at walk-up clinics around the county. A new statewide campaign is even offering free round-trip Uber rides for people looking to get their shots. (Roy and Toohey, 9/20)

San Francisco Examiner: Vaxi-Taxi: Uber To Provide Free Rides To Monkeypox Vaccination Sites 
Uber announced that it will be providing free rides for people seeking monkeypox vaccines on Tuesday morning, in partnership with LGBTQ+ civil rights group Equality California. The offer covers round trip rides, up to $30 each way. This will be the first time the civil rights organization will partner with a rideshare agency to provide free transportation for the community, said Samuel Garrett-Pate, director of External Affairs at EQCA. (Hetherwick, 9/20)

Forbes: Monkeypox Could Cause Neurological Issues Like Nerve Pain And Brain Inflammation, Researchers Warn
The global outbreak of monkeypox and linked vaccination campaign could lead to a spate of neurological issues like nerve pain, seizures, brain inflammation and mood disorders like anxiety and depression, a group of scientists warned in a review of research published Tuesday in JAMA Neurology, urging further research into the poorly understood disease as the number of new cases in the U.S. falls. (Hart, 9/20)

AP: Police Search For Suspect Who Stabbed Nurse At LA Hospital 
Police searched Tuesday for a man suspected of stabbing a nurse at a Los Angeles hospital in an unprovoked attack, prompting a lockdown of the facility Monday evening. The employee, a 49-year-old man, was stabbed in the neck and the right hand and was in critical but stable condition Tuesday morning, police said. (9/20)

San Diego Union-Tribune: UCSD Edges Closer To Using Smartphones To Measure Your Oxygen Level 
Engineers at UC San Diego and the University of Washington published a proof-of-concept study that showed a smartphone was capable of detecting blood oxygen levels almost on par with the industry standard medical device. (Rocha, 9/20)

San Diego Union-Tribune: John Hancock Becomes First Life Insurer To Pay For Grail's Early Detection Cancer Tests 
Grail, an Illumina-owned maker of a blood test that screens for 50 different types of cancer before symptoms arise, has inked a deal with John Hancock where the cost of Grail’s test will be reimbursed for certain, existing life insurance customers. (Freeman, 9/20)

Los Angeles Times: Santa Monica Mayor Says It's Time To End L.A. County Needle Exchange Program At Park 
Santa Monica city officials and residents are calling for an end to a Los Angeles County Department of Public Health weekly needle exchange program in Reed Park. In an open letter sent to county officials last week, Santa Monica Mayor Sue Himmelrich called for the program to be relocated from public spaces in the city and preferably to an indoor site. (Hernandez, 9/20)

San Francisco Chronicle: California Is So Worried About Wildfire Smoke That It Is Opening Clean Air Centers Across The State
The first of what will soon be hundreds of places in the Bay Area to provide a guarantee of fresh air on smoky days opened in San Francisco on Tuesday. The new Clean Air Center, located at the Bayview/Linda Brooks-Burton Branch Library in the city’s Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood, has been outfitted with special filtration equipment and allotted space in a 1,000-square-foot meeting room to accommodate those wanting respite during periods of heavy wildfire smoke. (Alexander, 9/20)

Los Angeles Times: Call For New Cars To Detect DUI Spurred By California Crash 
An investigation into a New Year’s Day crash in Avenal, Calif., in 2021 that killed nine people — including seven children — has prompted the National Transportation Safety Board to call for an alcohol-impairment detection system to be installed in all new cars. (Winton, 9/20)

CalMatters: Red Flag Laws: When Should Police Take Guns Away?
There were four more requests for gun violence restraining orders on Jeff Brooker’s desk when he arrived at the San Diego City Attorney’s Office that July morning. Officers had responded to a minor car crash at a mall where the driver, who carried a replica firearm, was rambling delusionally and threatening to kill the “one-percenters” and a public official. Another man, during an argument outside a family member’s home, had pulled a gun out of his waistband and pointed it at someone’s head as several others looked on. (Koseff, 9/19)

Managed Healthcare Executive: Medicaid Programs Start To Embrace Respite Care For Unhoused
Earlier this year, a homeless woman in her 40s who was living in her car went to the emergency department of a hospital in Orange County, California. She was found to have stage 2 ovarian cancer. Since she had no home to return to upon discharge, the hospital referred her to the Illumination Foundation, a not-for-profit housing organization. The foundation staff evaluated the woman’s needs and admitted her into its 150-bed recuperative care center for homeless people in Fullerton, Orange County. The woman’s Medicaid health plan covered the cost. The staff connected her with a primary care physician and an oncologist to arrange chemotherapy. She’s now receiving treatment and in stable condition. She’ll remain in recuperative care while the staff works on finding her permanent housing, according to Pooja Bhalla, D.N.P., the foundation’s co-CEO. (Meyer, 9/19)

Politico: Rising Homelessness Is Tearing California Cities Apart 
As the pandemic recedes, elected officials across deep-blue California are reacting to intense public pressure to erase the most visible signs of homelessness. Democratic leaders who once would have been loath to forcibly remove people from sidewalks, parks and alongside highways are increasingly imposing camping bans, often while framing the policies as compassionate. (Korte and White, 9/21)

CapRadio: LGBTQ Seniors Can Struggle To Find Affordable Housing. A Sacramento Development Is Trying To Help
When Francesca Dixon came out as transgender in late 2019, it was a matter of life and death. Tired of the toll that staying in the closet had taken on her mental health for more than 60 years, she decided to begin living life as the gender she had envisioned herself in since childhood. What followed, however, was a turbulent divorce from her wife of 35 years, estrangement from her three children and the loss of her home in Elk Grove. (Alvarez, 9/20)

Oaklandside: Audit: Oakland Homeless Shelters, Services Falling Short
A long-awaited audit of Oakland’s homelessness services found that the city is not moving enough residents into permanent housing and not collecting enough data to determine how well the programs are running. The analysis released this week by City Auditor Courtney Ruby examines the last three years of Oakland’s homelessness programs, looking at their effectiveness, outcomes, and who was served. Ruby found that Oakland spent $69 million over this period on contracts with service providers, mostly nonprofits, but didn’t sufficiently set standards or monitor providers’ work. (Orenstein, 9/20)

CapRadio: Yolo County’s Homeless Population Increased 14% Since 2019, Report Finds
Yolo County’s homeless population rose nearly 14% over the past three years to a total of 746 people, according to a county report published Tuesday. The county’s 2022 Point-in-Time (PIT) Count showed a relatively modest increase compared with the county’s 43% spike documented between 2017 and 2019. (Nichols, 9/20)

AP: US Adults Should Get Routine Anxiety Screening, Panel Says 
The recommendations are based on a review that began before the COVID-19 pandemic, evaluating studies showing potential benefits and risks from screening. Given reports of a surge in mental health problems linked with pandemic isolation and stress, the guidance is “very timely,” said Lori Pbert, a task force member and co-author. Pbert is a psychologist-researcher at the University of Massachusetts’ Chan Medical School. The task force said evidence for benefits, including effective treatments, outweighs any risks, which include inaccurate screening results that could lead to unnecessary follow-up care. (Tanner, 9/20)

The Hill: Nearly 1 In 10 Americans Suffer From Depression, Study Says
A growing number of Americans are struggling with depression and most are not seeking treatment or are undertreated for the mental health disorder, according to a new study. A study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found almost 1 in 10 Americans reported suffering from depression in 2020, with rates of the mental health disorder higher among adolescents and young adults. (Guzman, 9/20)

USA Today: COVID: Stress Levels Among Women Are At 10-Year High, Survey Shows
Levels of stress, anxiety, worry, sadness and anger among women worldwide are at a 10-year high, according to a new report. In one of the largest studies on women’s well-being, analytics firm Gallup and medical tech company Hologic, Inc. teamed up to survey over 66,000 women in 122 countries around the world. (Rodriguez, 9/21)

The Hill: VA Finds Veterans Suicides Drop In Past Two Years, But Data May Be Lacking
The average number of veteran suicides per day in the United States has fallen to the lowest it’s been since 2006, according to new Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) data, but those figures might not paint the whole picture.  The VA’s National Veteran Suicide Prevention Annual Report, released Monday, found that there were 6,146 veteran suicide deaths in 2020, or about 16.8 a day.  (Mitchell, 9/20)

ABC News: Internal FDA Report On Infant Formula Crisis Details Shortfalls In Response
An internal review of the Food and Drug Administration's actions leading up to the infant formula crisis finds a combination of human error, antiquated technology, and poor communication and accountability amongst an already threadbare food workforce all contributed to a perfect storm of problems which exacerbated the supply shortage. The issue was only worsened by the FDA's lack of a robust mandate to strong-arm industry players' compliance, the review found. (Pezenik, 9/21)

The Wall Street Journal: FDA Baby Formula Oversight Is Criticized In Internal Review
Problems ranged from outdated technology at the FDA to limited training on formula among FDA investigators, the report said. It said funding limitations and gaps in the understanding of cronobacter, the type of bacteria that prompted Abbott’s recall, impeded the FDA’s response to this year’s incidents and the agency’s ability to regulate and oversee formula. (Newman, 9/20)

Politico: FDA Baby Formula Review Spares Specific Blame Amid Ongoing Shortages 
Some parents and advocates had been looking forward to the review shedding specific light on FDA failures in order to provide accountability, but Califf said in an interview shortly after the report was released that the review was meant to “identify themes of issues” FDA needs to improve going forward. FDA Chief Robert Califf noted that the agency had provided a detailed timeline of its response and that an independent review of the larger FDA foods division is ongoing. “We’re not going to spend a lot of time going back,” Califf said. “We’re going to spend our time taking into account what happened then and moving forward.” (Lee, 9/20)