Tuesday, May 4, 2021 | California Healthline

Sacramento Bee:
Could COVID Vaccine Be Available Soon For Ages 12-15 In CA? 

California’s marketing campaign to mass vaccinate towards COVID-19 is constant at a tempo of some hundred thousand jabs per day, because the state approaches two-thirds of its grownup inhabitants with not less than one dose. The California Division of Public Well being reported Monday that about 12.9 million individuals at the moment are absolutely vaccinated, and one other 6.2 are partially vaccinated with one dose of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccine. That places the overall that has had not less than one dose at simply over 19 million, which is near half of California’s roughly 40 million residents and about 61% of its 31 million adults. (McGough, 5/3)

Deadline:
Los Angeles Prepares To Vaccinate 12-15 Year Olds As FDA Approval Nears

Native officers in Los Angeles mentioned Monday that they’re on the point of act as soon as approval is issued. “We’re working with individuals throughout the county in order that as quickly as we will use that vaccine — the Pfizer vaccine — on 12- to 15-year-olds, we’re prepared,” mentioned Los Angeles County Public Well being Director Barbara Ferrer. (Tapp, 5/3)

Los Angeles Daily News:
LA Will Send Emergency Alert To Cell Phones To Urge COVID Vaccinations

A citywide emergency alert will probably be despatched to cell telephones in Los Angeles Monday to remind individuals to get a free COVID-19 vaccine. “We’re utilizing each software at our disposal to encourage Angelenos to get vaccinated,” Mayor Eric Garcetti mentioned on Twitter Monday morning. The Wi-fi Emergency Alert will probably be despatched to cell units Monday afternoon and embrace info on vaccine choices supplied by the town which can be open to all L.A. County residents. (Rosenberg, 5/3)

Bay Area News Group:
Despite Dwindling Demand For COVID-19 Vaccines, Bay Area Counties Plan To ‘Double Down’ On New Strategy 

Because the waves of individuals rolling up their sleeves to get as soon as coveted COVID-19 vaccine pictures proceed to recede, Bay Space public well being officers are ramping up community-focused inoculation clinics and making mass vaccination websites extra handy by casting off appointments to reel in probably the most hesitant. Take the Santa Teresa VTA station in San Jose, for instance, the place on Monday morning dozens of individuals lined as much as get their pictures — the most recent of a rising variety of vaccination clinics in Santa Clara County that’s open to anybody who needs to stroll or drive up on the spur of the second with out an appointment. (Angst and Toledo, 5/4)

Orange County Register:
OC’s Vaccination Efforts Shift From The Vulnerable To The Hesitant 

As Orange County pushes towards a aim of getting most residents vaccinated towards COVID-19 by July 4, well being officers, healthcare suppliers and native nonprofits are attempting all the things they’ll consider to search out and persuade individuals who haven’t but gotten a shot. They’re calling, texting, sending emails and letters; placing out public service bulletins in a number of languages from docs, spiritual leaders and neighborhood pillars; and utilizing the old style methodology of going to the place individuals stay, work and worship to speak to them. Generally with a bullhorn. (Robinson, 5/3)

Bay Area News Group:
East Bay Nonprofit Hosts Free Walk-Up Vaccines Thursday

Free Covid-19 vaccines will probably be supplied to anybody 16 and older on Thursday at St. Vincent de Paul Household Useful resource Middle in Pittsburg. Stroll-ins will probably be welcome, however appointments are inspired at 707-252-9992 as solely 100 vaccine doses will probably be obtainable. The clinic will probably be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. within the nonprofit’s parking zone at 2210 Gladstone Drive. (Prieve, 5/3)

The Bakersfield Californian:
Kern Medical To Host COVID-19 Vaccination Clinics At Mira Monte, North High Schools 

Kern Medical is internet hosting two COVID-19 vaccination clinics this upcoming week in partnership with the Kern Excessive Faculty District. The clinics can be found to college students 16 and older and their households and any neighborhood members who want to stroll in. On Tuesday, Mira Monte Excessive Faculty is internet hosting a vaccination clinic from 1 p.m. to six p.m. On Wednesday, North Excessive Faculty is internet hosting a clinic from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. (5/3)

KQED:
South San Jose Gets New VTA Rail Station Vaccination Site Amid Concern Over Slowing

The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority on Monday opened a brand new vaccination website on the Santa Teresa mild rail station in South San Jose. The brand new location comes shortly after Santa Clara County well being officers raised issues over the area’s lower in vaccine demand and the necessity to vaccinate youthful residents. “There’s loads of provide, and something we will do to assist to make it simpler for individuals who wish to get vaccinated, we’re attempting to do,” mentioned Stacey Hendler Ross, a VTA spokesperson. (Frenes, 5/3)

KQED:
Fresno County Is Diverting COVID Vaccine Due To Low Demand. Why Don’t People Want It? 

Celia Maldonado has made three appointments to get a COVID-19 vaccine since late March, and he or she’s canceled every one in all them. … Maldonado, who lives in Fresno, is one in all hundreds who haven’t been vaccinated in that county, both due to hesitancy, obstacles to entry or another purpose. And now in response to the low demand, Fresno County’s Division of Public Well being is diverting a portion of their allotted vaccines elsewhere, after native well being officers have been involved the coveted doses they’d as soon as fought tooth and nail for would all of the sudden go to waste. (Corridor, 5/3)

Bay Area News Group:
Bay Area Employers Wait And See On Mandatory COVID Vaccines 

Of the various issues confronting Bay Space corporations as they transfer out of pandemic lockdowns and into the workplaces of the longer term, one difficulty is proving particularly thorny: Do they make their employees get COVID pictures? “The factor that I’m getting probably the most calls about proper now could be actually, ‘What will we do about vaccinations? Can we mandate that each one our staff get vaccinated? If we don’t mandate it, what occurs if we’ve staff who don’t wish to return to work except everyone is vaccinated?’” mentioned Bay Space labor lawyer Sandy Rappaport, who represents corporations in issues of employment. “Employers are actually combating it.” (Baron, 5/3)

NPR:
Can’t Help Falling In Love With A Vaccine: How Polio Campaign Beat Vaccine Hesitancy 

The mass inoculation of hundreds of thousands of American youngsters towards polio in 1955, just like the vaccinations of hundreds of thousands of American adults towards COVID-19 in 2021, was a triumph of science. However the polio vaccine had overwhelming public acceptance, whereas cussed pockets of vaccine hesitancy persist throughout the U.S. for the COVID-19 vaccine. Why the distinction? One purpose, historians say, is that in 1955, many People had an particularly deep respect for science. (Brink, 5/3)

CBS News:
Sports Stadiums Asking Fans For Their “Vaccine Passports”

High officers on the NBA and MLB hope the worst of the coronavirus pandemic is behind them as groups begin to welcome followers again into stadiums. However to look at the sport stay, a rising variety of venues are asking guests to show they’ve gotten their pictures by displaying what’s referred to as a “vaccine passport.” Oracle Park, residence of the San Francisco Giants, and Citi Area, residence of the New York Mets, are amongst an extended record of sports activities areas that now require digital vaccine verifications. These groups and others have been utilizing an app referred to as Well being Cross from know-how firm Clear for COVID-19 screening. In some circumstances, exhibiting your standing on Well being Cross may very well be the distinction between watching a sport in individual or at residence. (Brooks, 5/3)

Los Angeles Times:
Needle Phobia Is Common. Here’s What To Do About It 

Marie, 38, of North Hollywood, is afraid of needles, and he or she’s not the one one. One in 4 adults — some 76 million People — probably really feel some worry, surveys present.Most deep-seated worry of needles comes from childhood, after a damaging expertise. For Marie, it was barrages of allergy pictures as a child that she discovered painful and scary. In some circumstances, autism or different developmental disabilities could make the expertise of getting a vaccine distressing. (Corridor, 5/3)

Los Angeles Daily News:
LA County Reports No New Coronavirus Deaths Again, Although Reporting Lags Contribute 

Though the numbers are probably on account of weekend reporting lags, Los Angeles County introduced zero COVID-19 deaths for the second day in a row on Monday, Might 3, as the general public well being director expressed confidence the county will transfer as much as the least-restrictive tier of the economic-reopening blueprint this week. COVID-19 case and loss of life numbers are historically low on Sundays and Mondays on account of delays in reporting from the weekend, however the back-to-back days of zero deaths nonetheless supplied a glimmer of hope a couple of waning of the pandemic’s lethal toll. (5/3)

Orange County Register:
Coronavirus: 55 New Cases, Hospitalizations Dip Below 100 In Orange County As Of May 3 

The OC Well being Care Company reported 55 new circumstances of the coronavirus on Monday, Might 3, growing the cumulative whole within the county to 254,044 circumstances since monitoring started. There have been 891 new infections reported within the final 14 days.There have been no deaths reported Monday, the overall variety of COVID-19 fatalities is 4,969. (Snibbe, 5/3)

Modesto Bee:
Stanislaus Has 1,046 Deaths To COVID-19 And 54,989 Cases 

Stanislaus County introduced two deaths to COVID-19 on Monday and one other 111 optimistic checks. A complete of 1,046 residents have died from the virus since April 2020, the Well being Companies Company mentioned. Constructive checks whole 54,989 as of Monday. The county has 578,490 damaging take a look at outcomes and 53,386 people who find themselves presumed recovered. (Holland, 5/4)

San Francisco Chronicle:
In One County On California’s North Coast, COVID Is Surging

California’s coronavirus case charges are approaching an all-time low, however in a single county on the North Coast, the numbers are shifting within the fallacious path. Humboldt County, whose largest metropolis, Eureka, is 230 miles north of San Francisco, recorded 137 new circumstances final week. That was probably the most since early February. Over the weekend, the county well being division reported 33 further infections, bringing the overall variety of residents who’ve examined optimistic for the virus because the pandemic started to three,885. (Vaziri, 5/3)

CapRadio:
California Coronavirus Updates: Children Now Account For 22% Of New COVID-19 Infections In US 

The variety of youngsters contracting COVID-19 within the U.S. is way decrease than the file highs set in the beginning of the brand new yr, however youngsters now account for greater than a fifth of latest coronavirus circumstances, in response to the American Academy of Pediatrics. This quantity is predicated on states that launch their knowledge by age, however nonetheless, it’s a statistic that’s stunned many — only one yr in the past, little one COVID-19 circumstances solely made up round 3% of the U.S. whole. Now, youngsters signify 22.4% of the brand new circumstances reported prior to now week as of this Monday. (5/3)

Bay Area News Group:
California Lawmakers Demand: Where’s The COVID Data? 

Not often has the general public been so captivated by authorities statistics because it has because the pandemic. COVID-19 knowledge on infections, hospitalizations and fatalities decide the place Californians can go, with whom they’ll affiliate and whether or not their companies and different establishments can function. Public well being officers say they used the numbers to provoke sweeping shutdowns, masks mandates and different unprecedented interventions. However a number of Bay Space politicians and epidemiologists say probably the most noteworthy factor about California’s public well being knowledge throughout this pandemic is its incompleteness and inaccessibility. (Moore, 5/4)

USA Today:
US Nearing Vaccine Tipping Point, Dramatic Decrease In COVID Cases Could Come Without Herd Immunity, Some Experts Say

It might not take true “herd immunity” to see a dramatic drop in COVID-19 circumstances. Some researchers say one other 30 to 40 million first pictures may be sufficient for the United States to achieve a vaccine tipping level and containment of the illness attributable to the coronavirus. “It is simply one other 10% to fifteen% extra individuals,” mentioned Dr. Eric Topol, a professor of molecular medication on the Scripps Analysis Institute in La Jolla, California. (Weise, 5/4)

Los Angeles Times:
LAUSD Reopens School Playgrounds With COVID-19 Restrictions 

Los Angeles Unified on Monday reopened its playground gear, following the lead of many different college districts and native metropolis and county parks. Entry will probably be restricted to at least one class of scholars at a time, and the gear will probably be sanitized recurrently. The closed gear has been a sore spot for a lot of mother and father, who complained that metropolis and county playgrounds — with no coronavirus safeguards — have been accessible, however their youngsters confronted pointless restrictions on their means to play, train and socialize at campuses. Additionally they famous that many different college districts have been permitting youngsters to make use of playground gear. (Blume, 5/3)

KQED:
What’s Reopened In The Bay Area? Your Updated Guide To Movies, Art, Music And More 

With vaccinations rolling alongside and Bay Space counties shifting out of restrictive tiers, we’re seeing an increasing number of reopenings of film theaters, museums, points of interest and even stay music. Beneath is a recurrently up to date record of what we all know is open. Verify again for updates to information your weekend planning, and as at all times, adhere to your county’s mandates and steerage for COVID-19. (Meline, 5/3)

Modesto Bee:
COVID Relief For Restaurants And Bars: How To Apply 

Beginning Monday, eligible companies can apply for federal COVID-19 reduction via the $28.6 billion Restaurant Revitalization Fund, or RRF, established by the $1.9 trillion coronavirus stimulus bundle signed into legislation in March. Right here’s what to know and how you can apply. (Aldridge, 5/3)

Los Angeles Times:
Pandemic Accelerates Use Of Robots Instead Of People 

Because the U.S. financial system rebounds from the COVID-19 pandemic, employers are turning to higher use of automation, together with robots, relatively than calling again employees or hiring new ones in lots of circumstances. The development is affecting virtually each sector, together with manufacturing, distribution, transportation, retail, eating places and plenty of sorts of non-public and authorities companies. (Lee, 5/4)

Southern California News Group:
How Workplace Investigations Have Pivoted Amid #WFH Pandemic

Scores of enterprise actions have have floor to a halt or suffered delays amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Builders have pulled again on development initiatives, enterprise conventions have been canceled and in-person conferences are largely nonexistent. However office investigations? They’ve continued, though the way in which they’re carried out is decidedly completely different in a world of distant working and social distancing. (Smith, 5/3)

San Diego Union-Tribune:
No Signs Of Relief In Scripps Ransomware Shutdown

A ransomware assault continued to plague Scripps Well being Monday, creating confusion for sufferers and their households, particularly those that have been scheduled for appointments this week. After combating to regain management of its methods because the incident occurred on Saturday, Scripps mentioned early Monday afternoon that it nonetheless had not resolved the technical terrorism that put its affected person information, scheduling and different essential methods offline, forcing medical personnel in hospitals and different amenities to revert to paper in the meanwhile. (Sisson, 5/3)

Los Angeles Daily News:
LA County’s Nursing Home Complaint Backlog Won’t End Soon 

An increase in complaints and the coronavirus pandemic are delaying decision of a backlog of complaints involving nursing properties and different well being care amenities in L.A. County, officers say. A couple of quarter of “considerably backlogged complaints” that contain these amenities and are about three years previous are anticipated to nonetheless be pending in October, in response to the Los Angeles County Division of Public Well being. (Gazzar, 5/3)

San Diego Union-Tribune:
Grossmont Healthcare District Names New CEO 

Christian T. Wallis, who has greater than 25 years of expertise within the well being care discipline, was named the brand new CEO of the Grossmont Healthcare District on Monday. The district’s five-member Board of Administrators unanimously authorised a two-year contract for Wallis. (Pearlman, 5/3)

Capital & Main:
Inside Kaiser Permanente’s Broken Mental Health Care System 

When the nation’s main affiliation {of professional} psychologists singled out California well being trade large Kaiser Permanente final yr because the worst psychological well being care supplier it has encountered, the group was expressing what had turn into frequent information to many psychological well being therapists and sufferers alike: Too a lot of Kaiser’s members can’t get within the door for behavioral well being remedy. (Hutchings, 5/3)

Los Angeles Daily News:
Fewer Pharmacies In Urban Areas Impact Residents Of Color, USC Research Says 

Black and Latino neighborhoods in Los Angeles and different U.S. cities had fewer pharmacies than white or various neighborhoods in 2007-2015, a truth which may be an missed contributor to persistent racial and ethnic well being disparities, in response to USC analysis revealed as we speak. Pharmacies are more and more very important factors of look after important well being companies. Along with filling prescriptions to deal with continual well being circumstances, pharmacists dispense emergency doses of naloxone to reverse opioid overdoses, contraceptives to stop unplanned being pregnant and COVID-19 testing and vaccinations. (5/3)

The Bakersfield Californian:
Painting-By-Numbers Mural A Celebration Of Gratitude, Hope For Front-Line Health Care Workers 

It was 7:30 a.m. Monday and Stella Oluwakotanmi was coming off an in a single day shift at Adventist Well being in downtown Bakersfield. However as an alternative of going residence for some shut-eye, the registered nurse was rigorously brushing inexperienced paint onto a wall throughout the road from the hospital. “It has been actually, actually tough,” Oluwakotanmi mentioned of the previous yr, a rare interval that has generated pandemic-related stress for a lot of RNs and different medical employees. (Mayer, 5/3)

Sacramento Bee:
Sacramento County Eyes New Health Director From State Ranks 

The Sacramento County Board of Supervisors is anticipated to call Chevon Kothari as the following director of well being companies, a job with broad authority over applications from psychiatric companies and public well being to major care and medical companies delivered contained in the county jails. Kothari was most lately the chief deputy director within the California Division of Social Companies, overseeing the company’s neighborhood care licensing, authorized, catastrophe companies and state hearings divisions. She was sworn in for the place in July 2020. (Finch II, 5/3)

Politico:
Jenner Hits California Nerve By Siding With GOP On Transgender Athletes

Caitlyn Jenner improved her nationwide GOP bona fides with weekend feedback embracing the occasion’s prevailing view on transgender athletes — however now finds herself firmly at odds with a key California coverage as she runs for governor. Jenner, a former Olympic gold medalist who’s transgender, informed TMZ that banning participation of transgender scholar athletes in ladies’ aggressive sports activities is “a query of equity,” the identical place Republican leaders in crimson states have taken. (Marinucci and White, 5/3)

The Bakersfield Californian:
Greenlawn Funeral Homes To Host ‘Day Of Healing’ Ceremony 

Greenlawn Funeral Properties is holding a “Day of Therapeutic” this week for individuals who have skilled loss throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Based on a information launch from Greenlawn, Kern County residents have skilled loss over the previous yr in many alternative types — whether or not it’s a liked one to the coronavirus, a job or earnings, safety, private connections and extra. (5/3)

The Bakersfield Californian:
Adventist Health, Garden Pathways To Unveil Tattoo Removal Program This Week 

Adventist Well being has partnered with Backyard Pathways to implement a laser tattoo removing program at Adventist’s downtown Bakersfield facility. Based on a information launch from Adventist Well being, this system is with Astanza Duality laser and is aimed to assist residents reminiscent of former gang members, these with previous damaging existence, and victims of human trafficking begin a brand new chapter and take away any obstacles to employment and an improved high quality of life. It can formally launch on Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. at 1616 twenty ninth Road. (5/3)

Los Angeles Times:
Gun Violence In L.A. Surged During COVID-19 But Isn’t Receding 

At Harbor-UCLA Medical Middle, Dr. Brant Putnam has watched the extraordinary weight of the COVID-19 pandemic lastly start to elevate in current months — solely to get replaced by one other, relentless stressor.Within the first 4 months of 2021, gunshot victims have arrived at a a lot higher fee than normal. The Stage 1 trauma middle in Torrance treats about 3,500 sufferers a yr; a mean of 15% expertise “penetrating trauma” reminiscent of a capturing or stabbing, mentioned Putnam, chief of the trauma and acute care surgical procedure division. (Rector, 5/4)

San Francisco Chronicle:
STD Cases Have Plunged During COVID – But Not Because People Aren’t Having Sex

Experiences of sexually transmitted ailments, together with HIV, seem to have dropped sharply within the Bay Space in 2020. However public well being officers worry it’s not as a result of individuals stopped having intercourse throughout the pandemic — it’s as a result of STD testing was pushed apart whereas everybody’s consideration was on COVID-19. In different phrases: Individuals have been nonetheless getting STDs, however a lot of them didn’t comprehend it. (Allday, 5/4)

San Francisco Chronicle:
‘There Is No Vaccine For Hunger’: Pandemic Urgency Pushes S.F.-Marin Food Bank To Start $40 Million Expansion

When the San Francisco-Marin Meals Financial institution began planning its $40 million warehouse enlargement 5 years in the past, the thought was to place the group on tempo to satisfy demand anticipated to develop step by step over the following 20 years. Then got here the pandemic. Layoffs and furloughs skyrocketed, growing the variety of households turning to the meals financial institution for assist by greater than 60% from 32,000 to about 55,000. Site visitors to the “discover meals” web page on the meals financial institution’s web site is 4 occasions what it was pre-pandemic. Immediately the expanded warehouse was not about planning for 2040. It was about getting groceries to households proper now. (Dineen, 5/4)

CapRadio:
Project Roomkey Sheltered Thousands Of California’s Homeless Residents. Will The Model Live On Post-Pandemic? 

As COVID-19 unfold throughout the state, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s administration began Roomkey final spring to shelter homeless Californians in motel rooms and different non-congregate settings reminiscent of trailers. Supporters say this system prevented main outbreaks of the virus within the homeless neighborhood and gives a greater approach to join residents with housing and social companies. They are saying the rooms supply easy however profound advantages — clear water, the prospect to take a bathe and dignity. However one yr after Roomkey began, some native governments are winding down their motel applications citing their excessive value, calling into query whether or not the system will proceed or be phased out as soon as the pandemic is over. (Nichols, 5/3)