Wednesday, July 6, 2022 – California Healthline

Modesto Bee: CDC Says These California Counties Are At ‘High’ COVID Levels
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 38 out of 58 California counties are in a “high” community level for COVID-19. The map below, created by the CDC, shows high, medium and low levels of COVID presence, as of June 30, the most recent available data. (Aguilar, 7/6)

The Bakersfield Californian: Data Indicates Steady Rise In COVID-19 Hospitalizations In Wake Of Omicron Surge
COVID-19 hospitalizations and test positivity rates in Kern County have been steadily increasing in recent weeks in the wake of an omicron-fueled surge, according to California Department of Public Health data. (Desai, 7/5)

Bay Area News Group: Bay Area COVID Cases Are High, Hospitals Filling Up. Time To Worry?
The entire Bay Area is now at the high community risk level for COVID-19 at which federal regulators recommend everyone wear face masks indoors as newer and more immunity-evasive versions of the omicron variant continue to spread across the country. (Woolfolk, 7/6)

The Hill: New Omicron Subvariant BA.5 Now A Majority Of US COVID-19 Cases 
A new omicron subvariant known as BA.5 now comprises a majority of U.S. COVID-19 cases, according to data released Tuesday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).The data is a sign of the rise of the highly transmissible subvariant, which has prompted concern about a new increase in cases.  (Sullivan, 7/5)

CNN: COVID Reinfections May Increase The Likelihood Of New Health Problems
Repeatedly catching Covid-19 appears to increase the chances that a person will face new and sometimes lasting health problems after their infection, according to the first study on the health risks of reinfection. (7/5)

Axios: COVID Was Third Leading Cause Of Death In 2020 And 2021
COVID-19 was the third leading cause of death in the U.S. in 2020 and 2021, accounting for 1 in 8 lives lost, according to a new review of death certificate data in JAMA Internal Medicine. (Bettelheim, 7/6)

KVPR: Bakeries, Markets And Balloons: How Health Officials Aim To Vaccinate Fresno County’s Youngest Kids
For some parents, the day to vaccinate their young children against COVID-19 could not have come quick enough. “The wait was excruciating,” says Amber Crowell, a sociology professor at Fresno State and a mom of two kids under 4. When the pandemic started, her children were only infants. (Quintanilla, 7/5)

The Bakersfield Californian: Boys & Girls Clubs Hosting Free Vaccine, Booster Shot Clinic
The Boys & Girls Clubs of Kern County will host free COVID-19 vaccine clinics in July for children ages 5 and up in Bakersfield and Lamont through a partnership with the California Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs. (7/5)

CIDRAP: Two Or 3 Vaccine Doses May Cut Risk Of Long COVID
An observational study of Italian healthcare workers infected with SARS-CoV-2 who didn’t require hospitalization suggests a link between two or three doses of vaccine and a lower prevalence of long COVID. … The number of vaccine doses was linked to lower prevalence of long COVID, at 41.8% of a reference group of unvaccinated participants, 30.0% after one dose, 17.4% after two doses, and 16.0% after the third dose. Risk factors for long COVID included older age, high body mass index, allergies, and obstructive lung disease. (Van Beusekom, 7/5)

ABC7 San Francisco: San Francisco Health Officials Warn Of Possible Monkeypox Exposure Following Pride Event 
Following a Pride weekend event, organizer Comfort and Joy says they received a plausible report that one attendee tested positive for monkeypox. “We did have an anonymous email that we received that a friend of this person had tested positive for monkeypox,” said Jarrod Stanley, a spokesperson for Comfort and Joy. There are currently more than a dozen monkeypox cases in San Francisco. The virus can be spread by skin-to-skin contact, sexually, or through infected clothing. (Johns, 7/5)

Boston.com: ‘This Is Not A Gay Disease’: Experts Try To Curb Monkeypox Misinformation
As monkeypox spreads throughout the U.S., public health officials and doctors are concerned about misinformation being shared about the virus. During the ongoing outbreak in the U.S. and Europe, most cases have been among gay and bisexual men. This has brought back painful memories of the HIV/AIDS outbreak in the 1980s, and fears that the gay community and monkeypox could be similarly stigmatized. (Sudborough, 7/5)

Newsweek: What Scientists Found On Surfaces In Monkeypox Patient Hospital Rooms
Scientists have detected the monkeypox virus lying on surfaces of two hospital rooms, according to a new study. Lead author Dominik Nörz swabbed the surfaces of two rooms holding hospitalized monkeypox patients in Germany, and the adjacent anterooms, where staff would change in and out of personal protective equipment (PPE). The findings showed that all surfaces “directly touched” by the patients’ hands had viral contamination. The scientists found the highest viral loads on the surfaces of the patients’ bathrooms. (White, 7/5)

CIDRAP: Study On Monkeypox Outbreak Shows Differing Symptoms
A new study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases found that the clinical profile in recent monkeypox cases is different than in past events, with fatigue and fever less common and genital skin lesions more likely. This is the first study to look at these differences among cases in the current outbreak, and points to the important role sexual transmission among mostly men who have sex with men (MSM) has played in spreading monkeypox in non-endemic countries, many of which had never seen a monkeypox case before. (Soucheray, 7/5)

San Diego Union-Tribune: Scripps Named One Of Five Top Mid-Size Health Systems Nationwide In IBM 
Scripps Health is among 15 medical providers nationwide named “top health systems” in a nationwide study that examines performance in a wide range of categories from infection control to patient death. (Sisson, 7/5)

San Diego Union-Tribune: VA Director Retires After Nearly 30 Years At VA San Diego 
After nearly three decades at VA San Diego, Dr. Robert M. Smith completed his final shift Thursday, retiring from his role as director and chief executive officer, a job he assumed in 2016 after spending many years caring for patients in pulmonology and critical care. (Sisson, 7/5)

KQED: State And Federal Restrictions Make It Harder For Lower-Income Families To Get Infant Formula
A shortage of infant formula plaguing the nation has been difficult for all families that need it, but state and federal limitations have made it even worse for lower-income families in California that rely on government assistance. Those families receive vouchers to pay for formula through the federal Women, Infants and Children program, which provides supplemental nutrition assistance to lower-income pregnant, breastfeeding and postpartum individuals, infants and children under 5 years old. But the program limits which brands families can buy, making an already scarce supply even scarcer for program participants. (Aguilera, 7/5)

East Bay Times: California May Require Mental Health Warnings On Pot Products
Doctors and lawmakers in California want cannabis producers to warn consumers of this and other health risks on their packaging labels and in advertising, similar to requirements for cigarettes. They also want sellers to distribute health brochures to first-time customers outlining the risks cannabis poses to youths, drivers, and those who are pregnant, especially for pot that has high concentrations of THC, the chemical primarily responsible for marijuana’s mental effects. (Bertolone, 7/3)

Sacramento Business Journal: Kolas Dispensary Planned For Arden Shopping Corridor 
The area’s largest cannabis company will join the likes of retailers Hobby Lobby and Kohl’s when it takes over a space near Arden Fair mall. (Abbott, 7/5)

Voice Of San Diego: East County Files For Custody Over San Diego Land, The Latest In Wastewater Wars 
East County says it filed paperwork in court Tuesday to begin the legal wrestling of land from the city of San Diego, land that East County needs to build its own wastewater-to-drinking water recycling project. The board of the East County Advanced Water Project threatened to use eminent domain – power governments can exercise to take property for its use – against the city of San Diego a few months ago. But it held off to allow negotiations over a new agreement between the two parties. (Elmer, 7/5)