Wednesday, November 24, 2021 – California Healthline

The Guardian: Central California Braced For Thanksgiving Surge In Covid Cases
Ahead of the Thanksgiving holidays, California officials are raising the alarm about a winter Covid surge as hospitals in some parts of the state remain overwhelmed with patients, despite overall progress. California’s coronavirus infection rate is one of the lowest in the country but the burden of infection remains unevenly distributed. In central California, a region that struggled with resistance to masks and vaccines throughout the pandemic, the strained public health system has been pushed to the brink. Hospitals this week are over-capacity and officials are seeking to transfer more patients out of the region for treatment in Los Angeles. (Singh, 11/24)

Sacramento Bee: Will There Be A Winter COVID Surge In CA? Plus Flu, Vaccines 
California Gov. Gavin Newsom is warning of a winter COVID-19 surge: “It’s coming back in force,” he said last week at an event in Kings County. But other forces are at work, too — both sinister and life saving. “This disease is not taking the winter off. It’s coming back in force, and you’re seeing that all across this country,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said last week during the event, promoting COVID-19 booster shots. “We should anticipate that we are going to see an increase in cases.” (Truong, 11/23)

Bay Area News Group: COVID Aftermath: Why The Recovery Of Bay Area Airport Traffic Is Lagging Behind Other Major Travel Hubs 
Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit, San Francisco International Airport consistently ranked among the top 10 busiest airports in the nation. Mineta San Jose International Airport had just smashed its record for the highest number of passengers in a single year. And, Oakland International Airport was aiming to resurrect a growth streak it had enjoyed for half a decade before a slight dip in 2019. But the pandemic knocked them all off their stride. And today, more than 18 months after the coronavirus became a dreaded word, Bay Area airports are lagging well behind other major U.S. airports struggling to return to their heydays. (Angst, 11/24)

Sacramento Bee: CA Supervisors Repeat COVID-19 Conspiracies, Alarming Experts 
In the latest symbolic rebuke against public health precautions, elected officials in El Dorado County last week took turns sharing debunked concerns and misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines before ultimately passing a resolution decrying school vaccine mandates. Without citing evidence, the chair of the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors said he didn’t “believe” vaccines were effective. The official who introduced the resolution falsely claimed that “we don’t know” what is in the vaccines. (Pohl, 11/24)

Modesto Bee: What To Do If You Or A Family Member Is Not COVID Vaccinated
At this year’s holiday dinner table, expect to share turkey, potatoes and — your vaccination status? After having to scale back on holiday gatherings, enforce extra safety measures or, for many, outright cancel Thanksgiving last year, some people are ready to enjoy the holidays with friends and family now that there are vaccines available for COVID-19. (Truong, 11/23)

Axios: You Need To Appoint A Thanksgiving COVID Bouncer 
No one really wants this job, but millions of households may need their own Thanksgiving bouncer. The cover charge is a negative COVID test, done ahead of arrival or outside the front door. Normalizing rapid tests is a practical way to help extended families feel a little more normal around the holiday dinner table. (Talev and Reed, 11/23)

CapRadio: Gov. Gavin Newsom Encourages Adults To Get Booster Shots Ahead Of Possible Winter Surge 
Governor Gavin Newsom visited a Bay Area vaccine clinic this week to encourage everyone 18 or older to get their COVID-19 booster shots, especially those in hard-hit communities. Newsom said this is especially important as the winter months approach to avoid another surge. Between October and December 2020, the state saw a nine-fold increase in cases over just an eight-week period. Cases jumped from an average of 6,000 a day to 54,000. (11/23)

The (Santa Rosa) Press Democrat: Sonoma County Health Officials Urge Unvaccinated To Not Travel For Thanksgiving
Sonoma County health officials said residents fully vaccinated against COVID-19 should travel with caution this Thanksgiving weekend, while those who are not vaccinated should stay home. Officials said vaccinated individuals should also make sure they have the proper documents required by some destinations, airlines and events to prove their vaccination and testing status. Local health officials are hoping to avoid the same holiday-related spike in cases that led to a deadly winter last year. The most recent COVID-19 data shows virus transmission is leveling off in Sonoma County. (Espinoza, 11/23)

San Francisco Chronicle: These Six Bay Area Counties Have California’s Highest Vaccination Rates For Kids 5-11
Most of the Bay Area is off to a solid start vaccinating younger children — promising news as pediatric infections across the country rise, increasing by almost one-third in the past two weeks, according to a recent report from the American Academy of Pediatrics. State data shows that six Bay Area counties — Marin, San Francisco, Alameda, Santa Clara, San Mateo and Contra Costa — have the highest vaccination rates in the state for the 5- to 11-year-old age group, ranging from 26% to 51% with at least one dose. That’s significantly higher than the statewide vaccination rate of 13.5% for that group. (Hwang, 11/24)

Axios: COVID Vaccines Of The Future Might Be Pills Or Nasal Sprays 
As vaccine makers pursue the next generation of COVID-19 vaccines, some are working to develop products that wouldn’t require a shot. Delivering a vaccine through a pill or a nasal spray could make them much easier to administer, especially in places where distribution is challenging — or even for people who just don’t like needles. (Reed, 11/24)

Modesto Bee: COVID Vaccine Not Needed To Get Stanislaus County Services 
Stanislaus County leaders passed a resolution Tuesday opposing any COVID-19 vaccination requirement for people using county facilities or services. County supervisors added language to the resolution that affirmed the rights of individuals and families to make their own health decisions. (Carlson, 11/23)

AP: Biden Administration Asks Court To Allow Vaccine Mandate
The Biden administration on Tuesday asked a federal court to let it move ahead with a workplace rule that would require employees at larger companies to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or face weekly testing. The mandate is a centerpiece of the administration’s efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 as concerns grow that the nation is on the cusp of another winter surge in virus cases and hospitalizations. (Mulvhill, 11/23)

CNBC: Google Employees Sign Manifesto Against Widened Covid Vaccine Mandate
Several hundred Google employees have signed and circulated a manifesto opposing the company’s Covid vaccine mandate, posing the latest challenge for leadership as it approaches key deadlines for returning workers to offices in person. The Biden administration has ordered U.S. companies with 100 or more workers to ensure their employees are fully vaccinated or regularly tested for Covid-19 by Jan. 4. In response, Google asked its more than 150,000 employees to upload their vaccination status to its internal systems by Dec. 3, whether they plan to come into the office or not, according to internal documents viewed by CNBC. (Elias, 11/23)

CNBC: Are Covid Vaccine Mandates Ethical? Here’s What Medical Experts Think
As the latest wave of Covid-19 sweeps across Europe, governments across the region are once again tightening restrictions, with some specifically cracking down on their unvaccinated populations. In Austria, which has the second-lowest Covid vaccination rate in western Europe, immunizations against the virus are set to become mandatory from Feb. 1. Austria is the first country in Europe to introduce a vaccine mandate for its entire population, but it isn’t the first nation in the world to do so. (Taylor, 11/24)

The Hill: US Automakers, Union Agree To Not Require Coronavirus Vaccines For Workers
Detroit’s three big automakers — General Motors, Ford and Chrysler parent Stellantis — announced on Tuesday that they are not yet mandating vaccines for thousands of workers. The United Auto Workers (UAW) issued a joint statement with the companies saying they would require masking at work sites despite not mandating vaccines. The unionized workers will, however, be asked to report their vaccination status on a voluntary basis. The statement said the groups would continue “to urge all members, coworkers, and their families to get vaccinated and get booster vaccinations against COVID-19, while understanding that there are personal reasons that may prevent some members from being vaccinated, such as health issues or religious beliefs.” (Beals, 11/23)

KQED: Nearly 2 Years Into Pandemic, Food Banks Still Need Support. How To Help (And Find) One
As the 2021 holidays approach, we’re almost two years into a pandemic that has seen thousands of Californians lose their jobs. That means across the region more and more people are still finding they can’t purchase the food they need — a situation also known as food insecurity. For many individuals and families, food banks offer a crucial health lifeline in providing food free of charge. Across the Bay Area, food banks are racing to keep up with increased demand for food — and also grappling with the same rising food costs that are impacting the communities they serve. (Severn, 11/23)

CapRadio: Rethinking The Holidays: Sacramento Urban Farmers Look Beyond ‘Food As Charity’ 
Fatima Malik wants to reframe what it looks like to help her food-insecure neighbors during the cold months.Malik, the founder of the Del Paso Heights Growers Alliance, says that starts with moving away from the “food as charity approach.”I nstead, she says people have to also think about whether others “have the access to the tools, facilities, equipment, knowledge, skills to even prepare that food.” (Secaira, 11/23)

KQED: Supply Chain Woes Trigger Shortages Of Critical Medical Devices, May Drive Up Health Care Costs
The logjam at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach — which handle 40% of all waterbound imports to the U.S. — has triggered shortages of everything from computer chips to paper products to kitchen appliances, and drawn the attention of President Joe Biden. But, while many people are worrying about delayed Christmas gifts, many Californians are grappling with shortages of lifesaving medical supplies. California hospitals say medical supplies are more difficult to acquire now or are taking much longer to be delivered. Although the Hospital Association of Southern California says no one has reported any acute shortages yet, administrators are concerned about the delayed shipments that are anchored off the coast. (Hwang, 11/23)

Sacramento Bee: LGBTQ+ Sacramentans Assail Ice Rink Sponsor Dignity Health 
Sacramento’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer community said Tuesday that they cannot enjoy the downtown ice rink as long as Dignity Health sponsors it and urged the Downtown Sacramento Partnership to end its funding deal with the organization. Dignity has faced a number of lawsuits brought by individuals in the LGBTQ+ community. In a Supreme Court decision earlier this month, Sacramento resident Evan Minton won the right to sue Dignity over its last-minute cancellation of gender-affirming hysterectomy he had planned at Carmichael’s Mercy San Juan Medical Center. Dignity ultimately allowed the surgery days later at one of its non-Catholic hospitals, but Minton said in his lawsuit that he suffered a great deal of grief and anxiety as he awaited word. (Anderson, 11/24)

CNBC: No Health Insurance? You Could Be Among Millions Who Qualify For Help
If you lack health insurance, it may not be as out of reach as you might think. An estimated 10 million individuals who are uninsured could qualify for financial help with private insurance through the public marketplace, according to research from the Kaiser Family Foundation. Another 7 million could get coverage through Medicaid and/or the Children’s Health Insurance Program, also known as CHIP. “If you haven’t looked to see what you qualify for, you really should,” said Karen Pollitz, a senior fellow with the foundation. “By our estimate, millions of people could be pleasantly surprised.” (O’Brien, 11/23)

Bay Area News Group: Elizabeth Holmes Trial: ‘I Wish I Had Done It Differently’
In her third day defending herself on the witness stand against criminal fraud charges, Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes testified that she was responsible for putting logos from pharmaceutical companies on Theranos reports without authorization, telling jurors, ‘”I wish I had done it differently.” The pilfered logos from pharma giants Pfizer and Schering-Plough, slapped onto Theranos reports lauding its own blood-testing technology, are among the most damaging evidence against Holmes that the jury has seen. Jurors have heard that Holmes distributed the reports to investors, as well as executives from Walgreens as Theranos was developing a partnership with the drugstore chain. (Baron, 11/23)

Politico: FDA Nomination Slips After Biden Admin Fails To Send Papers To Congress
A plan to speed Robert Califf’s nomination for FDA commissioner through the Senate next month is on hold after the Biden administration failed to submit the necessary paperwork to Congress in time, three people with knowledge of the matter told POLITICO. The delay means that Califf is now unlikely to get a confirmation hearing until mid-December at the earliest, effectively ruling out the possibility of a full Senate floor vote on his appointment before the end of the year. (Cancryn, 11/23)

Stat: Califf, Biden’s FDA Pick, Has Millions Invested In Pharma, Tech Companies
Robert Califf, President Biden’s choice to lead the Food and Drug Administration, earned $2.7 million as an executive at Google’s life science arm Verily, and he holds between $1 million and $5 million in equity in the company, according to a recent financial statement filed with the White House. Califf is also coming into the FDA’s top job with a massive stock portfolio. His financial statement lists roughly 30 companies in which he owns more than $100,000 worth of stock as part of a retirement account. His holdings include between $250,000 and $500,000 worth of stock in the pharmaceutical giants Bristol Myers Squibb and Amgen and between $100,000 and $250,000 in Gilead. (Florko, 11/23)

CapRadio: Annual Thanksgiving Meal Provides Sense Of Belonging For Homeless Sacramento Residents 
Hundreds of homeless Sacramento residents gathered for a Thanksgiving meal at Loaves & Fishes on Tuesday, part of an annual tradition at the homeless services center in the city’s River District. Staff and volunteers cooked turkeys, mashed potatoes and gravy and prepared cranberry sauce and countless pies for their guests. (Nichols, 11/23)

City News Service: LA Program Will Send Unarmed Outreach Teams To Nonviolent 911 Calls Involving The Homeless 
Mayor Eric Garcetti on Tuesday announced a pilot program to have unarmed outreach teams response to nonviolent 911 calls involving people experiencing homelessness. The Crisis and Incident Response through Community-Led Engagement program will begin in December, with teams comprising one outreach worker, one mental health clinician or licensed behavioral health clinician and one community ambassador available 24/7 to respond to diverted calls out of Venice and Hollywood. (11/23)

San Francisco Chronicle: Listen: Why Is San Francisco Shutting Down Its Homeless Hotels?
Since last spring, San Francisco has moved thousands of unhoused residents into hotel rooms as emergency shelter during the pandemic. The program, Project RoomKey, is federally funded and the Biden Administration has extended that support through April 1. But San Francisco has been closing the shelter-in-place hotels for months, despite protests from homeless advocates. (11/22)

Modesto Bee: Modesto CA Charter Schools Offer Inclusive Special Education 
Three Stanislaus County schools are changing the way they offer special education in order to keep those students in classrooms with their nondisabled peers for more of the school day. Aspire Public Schools is pairing special and general education teachers. The co-teaching model is backed by research showing all students stand to benefit socially and academically when students with disabilities are included in general education classrooms. (Isaacman, 11/24)

The Bakersfield Californian: School Leaders Deal With ‘Confusion’ Created By Newsom’s COVID-19 Vaccine Announcement 
On Oct. 1, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a plan to add the COVID-19 vaccination to the list of required vaccines for California students to attend school, once the vaccines received FDA approval. The announcement made a splash, spurring both praise and protests. In the weeks since, many local school board meetings have been dominated by questions about how districts plan to enact a vaccine mandate. Some board members have staked out positions against a mandate. (Gallegos, 11/23)

NPR: 3 Of America’s Biggest Pharmacy Chains Have Been Found Liable For The Opioid Crisis
A federal jury on Tuesday found three of the nation’s biggest pharmacy chains, CVS, Walgreens and Walmart, liable for helping to fuel the U.S. opioid crisis — a decision that’s expected to have legal repercussions as thousands of similar lawsuits move forward in courts across the country. Jurors concluded that the pharmacies contributed to a so-called public nuisance in Lake and Trumbull counties in Ohio by selling and dispensing huge quantities of prescription pain pills. Some of those medications initially purchased legally wound up being sold on the black market. Tuesday’s verdict is expected to resonate nationally, as the three chains face thousands of similar lawsuits filed by U.S. communities grappling with the opioid crisis. (Mann, 11/23)

Sacramento Bee: CA Wants Workers To Prove Unemployment Claims Were Legitimate 
About 1 million Californians who got unemployment payments from the pandemic-related federal benefit program now have to prove to the state they had a prior work history – or face paying back benefits. “A potential overpayment could be all benefits you received,” warns the state’s Employment Development Department, which manages California’s unemployment program. (Lightman, 11/23)

CIDRAP: Racial Minorities, Psychiatric Patients More Likely To Die Of COVID-19
Two US studies in JAMA Network Open today detail disparities in COVID-19 deaths in 2020, one showing higher mortality rates among racial minorities, and the other finding fewer infections but more deaths among patients with schizophrenia and other mood disorders. (Van Beusekom, 11/23)

CIDRAP: Blood Clots A Risk In COVID-19 Patients After Hospital Stay, Data Show
A study of 2,832 hospitalized adult COVID-19 patients in Michigan shows that those with a history of blood clots and high concentrations of the biomarkers D-dimer and C-reactive protein were more likely than others to have potentially serious blood clots after release from the hospital. COVID-19 can induce blood clots in the veins and arteries, the authors noted. A clot can break off and travel to the lungs (pulmonary thromboembolism), where it can stop blood from flowing to the lungs and lead to death. (11/23)

Nature: How Record Wildfires Are Harming Human Health
Smoke from wildfires is responsible for tens to hundreds of thousands of premature deaths around the world each year. And Prunicki is one of hundreds of researchers trying to understand the health effects of smoke exposure. Scientists want to know what it is in wildfire smoke that makes it more harmful to humans than other forms of pollution. They are looking at short-term and long-term effects; who is most vulnerable to the pollutants; and how best to keep people safe and healthy in smoke plumes that can stretch for thousands of kilometres from a blaze such as the Dixie fire. (Kozlov, 11/24)

Sacramento Bee: Non-Alcohol Drinks In Sacramento; Stay Sober During Holiday 
The holidays are high time for parties, parties, parties. And for adults over the age of 21, that often means alcohol. For people trying to stay sober, or even limit their intake of alcohol, this season can be a difficult time as social drinking peaks. Benjamin Miller, a clinical psychologist who is the president of Oakland-based Well Being Trust, also said that the COVID-19 pandemic may amplify feelings of loneliness that could negatively impact mental health and lead to substance abuse. (Jasper, 11/24)

San Francisco Chronicle: How A Tool That Tracks California’s ‘Disadvantaged Communities’ Is Costing S.F. Millions In State Funding
For the past decade, some of the city’s poorest neighborhoods have been ineligible for significant investments as a result of a complex California Environmental Protection Agency tool called the CalEnviroScreen, which maps “disadvantaged communities” by census tract — geographic areas of about 1,000 to 8,000 people designated by the U.S. Census Bureau. That tool balances dozens of factors to determine the state’s most vulnerable communities, everything from hazardous waste and average birth weight to linguistic isolation and housing burden. Once the data is aggregated, the top 25% — or worst off — census tracts, are given the “disadvantaged” distinction. In October, CalEPA finalized the fourth version of the screen, but the agency doesn’t expect to officially designate the state’s disadvantaged communities (a separate process) until early next year. (Kost and Jung, 11/23)

San Francisco Chronicle: San Francisco Declares Water Shortage Emergency, Asks City Users To Conserve 5%
San Francisco has some of the most conservation-savvy water users in California and its reservoirs contain enviable reserves, a crucial resource two years into a statewide drought. Now the city is demanding its water customers use even less. (Johnson, 11/23)

Los Angeles Times: New Therapies Offer Hope For Paralysis Patients 
Walking without assistance isn’t likely anytime soon, if ever, for those with severe spinal injuries. But some improvements in function, thought impossible until recent years, are now being realized. (Lopez, 11/24)

Fox News: Nearly 1 In 5 US Adults With Hypertension Are Taking Meds That Increase Blood Pressure
Many patients with high blood pressure may be unknowingly taking medications that are contributing to increased blood pressure, according to a study in JAMA this week. A team of researchers out of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, found that 18% — or nearly one in five — U.S. adults diagnosed with hypertension, reported taking medications that may actually increase blood pressure. Hypertension was defined in the study as an average systolic BP of 130 mm Hg or higher, average diastolic BP of 80 mm Hg or higher, or being told by a physician, the individual had high blood pressure. The authors also defined uncontrolled hypertension as an average systolic BP of 130 mm Hg or higher or an average diastolic BP of 80 mm Hg or higher. (McGorry, 11/23)

ABC News: Detecting Cancer With A Simple Blood Draw Could Soon Be A Reality
Every year, thousands of Americans undergo routine screening to catch cancer in its early stages, while it’s still treatable. But these routine tests can be painful and invasive, and doctors only regularly screen for five of some of the most common types of cancer. So for decades, scientists have been working on ways to screen for cancers using a simple blood draw rather than a painful biopsy or invasive test. These so-called “blood biopsy” tests are closer than ever to dramatically improving the way doctors screen for cancer. (Warner, 11/24)