COVID-19
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Many Bay Area Companies Unsure When To Bring Workers Back
As case counts and other metrics for the Omicron variant continue to improve, many Bay Area companies are returning to the office in the next few weeks but setting an official date is, and has been, a challenge for executives. For many companies, this is the fourth time they’re grappling with announcing a “return to the office” date. It’s a delicate balancing act for employers, trying to meet varying demands from workers. KPIX5
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Swalwell, East Bay Business Owners Show Support For Restaurant Pandemic Aid
Two East Bay restaurateurs joined Tri-Valley Rep. Eric Swalwell recently to call on the U.S. Congress to replenish a federal rescue fund that fell billions of dollars short in aiding businesses severely affected during the COVID-19 pandemic. Omar Etemadi, owner of Oasis Restaurant and Wine Lounge in Pleasanton, and Bill Rinetti, who owns Massimo’s in Fremont, described for reporters how the pandemic affected their establishments and employees and how nearly $29 billion included in President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan was not enough to meet the nationwide demand. The Independent Read more
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Hayward Historical Society Hosts Black Health & Wellness During COVID-19 Online Discussion on Feb. 27
The Hayward Area Historical Society is hosting an online presentation focused on Black Health and Wellness during the pandemic. The event will take place on Sunday, February 27 at 3 p.m. Dr. Michael LeNoir will ground the program with a talk concerning the history and culture of Black medicine, followed by a panel discussion led by Hayward City Councilmember Angela Andrews. Castro Valley Patch Read more
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San Jose Mall Preps For New Retail And Dining, Eyes Post-COVID Upswing
A big San Jose shopping mall says it is preparing to welcome a wave of new merchants amid a wide-ranging revamp of the retail center. Westfield Oakridge mall says several new merchants have opened their doors recently and more are headed to the south San Jose retail center. The stores and food spots are a reminder of how shopping malls have begun to reinvent themselves in the wake of coronavirus-spawned economic disruptions and ongoing challenges from online commerce companies. Mercury News
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CDC Now Says 8 Weeks Between COVID Vaccine Shots Optimal For Some
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has modified its COVID-19 vaccine dosing recommendations, advising that for the young and healthy — especially males — it may be better to allow eight weeks between the two Pfizer or Moderna shots than the approved three- or four-week interval. A number of physicians and medical experts have been privately making similar recommendations based on practices and experience in other countries to alleviate concerns about rare side effects, and the CDC’s expert panel endorsed the idea earlier this month. But it’s unclear how much the guidance shift, which the CDC did little to publicize Tuesday, will change U.S. vaccination practices.
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A New COVID Vaccine Shows 100 Percent Efficacy Against Severe Disease and Hospitalizations, Its Makers Say
Two doses of a new COVID vaccine that is based on a conventional approach achieved 100 percent efficacy against severe disease and hospitalizations, and it could be an effective booster after other Covid shots, the vaccine’s manufacturers announced on Wednesday. The vaccine, made by the Europe-based pharmaceutical companies Sanofi and GSK, is one of four candidates that received billions of dollars for development from Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration’s program to accelerate vaccines.
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For The First Time: COVAX Vaccine Supply Outstrips Demand
The global project to share COVID-19 vaccines is struggling to place more than 300 million doses in the latest sign the problem with vaccinating the world is now more about demand than supply. Last year, wealthy nations snapped most of the available shots to inoculate their own citizens first, meaning less than a third of people in low-income countries have been vaccinated so far compared with more than 70% in richer nations. As supply and donations have ramped up, however, poorer nations are facing hurdles such as gaps in cold-chain shortage, vaccine hesitancy, and a lack of money to support distribution networks, public health officials told Reuters. The Jerusalem Post
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Got A COVID Booster? You Probably Won’t Need Another For A Long Time
As people across the world grapple with the prospect of living with the coronavirus for the foreseeable future, one question looms large: How soon before they need yet another shot? Not for many months, and perhaps not for years, according to a flurry of new studies. Three doses of a COVID vaccine — or even just two — are enough to protect most people from serious illness and death for a long time, the studies suggest. New York Times Read more
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Overwhelmed By Chaos And Uncertainty, Families With Kids Under 5 Are On A Vaccine Roller Coaster
They’ve wrestled with child-care crises. They’ve missed work and paychecks. Some have even changed careers when day-care closures forced them to work remotely. Parents of children younger than 5 say they feel forgotten and left behind, watching others reclaim normalcy while they stay home with kids who are too young to be vaccinated and have to quarantine when there is an exposure to the coronavirus at day care or school. Parents are now dealing with another twist in a two-year roller-coaster ride after a coronavirus vaccine for the youngest children was further delayed this month. Washington Post Read more
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Fox Business Host Neil Cavuto Says COVID Vaccine Saved His Life
Neil Cavuto revealed during his return to hosting his show on Fox Business Network Monday that his weekslong broadcasting absence was due to him being hospitalized with "COVID pneumonia." It landed me in intensive care for quite a while and it really was touch-and-go," said the host of "Cavuto Coast to Coast," who is fully vaccinated but immunocompromised. "Let me be clear: Doctors say had I not been vaccinated at all, I wouldn't be here." Axios Read more
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New York Backs Off Booster Mandate for Health Care Workers
The New York State health commissioner announced on Friday that the state would not enforce a booster-shot requirement that had been scheduled to take effect for health care workers on Monday. The decision was an acknowledgment that too many workers were refusing boosters for the state’s health care system to continue functioning normally with the mandate in place. Three-quarters have “received or are willing to receive their booster." New York Times Read more
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State/National/International News |
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It’s A Big Mistake To Think The Pandemic Is Over, Despite Recent Good News, Experts Say
So how much longer will the pandemic last? No one is sure. Coronavirus cases are falling, but it would be a mistake to think the pandemic is over, experts say. The last decline in cases means that we’re likely turning to a period of calm in this pandemic, representing a “containment” of the coronavirus, but “that is not the same as the pandemic being over,” Dr. Eric Topol, director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in La Jolla, wrote in an op-ed for the Los Angeles Times this week. “Unfortunately, when states or countries proclaim that we just need to live with the virus and end all restrictions, many people interpret that message as meaning the pandemic is actually over — for good,” Topol said. “That would be a fantasy given the myriad opportunities for the virus to haunt us in the months and years ahead.” LA Times
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Will A Rising Omicron Variant Scramble Antibody Treatments?
The rapidly spreading BA.2 variant of SARS-CoV-2 could once again make doctors rethink antibody treatments for COVID-19. Manufactured immune molecules called monoclonal antibodies are essential for keeping people with COVID-19 out of hospital. Now, early laboratory data hint that the key antibody sotrovimab could lose effectiveness against the rapidly spreading BA.2 variant. Sotrovimab is one of the few therapies for COVID-19 caused by the Omicron variant, which overpowers several antibody treatments that were effective against previous strains. Just in time, U.S. regulators have given emergency approval to another monoclonal antibody, bebtelovimab, that inhibits both the original Omicron strain and BA.2 in laboratory assays. Nature Read more
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California Proposal Would Require School COVID Testing Plans
Proposed legislation in California would require all K-12 public schools to develop COVID-19 testing plans for students and staff and the funding for schools to do it, Sen. Richard Pan said in announcing it Tuesday “It’s really important that schools know what’s going on in their school sites when it comes to COVID,” said Pan, a pediatrician. “COVID testing allows schools to identify positive cases and then quarantine those who are sick, helping to reduce the spread of the virus.” The legislation would also apply to pre-schools, childcare centers and afterschool programs. AP Read more
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As Mask Mandates Across the U.S. Ease, Hawaii and Puerto Rico Remain Holdouts
Indoor mask mandates in every state but Hawaii have expired, or are scheduled to be lifted, as the United States nears its third year of the pandemic. Puerto Rico, the largest U.S. territory, also has no plans to lift its mask mandate. As the Omicron wave recedes, several governors announced in quick succession this month that they would end their statewide mask mandates, some of which applied to schools or indoor public places. Many expire before the end of the month. NY Times Read more
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"COVID Shame" Is Becoming More Common: How To Cope
A COVID-19 infection is stressful enough, but many people experience an added layer of emotional torment: feelings of guilt and shame after contracting a virus that has been highly stigmatized for the past 2 years. This is especially true now as the highly transmissible Omicron variant continues to sweep across the United States, passed on to people who have been vaccinated, boosted, and taken every reasonable step to protect themselves. But experts emphasize that contracting SARS-CoV-2 doesn’t mean you did something “wrong,” and feelings of guilt and shame only add to the suffering. Heathline Read more
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Maternal Deaths Rose During the First Year Of The Pandemic
The number of women in the United States who died during pregnancy or shortly after giving birth increased sharply during the first year of the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new study, an increase that health officials attribute partly to Covid and pandemic-related disruptions. The new report, from the National Center for Health Statistics, found that the rate of maternal deaths rose 14 percent, to 861 in 2020 from 754 in 2019. The United States already has a much higher mortality rate than other developed countries, and the increase in deaths pushes the nation’s maternal mortality rate to 23.8 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2020 from 20.1 deaths in 2019.
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Long-Haul COVID Concerns on Heart Health
With the Omicron surge seemingly behind us, health leaders are turning to the pandemic’s next set of challenges: the long term impact of COVID on heart health. The president of the American Heart Association is projecting a tidal wave of heart disease cases linked directly and indirectly to COVID. Doctors say they have seen an increase in COVID patients with widely fluctuating heart rate weeks and months after they recover from the virus. “I have seen tachicardia where the heart rate is higher and lower,” said Dr. Monica Gandhi, UCSF infectious disease specialist. But Gandhi said it’s not clear if the heart condition is related directly to the COVID virus itself. NBC Bay Area Read more
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The European Union Wants To Relax Pandemic Rules For Vaccinated Visitors From Abroad
The European Council recommended on Tuesday that the 27 member nations of the European Union end testing and quarantine requirements for visitors who have received coronavirus vaccines that are authorized within the union or approved by the World Health Organization. If it is put into effect, the policy would mean that visitors who received a booster dose of a vaccine, or completed an initial full vaccination at least 14 days but no more than 270 days before arrival, could enter a member country without presenting a negative coronavirus test result or spending time in quarantine. NY Times Read more
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Hong Kong Orders Mandatory COVID-19 Tests For All Residents
Hong Kong will test its entire population of 7.5 million people for COVID-19 in March, the city’s leader said Tuesday, as it grapples with its worst outbreak driven by the Omicron variant. The population will be tested three times in March, Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said. She said testing capacity will be increased to 1 million a day or more. Hong Kong has reported about 5,000 new daily infections since Feb. 15, with the number threatening to overwhelm its healthcare system. Since the current surge began at the beginning of the year, the city has recorded nearly 54,000 cases and 145 deaths. NBC News Read more
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Total Confirmed Cases
Bay Area: 1,258,129
California: 8,929,526
U.S.: 78,694,988
Alameda County
Total Vaccines Administered: 3,508,203
Total Cases: 249,540
Total Deaths: 1,715
Test Positivity (7-day rate): 3.2%
Hospitalized Patients (as of 2/23): 154
ICU Beds Available (as of 2/23): 88
As of February 23, cases have decreased recently but are still very high. The numbers of hospitalized COVID patients and deaths in the Alameda County area have also fallen. The test positivity rate in Alameda County is very high, suggesting that cases are being significantly undercounted.
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Total Reported Deaths
Bay Area: 7,685
California: 84,407
U.S.: 940,783
Contra Costa County
Total Vaccines Administered: 2,432,498
Total Cases: 186,624
Total Deaths: 1,209
Test Positivity (7-day rate): 4.9%
Hospitalized Patients (as of 2/23): 94
ICU Beds Available (as of 2/23): 38
As of February 23, cases have decreased recently but are still very high. The number of hospitalized COVID patients has also fallen in the Contra Costa County area. Deaths have remained at about the same level. The test positivity rate in Contra Costa County is very high, suggesting that cases are being significantly undercounted.
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Poison Control Issues Warning About COVID-19 Rapid Antigen Tests
As homes across the country have received the free at-home COVID-19 antigen tests, a new warning is being issued about a potential hazard. According to Poison Control, the extraction vial in many of the kits includes a chemical that acts as a preservative agent and could be harmful if ingested. Sodium azide is a colorless, tasteless, and odorless powder that has been used as a propellant in airbags and pest control agents, just to name a few. Poison Control officials say when swallowed the chemical can cause low blood pressure, cause dizziness, headache, and heart palpitations. In more severe cases, people can experience seizures, loss of consciousness and death may occur. KRON4 Read more
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- COVID-19 testing is a good idea, but keep in mind, people who test negative can still harbor the virus if they are early in their infection.
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A viral test tells you if you have a current infection.
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An antibody test might tell you if you had a past infection.
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Over the past week, Alameda County has averaged 446 new cases and 3.9 new death per day.
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Over the past week, Contra Costa County has averaged 278 new cases and 4.9 new deaths per day.
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Top 10 Locations of Cases in
Alameda County, cumulative
as of 2/23/2022
Oakland: 72,387
Hayward: 33,005
Fremont: 25,533
San Leandro: 15,377
Eden MAC: 14,370
Livermore: 12,664
Berkeley: 12,342
Union City: 11,103
Castro Valley: 8,571
Alameda: 8,476
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Top 10 Locations of Cases in
Contra Costa County, cumulative
as of 2/23/2022
Richmond: 27,577
Antioch: 25,175
Concord: 20,154
Pittsburg: 16,329
San Pablo: 11,771
Brentwood: 11,208
Oakley: 9,423
Walnut Creek: 9,188
San Ramon: 7,913
Martinez: 6,166
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About Eden Health District |
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The Eden Health District Board of Directors are Chair Mariellen Faria, Vice Chair Pam Russo, Secretary/Treasurer Roxann Lewis, and Gordon Galvan. The Chief Executive Officer is Mark Friedman.
The Eden Health District is committed to ensuring that policy makers and community members receive accurate and timely information to help make the best policy and personal choices to meet and overcome the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
We welcome your feedback on our bulletin. Please contact editor Lisa Mahoney.
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