COVID-19
breaking news & updates
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East Bay Health Workers Battle COVID Vaccine Misinformation, Hesitance
The Delta variant is allowing COVID-19 to make a comeback and health officials are scrambling to convince those who are hesitant to get vaccinated. On Saturday, across the East Bay, there were events offering incentives for people to get the shot. The fight against the coronavirus is now being waged neighborhood by neighborhood such as at a small pop-up event in Hayward’s Cherryland District. “Those big mega-centers started dwindling in numbers so now it’s really going to those hard-to-reach communities and going out where they’re at - not having them come to us,” said clinic organizer Denize Maldonado. KPIX5 Read more
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As Delta Surges, Bay Area Reaches Realization That COVID "Will Be With Us Chronically"
Until the world conquers COVID - until global vaccination stomps out any opportunity for the coronavirus to mutate into something more dangerous and harder to contain - even the Bay Area will remain at risk. Eliminating the virus is probably not possible. This summer surge may simply be a bump on the rough path toward learning to coexist with COVID. “We’re going to have to live with this for a while,” said Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, an infectious disease expert at Stanford. “And we are reaching the point where people have to just settle into that. We have to get back to some kind of a normal life. We can’t keep living like this. But normal life now may be different.” SF Chronicle Read more
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S.F.'s Coronavirus Case Rate Has Spiked Above California's
What's Going On?
Coronavirus cases rose faster in San Francisco in the past week than in the Bay Area and California as a whole, and the city’s case rate on several days exceeded both the region’s and state’s. It was a rare occurrence for the city, which has had among the lowest virus rates among major U.S. metropolitan areas throughout the pandemic. Experts say that more than a month after the state - and the city - reopened, the super contagious delta variant is spreading rapidly among the unvaccinated. SF Chronicle Read more
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Even With High Vaccination Rates, Only 20% of SF Office Workers Have Returned to In-Person Work
Roughly a fifth of office workers in the San Francisco Bay Area have returned to the office, lower than the national average and less than half of the ratio of officer workers in Austin. The nationwide average is about 33% for the week of July 14, with the Austin metropolitan area far ahead of others at 52.7% and the San Francisco metropolitan area sitting at 20.8%. SFGate Read more
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Stanford Reports Seven COVID Cases in Vaccinated Students
Seven vaccinated Stanford students tested positive for the coronavirus this week, the university announced on Thursday, days after it loosened COVID testing requirements for inoculated students and staff living on campus. In an email to students, the university alerted that all of the newly infected students were symptomatic. Mercury News Read more
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California Launches Program To Get COVID Vaccines Into Doctor Offices
The California Department of Public Health announced that it will make $40 million in grants available to help doctors' offices and small practices safely store and administer more COVID-19 vaccines. With more than 74 percent of state residents age 12 and up at least partially vaccinated, the CDPH and its third-party vaccination administrator, Blue Shield of California, are focusing primarily on making vaccine doses widely accessible across the state, particularly in areas that have been hardest hit by the pandemic. Castro Valley Patch Read more
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Vaccinations Rise in Some COVID Hot Spot States
Vaccinations are beginning to rise in some states where COVID-19 cases are soaring, White House officials said Thursday, and hospitals are running out of space because of the Delta variant, which is “spreading with incredible efficiency.” Coronavirus coordinator Jeff Zients told reporters that several states with the highest proportions of new infections have seen residents get vaccinated at higher rates than the nation as a whole. Officials cited Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Missouri, and Nevada as examples.
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Officials Now Expect Vulnerable Americans to Need Booster Shots
Biden administration health officials increasingly think that vulnerable populations will need booster shots even as research continues into how long the coronavirus vaccines remain effective. Senior officials now say they expect that people who are 65 and older or who have compromised immune systems will most likely need a third shot from Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna, two vaccines based on the same technology that have been used to inoculate the vast majority of Americans thus far. That is a sharp shift from just a few weeks ago, when the administration said it thought there was not enough evidence to back boosters yet. NY Times Read more
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Why Haven’t You Been Vaccinated? With COVID-19 Raging, People Explain What Took So Long
Guillermo Cozar waited months to get his vaccine because, he reasoned, he’d already had COVID last fall and didn’t think he would get sick again. When he showed up at a more-than-a-century-old house of worship in Pico-Union to finally get the shot, there was no more waiting to be done. There was no line to stand in because few people showed up, even as the Delta variant of the coronavirus causes an increase in infections and hospitalizations across much of the U.S. “I feel calmer now that I finally got the vaccine,” the 45-year-old said. “I need to protect myself and everyone else.” LA Times Read more
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When Getting Vaccinated Could Mean Winning a $1.4 Million Apartment
When the COVID vaccination rollout started, the biggest material prize was an Instagramable sticker. Now in Hong Kong, you could potentially score a Tesla or even an apartment in the world’s most-expensive housing market. With gold bars, a diamond Rolex and a $100,000 shopping spree also up for grabs, Hong Kong’s vaccine lotteries are easily the flashiest. Yet it’s far from the only location rolling out eye-catching incentives to try and boost flagging vaccination rates. Russia’s giving away snowmobiles. West Virginians can score lifetime hunting licenses and custom rifles. In Alabama, people who are vaccinated got offered a chance to drive on a speedway track. Bloomberg Read more
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Why Experts Say Dividing Travelers By Vaccination Status At Airports Is a Good Idea
As Canada prepares to welcome nonessential international travelers, Toronto Pearson Airport and Vancouver International Airport are implementing separate lines for arriving passengers based on their vaccination status. It’s a move that health experts say will make traveling easier and safer for vaccinated travelers while at the same time encouraging unvaccinated people to get their jabs. Mercury News Read more
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COVID Vaccines Have Higher Approval in Less-Affluent Countries
People in low- and middle-income countries tend to be much more willing to receive a COVID-19 vaccine than are those in the United States, according to an analysis that included poll results from a dozen countries.
The analysis, reported on 16 July in Nature Medicine, found that 80% of individuals surveyed in ten low- and middle-income countries in Asia, Africa and South America were willing to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, compared with 65% in the United States. Nature Read more
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State/National/International News |
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Delta Variant Outbreak Likely More Prevalent Than Data Shows - But U.S. Could "Turn The Corner" In 3 Weeks, Former FDA Head Says
In a televised interview Sunday, Dr. Scott Gottlieb, a former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, warned COVID-19's resurgence in the United States is likely more pervasive than reported data suggests due to undocumented cases, but said that may actually mean the nation is close to "turning the corner" on the new Delta variant outbreak in the coming weeks - at least based on its trajectory in the United Kingdom. "I believe there's more virus than we're picking up right now," Gottlieb said on CBS News' Face the Nation, pointing to factors likely skewing reported case counts lower, such as the growth of at-home antigen tests that aren't reported to the government and a rise in infections among younger Americans still able to transmit the virus but more likely to be asymptomatic. Forbes Read more
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COVID Spreading Fast in Well-Vaccinated California Counties
California and its big coastal cities have embraced vaccines to beat back the COVID-19 pandemic. But a Bay Area News Group analysis shows not only are cases rising fast in much of the Golden State, they are soaring in many urban counties that boast high vaccination rates. Five California counties have both a higher percentage of their eligible residents fully vaccinated and a higher average daily case rate than the statewide average: Los Angeles, San Diego, Alameda, Contra Costa and San Francisco. The five counties with falling case rates - Modoc, Glenn, Lassen, Del Norte, San Benito - have below-average vaccination rates. Mercury News Read more
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Experts: Delta Not Likely Causing More "Breakthrough" COVID Cases, and Maybe Asymptomatic Cases Shouldn't Count
You may already know someone who has tested positive for COVID after being fully vaccinated, and mostly that is to be expected, experts are saying. It's now clear that July Fourth gatherings were to blame for a sharp rise in new COVID cases in the Bay Area and elsewhere, but so far the important data points are: 1) the vast majority of these new cases are among the unvaccinated; 2) the overwhelmingly vast majority of hospitalizations and just about all the deaths happening are among the unvaccinated; and 3) the number of "breakthrough" cases among the vaccinated are not alarmingly high, and the majority of those cases appear very mild. SFist Read more
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Five out of six U.S. athletes competing in the Tokyo Olympics have been vaccinated against COVID-19, leaving at least 100 unvaccinated, according to the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s medical chief. “Eighty-three percent is actually a substantial number and we’re quite happy with it,” medical director Jonathan Finnoff said. However, COVID-19 regulations continue to apply to all athletes, whether they’re vaccinated or not. “The best thing to do is to assume everyone’s at risk, and reduce risk by introducing Covid mitigation measures that we know work,” Finnoff said. Daily Kos Read more
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Air Pollution Exposure Drastically Worsens COVID-19 Infection
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Klobuchar Takes Aim at Online COVID Lies With Section 230 Bill
Sen. Amy Klobuchar introduced a bill Thursday to make online platforms like Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc. legally liable for misinformation about health issues such as COVID-19. The proposal comes less than a week after President Biden said that misinformation about the virus and vaccines is “killing people,” as infections surge in parts of the U.S. with low vaccination rates. LA Times Read more
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N.F.L. Teams Face Stiff Penalties For Unvaccinated Players and Personnel
Throughout the off-season, the N.F.L. had stopped short of requiring that its players and other team personnel receive a COVID-19 vaccination, instead strongly encouraging inoculation. But with training camps starting in earnest next week and the regular season less than two months away, that approach has shifted. Commissioner Roger Goodell on Thursday sent a memo to all 32 teams outlining COVID-19 guidelines for the 2021 season that detail drastic penalties for teams with unvaccinated personnel, including the forfeiture of games.
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Got The Sniffles? Summer Colds Are Rushing Back
You wake up feeling like you’ve been hit by a truck. You barely have the energy to get out of bed, your head is heavier than a bowling ball, and your throat feels as if you’ve swallowed a cactus. But you’re fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. This can’t be COVID-19, can it? Although breakthrough infections are possible, they’re extremely rare, and health experts say fully vaccinated Americans are more likely to suffer from a severe summer cold than COVID-19. “We’ve seen a very unseasonal rebound of these infections,” said Dr. Andrew Preston, professor of microbial pathogenicity at the University of Bath in the U.K. USA Today Read more
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Confirmed Cases
Bay Area: 466,553
California: 3,905,990
U.S.: 34,446,383
Alameda County
Vaccines Administered: 2,134,054
Cases: 94,736
Deaths: 1,272
Test Positivity: 5.2%
Hospitalized Patients: 153
ICU Beds Available: 108
Cases have increased recently and are very high. The number of hospitalized COVID patients has also risen in the Alameda County area. Deaths have remained at about the same level. The test positivity rate in Alameda County is relatively low, suggesting that testing capacity is adequate for evaluating COVID-19 spread in the area. NY Times
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Reported Deaths
Bay Area: 5,825
California: 64,235
U.S.: 610,892
Contra Costa County
Vaccines Administered: 1,488,009
Cases: 74,985
Deaths: 828
Test Positivity: 6.3%
Hospitalized Patients: 97
ICU Beds Available: 37
Cases have increased recently and are very high. The number of hospitalized COVID patients has also risen in the Contra Costa County area. Deaths have remained at about the same level. The test positivity rate in Contra Costa County is relatively low, suggesting that testing capacity is adequate for evaluating COVID-19 spread in the area. NY Times
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How To Talk To Vaccine-Hesitant Friends And Family About Getting The Shot
As the months go by and the pandemic drags on, it only gets harder for Amber Giese to talk with her parents about the coronavirus vaccine. Each time she brings it up, the conversation devolves into an argument. Facts and data don’t seem to register. Emotional appeals haven’t worked either. It’s even more frustrating when the 33-year-old from Milwaukee considers the worrying turn the public health crisis has taken lately. The highly transmissible Delta variant of the novel virus is rapidly driving infections and hospitalizations back up for the first time in months. Yet her parents refuse to get the shots. Washington Post 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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COVID Test Resources
Food Pantries
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Over the last seven days, Alameda County officials have reported 1,862 new coronavirus cases, which amounts to 113 cases per 100,000 residents. |
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Over the last seven days, Contra Costa County officials have reported 1,593 new coronavirus cases, which amounts to 141 cases per 100,000 residents. |
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Top 10 Locations of Cases in
Alameda County, as of 7/25/21
Oakland: 29,982
Hayward: 14,337
Fremont: 8,481
Eden MAC: 6,268
San Leandro: 5,957
Livermore: 4,585
Union City: 4,226
Berkeley: 3,889
Newark: 2,913
Castro Valley: 2,797
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Top 10 Locations of Cases in
Contra Costa County, as of 7/25/21
Richmond: 12,377
Antioch: 10,680
Concord: 8,654
Pittsburg: 7,440
San Pablo: 5,565
Brentwood: 4,229
Oakley: 3,607
Walnut Creek: 3,121
Bay Point: 2,964
San Ramon: 2,291
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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, Gordon Galvan and Varsha Chauhan. 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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