COVID-19
breaking news & updates
|
|
|
"We know that there [are] more people with this Delta variant who've been vaccinated who are probably spreading the infection. But it's still a very small percentage of people who are becoming infected after vaccination and who then are going on to spread the infection to others."
Former FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb
|
|
Here's Where Each Bay Area County Stands Right Now On Mask Mandates
Some Bay Area counties could order everyone to mask up again indoors, as new federal data underscores the threat of the Delta variant - including that it appears to be more transmissible among vaccinated people than previously thought. Currently, eight of the nine Bay Area counties - along with the state of California - recommend, but do not mandate, that people mask up indoors, whether or not they are vaccinated. Only Solano County has not made this recommendation. But the situation is changing quickly. Los Angeles, Yolo and Sacramento counties have mandated indoor masks, and Bay Area health officials are closely monitoring developments. SF Chronicle Read more
|
|
|
These 5 Bay Area Cities May Be "Most At Risk" For New COVID-19 Infections, Data Shows
Experts say unvaccinated neighborhoods across the Bay Area are driving most of the transmission fueling our fourth COVID-19 surge, and there are a few areas in particular that stand out. ABC7's data journalism team compiled COVID-19 vaccination rates for zip codes that have at least 5,000 individuals or more that are part of the 12+ vaccine eligible population. The areas that ranked high on the list are pockets of Solano and Alameda counties. The list includes zip codes in Berkeley, Vacaville, Suisun City, Dixon, and Fairfield - where 45 to 60 percent of the eligible population living in each of these zip codes are not fully vaccinated. ABC7 Read more
|
|
|
"We're Not Back To Normal": Bay Area Residents Confront Climbing Case Numbers And Renewed Restrictions
Many months ago, more than a year at this point, the pandemic was supposed to be a short nuisance, something happening elsewhere that would only derail the usual ways of living for a couple weeks. It didn’t take long to realize how naive that thinking was. Hundreds, then thousands, then hundreds of thousands, of people died, and those that didn’t lost whatever year they’d imagined for themselves as the pandemic continued on, no end in sight. But then in June, some sort of ending began to feel within reach. Health officials across the United States rolled back pandemic-era measures almost entirely. There would be no more mask mandates, no more tiers or restrictions - just life.
|
|
|
Bay Area Residents In Their 20s Are Lagging In COVID Vaccinations
Here's Why, And How It's Changing
When Maya Booker, 18, got her first Pfizer shot, at a pop-up clinic recently at the Oakland Zoo, she tried to calm her nerves by repeating to herself, “If I can get piercings and tattoos, I can do this.” Booker, a San Leandro resident whose phobia of shots was among several reasons she hesitated on vaccination even though she’d been eligible for a few months, added, “I kept telling myself that over and over.” As health officials race to once again quell new cases of the coronavirus, which are growing at a particularly fast clip among young adults, Booker is squarely in the demographic they want to reach for vaccination. Today’s actions by young people - getting vaccinated or not - could shape the next stage of the pandemic. SF Chronicle Read more
|
|
|
Bay Area Hospitals Prepare For 4th COVID Surge As Cases Projected To Peak In Few Weeks
COVID cases across the country and in the Bay Area are starting to have a major impact on hospitals. The Bay Area's daily COVID case count is now the same as it was during last summer's surge. Hospitalizations are also on the rise. "A month ago we had eight COVID positive patients in our hospital, and now we're at 43," who are mostly unvaccinated, according to Tosan Boyo, the SVP of hospital operations at John Muir Health. ABC7 Read more
|
|
More Than 200 Staff Members At 2 San Francisco Hospitals Have Tested Positive, Most In Breakthrough Delta Infections
At least 233 staff members at two major San Francisco hospitals, most of them fully vaccinated, tested positive for the coronavirus this month, and most, according to a hospital official, involved the highly contagious Delta variant. Some of the cases were asymptomatic, most involved mild to moderate symptoms and only two required hospitalization, officials said.
|
|
|
Less Than 0.001% Of Fully Vaccinated Americans Died After A COVID-19 Breakthrough Case, CDC Data Shows
Less than 0.004% of people fully vaccinated against COVID-19 experienced a breakthrough case resulting in hospitalization and less than 0.001% died from the disease, according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The data highlights what leading health experts across the country have highlighted for months: COVID-10 vaccines are very effective at preventing serious illness and death from COVID-19 and are the country’s best shot at slowing the pandemic down and avoiding further suffering. Mercury News Read more
|
|
|
More Than 816,000 COVID-19 Vaccine Doses Were Administered Saturday In The U.S As Pace Of Vaccination Rises
The rate of COVID-19 vaccinations in the United States continues to rise, a positive sign amid skyrocketing cases and hospitalizations after weeks of lagging inoculations. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 816,203 doses were administered Saturday, the fifth straight day the agency recorded more than 700,000 shots in arms. That brings the total number of doses administered to 346,456,669, according to CDC numbers released Sunday. CNN Read more
|
|
|
Biden Orders Tough New Vaccination Rules For Federal Workers
President Joe Biden has announced sweeping new pandemic requirements aimed at boosting vaccination rates for millions of federal workers and contractors as he lamented the “American tragedy” of rising-yet-preventable deaths among the unvaccinated. Federal workers will be required to sign forms attesting they’ve been vaccinated against the coronavirus or else comply with new rules on mandatory masking, weekly testing, distancing and more. The strict new guidelines are aimed at increasing sluggish vaccination rates among the huge number of Americans who draw federal paychecks - and to set an example for private employers around the country. AP Read more
|
|
|
Full FDA Approval of COVID-19 Vaccines Might Lead More People To Get Them - What's The Holdup?
More than eight months ago, large studies found that both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines reduced the risk of illness by more than 90%. Yet the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not yet granted them full approval, to the dismay of public-health officials eager to boost vaccination rates as the delta variant sends infections skyward. So what's the holdup? Part of the reason, according to experts in drug regulation, may be simply that the agency can afford to take the time.
|
|
|
COVID Vaccinations Lag For People On Medi-Cal
Low-income Californians enrolled in Medi-Cal have been vaccinated at far lower rates than the overall population in all 58 counties, according to state data. The disparity reveals a strong economic divide between the vaccinated and unvaccinated throughout California. About 45% of Medi-Cal enrollees eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine (those 12 and older) had received at least one dose as of July 18, compared to about 70% of all eligible Californians, state officials said last Thursday. CalMatters Read more
|
|
|
How Europe, After a Fumbling Start, Overtook the U.S. in Vaccination
Early on, while the United States and a handful of others surged way ahead, the Europeans undermined their inoculation campaigns with repeated stumbles, delaying vaccine purchases, damaging public confidence in some shots and bungling the rollout when doses became available. Now, the bloc is on a pace to end this week having given about 105 doses per 100 people, and at least one to just over 70 percent of adults, while the United States is at about 103 per 100 people and 69 percent of adults. NY Times Read more
|
|
|
To Fight Vaccine Lies, Authorities Recruit an "Influencer Army"
Ellie Zeiler, 17, a TikTok creator with over 10 million followers, received an email in June from Village Marketing, an influencer marketing agency. It said it was reaching out on behalf of another party: the White House. Would Ms. Zeiler, a high school senior who usually posts short fashion and lifestyle videos, be willing, the agency wondered, to participate in a White House-backed campaign encouraging her audience to get vaccinated against the coronavirus? NY Times Read more
|
|
U.S. Is Wasting Vaccine Doses, Even As Cases Rise
A survey of data from 10 states shows that more than 1 million doses have gone to waste since the nation began administering COVID-19 vaccines in December. Much of the loss has come as demand for inoculations plummeted, with the daily rate of vaccinations now at less than one-fifth of its peak average of 3.4 million shots, reached in mid-April. Reasons for vaccine wastage include breakage, storage and transportation problems, expiration, and shots that were prepared but not used after people did not show up for appointments, officials said. Seattle Times Read more
|
|
|
State/National/International News |
|
Delta is Bad - Could The Next COVID Variant Be Much Worse?
We were so close to conquering COVID-19. Now, as Delta sweeps the world, experts worry: What future version of the virus could expand its infectious empire? “The big concern is that the next variant that might emerge - just a few mutations potentially away - could potentially evade our vaccines,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said this week. Mercury News Read more
|
|
|
"It Gives Me Tremendous Anxiety": California's Delta Surge Sparks Flashbacks for Many Health Care Workers
Remember that moment just about a month ago when there was a palpable sense everything might be OK? The economy was reopening. People were packing back into restaurants. Sweaty bodies filled clubs. Even exhausted health care workers breathed their first deep sigh of relief as communities across California experienced the first real lull in the COVID-19 pandemic. “It was like COVID updates - none,” said Dr. Nicole Braxley, an emergency medicine physician at Mercy San Juan Medical Center in Carmichael. “And everyone’s like, ‘Yeah! Let’s talk about something else.’ ” Then the Delta variant hit California, and rapidly took hold, particularly in unvaccinated pockets of the state. KQED Read more
|
|
|
When Will The Summer Coronavirus Surge Peak? It Will Get Worse Before It Gets Better, Experts Predict
The newly resurgent coronavirus could spark 140,000 to 300,000 cases a day in the United States come August, fueled by the highly transmissible Delta variant and the widespread resumption of normal activities, disease trackers predict. The nation is already reporting more than 70,000 cases a day, according to The Washington Post’s rolling seven-day average - an increase of nearly 60,000 in the daily average in less than six weeks. Cases, measured as that rolling average, have risen to levels last seen in February. Washington Post Read more
|
|
|
Florida Reports A New Record With More Than 21,000 COVID-19 Cases On Saturday
Florida reported 21,683 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, the state's highest one-day total since the start of the pandemic, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Over the last week, Florida saw a 50% increase weekly in new cases, as the state reported 110,477 cases from July 23 to July 29, according to data released by the Florida Department of Health. NPR Read more
|
|
I’m An ICU Doctor And I Cannot Believe The Things Unvaccinated Patients Are Telling Me
My experiences in the ICU these past weeks have left me surprised, disheartened, but most of all, angry. I am at a loss to understand how anyone can look at these past months of the pandemic - more than 600,000 lives lost in the U.S. and more than 4 million worldwide - and not believe it’s real or take it seriously. But the unhappy truth is that there are people who do not. They did not in the beginning and many are doubling down now. HuffPost Read more
|
|
|
Confirmed Cases
Bay Area: 476,222
California: 3,996,943
U.S.: 35,007,771
Alameda County
Vaccines Administered: 2,155,340
Cases: 97,121
Deaths: 1,286
Test Positivity: 5.3%
Hospitalized Patients: 212
ICU Beds Available: 98
Cases have increased recently and are very high. The numbers of hospitalized COVID patients and deaths in the Alameda County area have also risen. 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
|
|
Reported Deaths
Bay Area: 5,850
California: 64,429
U.S.: 613,231
Contra Costa County
Vaccines Administered: 1,504,252
Cases: 77,708
Deaths: 834
Test Positivity: 7.7%
Hospitalized Patients: 155
ICU Beds Available: 32
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
|
|
|
The Truth Behind COVID-19 Vaccines And Women’s Health
Misinformation is spreading on the Internet regarding the COVID-19 vaccines and how they may affect women’s health. Clara Paik, clinic medical director of obstetrics and gynecology and the co-division director of University Women’s Health, answered some frequently asked questions about women’s health and the COVID shots (Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson) currently available. UC Davis Health Read more
|
|
|
- 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.
|
|
-
A viral test tells you if you have a current infection.
-
An antibody test might tell you if you had a past infection.
|
|
|
COVID Test Resources
Food Pantries
|
|
|
Over the last seven days, Alameda County officials have reported 1,116 new coronavirus cases, which amounts to 68 cases per 100,000 residents. |
|
Over the last seven days, Contra Costa County officials have reported 2,723 new coronavirus cases, which amounts to 240 cases per 100,000 residents. |
|
|
Top 10 Locations of Cases in
Alameda County, as of 8/1/21
Oakland: 30,814
Hayward: 14,654
Fremont: 8,636
Eden MAC: 6,362
San Leandro: 6,116
Livermore: 4,741
Union City: 4,324
Berkeley: 4,004
Newark: 2,964
Castro Valley: 2,889
|
|
Top 10 Locations of Cases in
Contra Costa County, as of 8/1/21
Richmond: 12,707
Antioch: 11,137
Concord: 8,979
Pittsburg: 7,685
San Pablo: 5,664
Brentwood: 4,418
Oakley: 3,774
Walnut Creek: 3,261
Bay Point: 3.067
San Ramon: 2,382
|
|
|
About Eden Health District |
|
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.
|
|
|
Follow Us on Social Media |
|
|
|
|
|
|
