COVID-19
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Why Experts Are 'Not Concerned' San Francisco Bay Area's COVID Rate Is Highest In California
San Francisco County has the highest COVID-19 case rate of any other county in California with a seven-day average of 13 cases per 100,000 residents, state data showed on Tuesday. By comparison, Los Angeles is reporting 5 cases per 100,000 residents. And San Francisco isn't the only Bay Area spot sitting at the top of the list. All counties in the region except Solano have among the highest rates in the state. But multiple experts say this news isn't alarming, and does not warrant any policy changes. Despite the region's ranking, cases are extremely low compared to what they were amid the winter surge when the city's seven-day average soared above 250 cases per 100,000 at the peak. SFGate Read more
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S.F. Health Officials Turned Away Thousands Of Life-Saving COVID Pills, Now Plead With Public To Use Them
San Francisco has turned down thousands of doses of life-saving COVID-19 pills allotted by the state because the people who could have used them didn’t know the treatment was available, public health officials said. City officials sounded an urgent alert Wednesday to make people aware of the antiviral drugs, which must be taken within five days after the onset of COVID symptoms. Although physicians typically write prescriptions, many patients don’t tell their doctors they’ve tested positive for COVID or tell them when it’s already too late to benefit from the pills. SF Chronicle Read more
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Some Marin COVID Patients Get New Treatment
A small number of Marin residents who test positive for COVID-19 are being prescribed a pill that reduces their chances of severe illness and hospitalization by about 89%, regardless of vaccine status. The medication, Paxlovid, is one of at least six treatments for COVID-19 that have been approved for emergency use in the United States. “With COVID-19 the realm of treatments is the next horizon for us,” Dr. Matt Willis, Marin County’s public health officer, told county supervisors last month during one of his periodic updates. “COVID-19 is an increasingly treatable disease with pharmaceutical interventions.” Marin Independent Journal Read more
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Outdoor Dining Turns Into A Permanent Weekend Scene In Downtown Martinez
In becoming the latest East Bay city to make outdoor dining a permanent downtown scene, Martinez will require restaurants to pay $250 a year for permits to keep their parklets and patios up and running on weekends. The City Council on Wednesday unanimously approved the new fee schedule to sustain a promenade-style nightlife that sprung up out of necessity as the pandemic forced restaurants and other businesses to shut down indoor operations. Bay Area cities such as Oakland, San Jose, Mountain View and Walnut Creek also have permanently closed streets for outdoor dining or are considering it; some charge fees to recoup the parking meter revenue they lost when patios and parklets were allowed to replace parking spaces. Mercury News Read more
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COVID Vaccine/Treatment News |
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There’s An Uptick In U.S. Vaccinations, And Older Americans Are The Reason
After months of gradual declines, Covid-19 vaccinations are on the rise again. Average daily doses have increased each of the previous nine days through Thursday, the longest sustained increase in vaccinations since November 2021. Since March 30, vaccinations have jumped from an average of approximately 200,000 shots per day to more than 450,000. Adults aged 65 and older appear to be driving the vaccination surge, according to an NBC News analysis of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. NBC News Read more
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F.D.A. Panel Explores Challenges Of Revamping Coronavirus Vaccines
Researchers trying to devise an updated coronavirus vaccine for use this fall would have to settle on a formula as early as June to meet that deadline, federal officials said on Wednesday, even though some clinical trials are just now getting underway. The assessment came during a daylong meeting of outside advisers to the Food and Drug Administration, who convened to strategize about what the nation’s coronavirus vaccine policy should look like moving forward. The session underscored how deeply the road ahead is studded with uncertainties. NY Times Read more
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Your Next COVID-19 Vaccine Will Be Different
After deploying four COVID-19 shots in a little more than two years, the nation is absorbing a troubling realization: That’s a pace that’s impossible to sustain. This past week, experts began charting a path to a future that is less perfect – but more practical. It means building a vaccine that targets more than one strain of the virus. It would reduce severe disease and death, but not prevent every infection. If the design is changed, all vaccines will be updated. Manufacturers will likely offer the same vaccine formulation to everyone, rather than a mélange of different products for different people on different schedules. Mercury News Read more
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San Diego Will Be Part Of National Clinical Trial On COVID-19 Vaccines
Fully vaccinated and boosted San Diego County residents are among those nationwide who will be able to participate in a new clinical trial that seeks to test combinations of vaccines that target variants, including Beta, Delta and Omicron. UC San Diego is among 24 sites nationwide selected to enroll otherwise healthy residents in the COVID-19 Variant Immunologic Landscape Trial, a major nationwide effort funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. Called COVAIL for short, the investigation initially plans to enroll about 600 participants into six different randomly selected groups, each of which will receive a different combination of vaccines developed by pharmaceutical giant Moderna. LA Times Read more
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How Russia’s Ukraine Invasion Doomed The Sputnik V Coronavirus Vaccine
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine probably sabotaged any further aspirations for the Sputnik coronavirus vaccine, the first injection approved by any country. Manufacturing of the vaccine has slowed, further research is stalled and a much-anticipated March 7 visit by the World Health Organization to Russia’s Sputnik manufacturing plants, the last step in its long-awaited international approval process, was once again delayed — this time indefinitely. Washington Post Read more
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Appeals Court Reinstates Biden’s Vaccine Mandate For Federal Workers
A federal appeals court on Thursday reinstated the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement for federal employees, overturning a nationwide injunction by a Texas federal judge in January. In a 2-1 ruling, the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans held that it wasn’t the judiciary’s role to adjudicate the dispute but said unvaccinated workers seeking to avoid discipline first had to pursue their grievances through administrative channels. Wall Street Journal Read more
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State/National/International News |
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Incomplete Data Likely Masks A Rise In U.S. COVID Cases As Focus On Infection Counts Fades
At first glance, U.S. Covid cases appear to have plateaued over the past two weeks, with a consistent average of around 30,000 cases per day, according to NBC News' tally. But disease experts say incomplete data likely masks an upward trend. In Washington, D.C., for example, several high-profile government figures recently tested positive, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, White House press secretary Jen Psaki and Attorney General Merrick Garland. "I do think we are in the middle of a surge, the magnitude of which I can’t tell you," Zeke Emanuel, vice provost of global initiatives at the University of Pennsylvania, said. NBC News Read more
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U.S. Likely To See A Surge Of COVID-19 In The Fall, Fauci Says
Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said on Wednesday that he thinks there will be an uptick in cases of COVID-19 over the next few weeks and that it is likely that there could be a surge in the fall. "I think we should expect, David, that over the next couple of weeks, we are going to see an uptick in cases - and hopefully there is enough background immunity so that we don't wind up with a lot of hospitalizations," Fauci said when asked by Bloomberg TV's David Westin about the prospect of another wave of COVID-19 from BA.2 or another variant, given the level of immunity believed to exist in the US today. AP Read more
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What To Know About The COVID-19 XE Variant
In late March, the U.K. Health Security Agency (UKHSA) announced a new COVID-19 variant called XE. According to the agency, this new variant is recombinant, meaning it’s a mix of two strains. In this case, highly infectious Omicron BA.1 has combined with the more recent BA.2 variant. “A total 637 cases of XE – a recombinant of Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 – have been confirmed in the U.K. so far,” reported the UKHSA in late March. “The earliest of these has a specimen date of 19 January 2022.” Healthline Read more
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Medicare Enrollees To Get Free COVID-19 Tests At Drug Stores
Amid worries that the latest coronavirus variant could spark another rise in cases, Medicare announced last week that millions of enrollees will finally have access to free over-the-counter COVID-19 tests at drug stores. More than 59 million people with Medicare’s “Part B” outpatient coverage will be able to get up to eight free at-home tests per month, or enough for an individual to test twice a week, as some doctors have recommended. Mercury News Read more
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Nearly Two-Thirds of Africans May Have Contracted The Coronavirus, The W.H.O. Says
The Africa director at the World Health Organization on Thursday urged African countries to ramp up coronavirus testing and contact tracing as she presented research suggesting that nearly two-thirds of people on the continent may have contracted the coronavirus. A W.H.O.-led analysis published last month and not yet peer-reviewed synthesized 150 surveys across the continent and found that 65 percent of Africans had been infected with the coronavirus as of September, nearly 100 times the number of confirmed cases. NY Times Read more
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New Laws Let Visitors See Loved Ones In Health Care Facilities, Even In An Outbreak
Jean White’s mother has dementia and moved into a memory care facility near Tampa, Florida, just as coronavirus lockdowns began in spring 2020. For months, the family wasn’t allowed to go inside to visit. When the family was allowed in, disruptions continued. White said the facility shut down whenever a resident or staff member had the virus.
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Nancy Pelosi And Other Lawmakers Test Positive For The Coronavirus
Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California tested positive for the coronavirus, her office said on Thursday, the latest high-profile official to do so as the virus spreads through Washington. Ms. Pelosi, who is second in the line of succession to the presidency after Vice President Kamala Harris, was the highest-ranking in a string of positive coronavirus tests among top officials in Washington, underscoring that the pandemic is not over, even as restrictions loosen. NY Times Read more
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Total Confirmed Cases
Bay Area: 1,298,550
California: 9,132,927
U.S.: 80,399,474
Alameda County
Primary Vaccine Series Completed: 85.3%
Total Cases: 259,217
Total Deaths: 1,858
Test Positivity (7-day rate): 2.3%
Hospitalized Patients (as of 4/11): 47
ICU Beds Available (as of 4/11): 100
As of April 11, cases have increased recently and are high. The number of hospitalized COVID patients has fallen in the Alameda County area. Deaths have increased. 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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Total Reported Deaths
Bay Area: 8,295
California: 89,358
U.S.: 985,482
Contra Costa County
Primary Vaccine Series Completed: 85.9%
Total Cases: 191,080
Total Deaths: 1,296
Test Positivity (7-day rate): 2.8%
Hospitalized Patients (as of 4/11): 22
ICU Beds Available (as of 4/11): 35
As of April 11, cases have decreased recently but are still high.The number of hospitalized COVID patients has fallen 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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What To Do If You Test Positive For COVID At This Point In The Pandemic
COVID-19 has been around long enough that we are not even counting the waves anymore, but the virus and the tools we have to fight it keep evolving. And the guidance seems to change just enough with each surge that it can leave even the most diligent among us feeling lost. Now, more than two years into the pandemic, some parts of the U.S. are seeing an uptick in cases driven by the BA.2 subvariant. NPR 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 143 new cases and 1.9 new death per day.
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Over the past week, Contra Costa County has averaged 71 new cases and 0.7 new deaths per day.
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Top 10 Locations of Cases in
Alameda County, cumulative
as of 4/11/2022
Oakland: 75,794
Hayward: 33,650
Fremont: 26,466
San Leandro: 15,869
Eden MAC: 14,640
Berkeley: 13,546
Livermore: 13,021
Union City: 11,387
Alameda: 8,941
Castro Valley: 8,899
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Top 10 Locations of Cases in
Contra Costa County, cumulative
as of 4/11/2022
Richmond: 28,092
Antioch: 25,607
Concord: 20,627
Pittsburg: 16,560
San Pablo: 11,993
Brentwood: 11,516
Oakley: 9,604
Walnut Creek: 9,514
San Ramon: 8,249
Martinez: 6,342
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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 Ed Hernandez. 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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