COVID-19
breaking news & updates
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Bulletin Publishing Schedule for April
During the month of April the Bulletin will be published once a week, on Wednesday. Twice a week publication (Monday and Thursday) will resume in May.
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COVID Test Resources
Food Pantries
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CalFresh Recipients, Bay Area Food Banks Need Support
The timing couldn’t be worse for CalFresh recipients and Bay Area food banks that strive to feed the needy. The federal pandemic-era monthly allotments that began in 2020 to boost food payments to low-income individuals and families are due to expire after Friday. The additional money, roughly $150 a month, provided more funds for an estimated 600,000 Bay Area residents covered by the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known in California as CalFresh. The pandemic may be over, but food insecurity across the Bay Area continues to grow at an alarming rate.
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S.F. Hotels Are Filling Up Again And Looking For Workers As Tourism Rebounds
San Francisco hotels are eager to hire workers as they rebound from pandemic doldrums, industry leaders said Tuesday. “We need 1,200 new employees in San Francisco and we need them now,” said Lynn Mohrfeld, CEO of the California Hotel & Lodging Association, at a news conference at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco. His group later clarified that Indeed.com shows nearly 1,200 open hotel jobs within 25 miles of San Francisco and nearly 600 open hotel jobs in San Francisco. Open positions span a range of functions, such as housekeeping, front desk, marketing and accounting.
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South Bay Students Struggle To Bounce Back After Pandemic Plunge
As we pass the third anniversary of the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s no secret that students have been greatly affected across the United States. Researchers note historic learning setbacks compared with math and reading test scores before the pandemic. According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as the Nation’s Report Card, math and reading scores in spring 2022 saw their most significant drop on record. John Schmitt, a 51-year-old math teacher at Cristo Rey San Jose Jesuit High School, said the pandemic derailed the educational system in the U.S. “I think what COVID did was it drove further inequalities in our system,” Schmitt said. Mercury News Read more
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Vaccine/Testing/Treatment News |
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The FDA May Soon Authorize A Spring Round Of COVID-19 Boosters For Some People
Katen Moore has already gotten every COVID-19 vaccination available — the two original shots, two boosters with one of the first vaccines and a jab with one of the new vaccines updated to target Omicron. Even though she also had COVID once, she desperately wants another booster. "I just don't want to get COVID again," says Moore, 63, a nurse practitioner who lives in North Plainfield, N.J. "I don't really know what the long-term risks are. And I don't really want to find out. I don't want the risk of long COVID. I don't want the breathing problems. I don't want the fatigue. I don't want those things." NPR Read more
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mRNA Vaccine Beats Infection For Key Defense Against COVID-19, Stanford Medicine Scientists Find
The Pfizer/BioNTech mRNA vaccine directed at COVID-19 is much better than natural infection at revving up key immune cells called killer T cells to fight future infection by SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, Stanford Medicine investigators have found. The scientists also showed, in a study published online in Immunity, that getting infected by SARS-CoV-2 before getting vaccinated lowers the vaccine’s otherwise exceptional ability to spur proliferation and activation of killer T cells directed at SARS-CoV-2. Their finding suggests that those hoping to avoid the manifold health risks associated with COVID-19 would do well to get vaccinated before they contract the disease. Stanford Health News Read more
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State/National/International News |
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When It Comes To Preventing COVID-19 Deaths, "How We Feel About Each Other Matters"
The United States has the dubious distinction of suffering the highest COVID-19 mortality rate among the world’s high-income countries. But that national average — 372 deaths per 100,000 people as of last summer — hides the fact that pandemic outcomes differed greatly from state to state. In a comparison that controlled for demographic differences between states, Arizona’s COVID-19 mortality rate of 581 deaths per 100,000 residents was almost four times higher than Hawaii’s, where there were 147 deaths per 100,000 residents. Death rates in the hardest-hit U.S. states resembled those of countries with no healthcare infrastructure whatever. States that fared best had rates on a par with countries such as Australia, New Zealand and South Korea, which worked zealously to keep their pandemic death tolls low. LA Times Read more
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Heart Attacks Are Killing More Young People. It’s Not Just COVID
The day after Thanksgiving, Shaniya Peterson had just jumped rope with her two young daughters outside their Antioch home when the chest pain began. Peterson, 30, initially thought it was heartburn, or her body’s reaction to having exercised in the cold air. She lay down and stretched out, hoping the pain would subside. She bought Tums.
But over the next several days, the pain turned into a burning sensation and shot up her neck and jaw. It got so unbearable Peterson called a friend to drive her to the emergency room, where she underwent tests and found out she’d had a heart attack. SF Chronicle Read more
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California Supreme Court To Offer Guidance For COVID-19 Coverage Cases
Courts at the state and federal levels continue grappling with the application of California insurance law to COVID-19 business interruption claims. Much uncertainty remains as to how California law applies in a number of scenarios presented by the pandemic. After three years of insurance claims and litigation, the California Supreme Court has agreed to provide guidance on one of the main arguments that insurers make when rejecting COVID-19 business interruption claims. In Another Planet Entertainment, LLC v. Vigilant Insurance Co., the state's highest court will address the question of whether under California law the actual or potential presence of SARS-CoV-2 on insured property can qualify as physical loss of or damage to property. Reuters Read more
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COVID Exploited U.S. Political Divisions Along With Racial And Health Disparities
Despite being one of the world's highest income countries, with strong healthcare and a high rank for preparedness, the United States struggled with COVID-19 and the pandemic played out vastly different ways across the country. A new analysis published earlier this week dug into the reasons, some of which aren't surprising, and provided insight into the nuanced factors in play. Researchers who examined what drove variations in state response to the pandemic published their findings in The Lancet. They looked at state-level COVID data from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation's (IHME) COVID-19 database, as well as government economic, education, and census data. They also factored in state pandemic policies and behaviors, such as vaccine coverage. CIDRAP Read more
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Turks And Caicos To Drop COVID-19 Vaccine Requirement
Starting Saturday, one of the final COVID-19 restrictions for travelers to the popular destination of Turks and Caicos will be lifted. The 40-island archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean will no longer require vaccination against COVID-19 as an entry requirement, according to a recent advisory from the Ministry of Health and Human Services of the Turks and Caicos Islands Government. However, the advisory does strongly recommend that eligible travelers receive both the COVID-19 vaccine, and the flu vaccine. Travel + Leisure Read more
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Brazil Hits 700,000 Virus Deaths, 2nd Highest In The World
Brazil's government on Tuesday reported the 700,000th death from COVID-19 in the South American nation, which has the second most victims of the virus after the United States. Brazilian health experts say most people dying of COVID-19 in recent days are either unvaccinated or suffer from other debilitating diseases. "The vaccine currently available in every health care unit in Brazil could have changed the lives of families who lost beloved ones in the pandemic,” said the country's Health Ministry. ABC News Read more
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A War Of Compassion: Debate Over Forced Treatment Of Mental Illness Splits California Liberals
Half a century after California policymakers shuttered state psychiatric institutions, denouncing them as inhumane, today’s progressive leaders are now reconsidering involuntary commitments, saying not helping people who are seriously ill, and living in squalor on the streets, is inhumane. The shift is pitting liberals against liberals over the very meaning of compassion. Disability rights advocates say the renewed push for forced treatment violates people’s civil rights, while Democratic leaders and doctors counter that doing nothing violates people’s right to medical care, particularly when the nature of their illness prevents them from recognizing they need help. KQED Read more
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When College Athletes Kill Themselves, Healing The Team Becomes The Next Goal
In the weeks after Stanford University soccer goalie Katie Meyer, 22, died by suicide last March, her grieving teammates were inseparable even when not training. Coaches adjusted practices to give the athletes time and space to make sense of losing their friend and team captain. They offered to cancel the spring season, but the players declined, said Melissa Charloe, who started as a Stanford assistant women’s soccer coach the day Meyer died. “It’s hard because there’s no playbook on how to do this,” Charloe said. No playbook exists because, until recently, it was relatively uncommon for student-athletes to die by suicide. Kaiser Health News Read more
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Fentanyl Crisis/Drug Trends |
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F.D.A. Approves Narcan for Over-the-Counter Sales
Narcan, a prescription nasal spray that reverses opioid overdoses, can now be sold over the counter, the Food and Drug Administration said on Wednesday, authorizing a move long-sought by public health officials and treatment experts, who hope wider availability of the medicine will reduce the nation’s alarmingly high drug fatality rates. By late summer, over-the-counter Narcan, could be for sale in big-box chains, vending machines, supermarkets, convenience stores, gas stations and even online retailers.
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Newly Available Test Strips Can Detect Lethal "Tranq" In Drug Supply
Public health workers will soon have a new tool at their disposal to thwart a spreading danger to users of illicit drugs: xylazine test strips. The new testing kits will allow health departments, grassroots harm-reduction groups, and individual drug users to test substances for the presence of xylazine, a sedative often referred to as “tranq.”The toxin is increasingly common in the U.S. illicit-drug supply — especially in the Philadelphia area, but increasingly in other cities, too. Xylazine, which is typically used as a sedative in veterinary settings, can cause people to stop breathing, and also often causes severe skin wounds when injected. STAT Read more
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U.S. And Mexico Weighing Deal For Mexico To Crack Down On Fentanyl Going North While U.S. Cracks Down On Guns Going South
The U.S. is preparing to announce a deal with Mexico to counter fentanyl coming across the southern border, with Mexico cracking down on labs and smuggling while the U.S. does more to stop the flow of U.S. guns into Mexico, two sources familiar with the strategy told NBC News. Mexican military and police, with the help of U.S. law enforcement, will focus on tracking raw materials for fentanyl being shipped to Mexico, finding and shutting down labs that make the deadly synthetic opioid and going after key players in the illicit fentanyl trade, the sources said. NBC News Read more
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3 Ways To Measure How Fit You Are, Without Focusing On Weight
Exercise is one of the best things you can do for your mental and physical health. But too often, the only measurement people use to evaluate their progress is their weight, which is not the most accurate metric to assess fitness and can be emotionally fraught. For one thing, muscle is denser than fat, so if you’re doing a lot of strength training, the number on the scale could go up as you work out more. Additionally, research suggests that body size does not necessarily correspond to health. “Fitness is more important than fatness to your cardiovascular and metabolic health, and your overall risk of morbidity and mortality,” said Lee Stoner, an assistant professor of exercise physiology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. NY Times 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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About Eden Health District |
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The Eden Health District Board of Directors are Chair Pam Russo, Vice Chair Ed Hernandez, Secretary/Treasurer Roxann Lewis, Mariellen Faria and Surlene Grant. 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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