COVID-19
breaking news & updates
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Bulletin Publishing Schedule for July
During the month of July, the Bulletin will be published once a week, on Wednesday. Twice a week publication (Monday and Thursday) will resume in August.
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COVID Test Resources
Food Pantries
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Opinion: The BA.5 variant doesn’t care about your back-to-office plan
A monumental battle over remote work in San Francisco and elsewhere is heating up this summer as traditional business leaders pressure employees to come to the office much or all of the time, writes business consultant Gleb Tsipursky in an Open Forum essay. But while leaders from Elon Musk to London Breed are urging staff to return in person, they are failing to appreciate the threat posed by the new BA.5 subvariant of omicron, which the Biden administration predicts could lead to 100 million infections in the fall. Read Tsipursky’s analysis of why a coercive approach to office work hurts employees and companies. SF Chronicle Read more
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San Mateo County warns of increased COVID risk in region
Health officials in San Mateo Couny are asking residents to stay up to date on their vaccinations and wear masks in high-risk settings as COVID-19 cases continue to rise due to the prevalance of the BA.5 omicron sub-variant. “As the variants outcompete their predecessors, we see that they are even more transmissible and able to evade the immune response of both vaccination and prior infection, prolonging this period of high community transmission,” Louise Rogers, the county’s health officer, said in a briefing on Tuesday.
All Bay Area counties are currently classified as having high COVID-19 levels, based on metrics used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Rogers said individuals should wear masks indoors, increase ventilation, and test frequently.
“As we have needed to accept the many aspects of COVID-19 risk mitigation that are part of our daily lives, we want to keep you and the public informed about the changing context that underlies our current situation so that everyone can protect themselves and the community as much as possible,” Rogers said. SF Chronicle Read more
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COVID Vaccine/Treatment News |
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Pandemic ‘nowhere near over,’ says WHO chief
Evolved versions of the coronavirus are driving another wave of COVID-19 infections globally and “putting further pressure on stretched health systems and health workers,” according to the head of the World Health Organization. Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a news conference in Geneva on Tuesday that while the world is better prepared to handle new surges, people should not let their guard down. “As the virus pushes at us, we must push back,” he said. Hospitalizations are on the rise due to more transmissible subvariants of omicron, and deaths are also increasing in some regions as mitigation measures have largely been discarded, allowing for “new, fitter variants emerging, with different degrees of virulence, transmissibility, and immune escape potential.” Ghebreyesus concluded, “New waves of the virus demonstrate again that the COVID-19 is nowhere near over.” SF Chronicle Read more
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The Biden administration is considering whether to expand second coronavirus booster shots to adults under 50 in an effort to counter the latest, highly contagious variant, which has driven up hospitalization rates and deepened worries about waning immunity among those vaccinated or boosted at least six or so months ago.
Expanding eligibility for a fourth dose of vaccine to younger adults would require regulatory approval. More discussions with officials from the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are expected in the coming days, according to people familiar with the situation. NY Times Read more
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Will Americans have the right COVID-19 vaccine this fall? Maybe
The shots have done an admirable job. Researchers credit them with saving 1.9 million U.S. lives in their first year of availability, and they continue to provide solid protection against severe illness and death from COVID-19. The ubiquitous Omicron subvariants, however, have several mutations on their crucial spike proteins that make them less recognizable to an immune system primed to fight the 2½-year-old virus.
To withstand a virus’ evolution, some scientists have tried to design vaccines that target a component that doesn’t change — say, a protein that performs some housekeeping task that’s crucial to its survival. Others have looked to animals such as llamas and alpacas, who produce very tiny antibodies capable of adapting to viruses when they change.
More recently, a team led by scientists at Caltech developed a multipronged vaccine that contains pieces of eight beta coronaviruses, including the one that causes COVID-19. When given to mice and monkeys, it trained their immune systems to recognize a wide range of viruses by showing them, in effect, a miniature family portrait.
The next step is a Phase 1 clinical trial in humans, where many promising universal vaccine candidates have foundered. “It’s not for want of money. It’s not for want of desire or effort,” Dr. Paul Offit, a virologist and immunologist at the University of Pennsylvania said. “It’s just hard to make universal vaccines work.” LA Times Read more
How long after catching Covid can you become reinfected and when should you get your booster?
People may become reinfected with Covid-19 as early as 28 days after recovering from the virus, according to the latest advice from the Australian Health Protection Principal Committee. Previously, reinfection was defined as a case occurring more than 12 weeks after an initial infection.
The committee said the Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5 “are associated with increased immune escape and we are likely to see rates of reinfection rise among those who have previously been infected with an earlier Covid-19 variant, and those who are up to date with their vaccinations.”
Virologist and associate professor at the Kirby Institute, Stuart Turville, said those most likely to be reinfected after just four weeks are those with weakened immune systems.
“Those that had a poor immune response to their initial infection and vaccination are the ones that now have been reinfected,” he said. “The good news though is those with initial robust responses to the virus, back in March 2020, and then vaccinated have not been reinfected so far after two big Omicron waves. Those people have had in theory four immune encounters, with an infection and then three vaccine doses.”
He said expanded access to a fourth vaccine dose “will help level the immune playing field,” because there may be some people who are immunosuppressed and who don’t respond well to two or three vaccine doses, but who don’t realize that they have underlying conditions and are at risk. The Guardian Read more
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State/National/International News |
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How Are We Possibly Still Disinfecting Things?
America can’t quit hygiene theater.
Today, it’s well understood that because the coronavirus spreads through the air, good ventilation and air filtration are far more effective at disrupting transmission than wiping down surfaces. Best practices for avoiding infection during a surge include opening a window when gathering indoors, opting for outdoor dining, and masking. In March, the Biden administration made air quality a pillar of its COVID response (finally).
Meanwhile, study after study has found that the risk posed by lingering virus on surfaces is low compared with the threat it poses in the air. Which raises the question: Why in the world is so much cleaning still happening? The Atlantic Read more
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Is BA.5 the ‘Reinfection Wave’?
The latest surge is a test of our pandemic priorities.
Well, here we go again. Once more, the ever-changing coronavirus behind COVID-19 is assaulting the United States in a new guise—BA.5, an offshoot of the Omicron variant that devastated the most recent winter.. The new variant is spreading quickly, likely because it snakes past some of the immune defenses acquired by vaccinated people, or those infected by earlier variants. Those who have managed to avoid the virus for close to three years will find it a little harder to continue that streak, and some who recently caught COVID are getting it again. “People shouldn’t be surprised if they get infected, and they shouldn’t be surprised if it’s pretty unpleasant,” Stephen Goldstein, a virologist at the University of Utah, told me..
That doesn’t mean we’re about to have a surge on the scale of what we saw last winter, or that BA.5 (and its close cousin BA.4) will set us back to immunological square one. Goldstein told me that he takes “some level of comfort” in the knowledge that, based on how other countries have fared against BA.5, vaccines are still keeping a lot of people out of hospitals, intensive-care units, and morgues. The new variant is not an apocalyptic menace. The Atlantic Read more
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Op-Ed: New COVID variants like BA.5 are dominating us — we can do more to prevent this
It takes a lot for a COVID-19 variant to become dominant throughout most of the world. It has happened only three previous times (Alpha, Delta, Omicron) and now is occurring with the Omicron family subvariant known as BA.5. How did this occur and what are the implications for the pandemic going forward?
The reason why BA.5 is a standout is predominantly linked to its property of “immune escape.” That is, multiple distinct mutations from prior Omicron variants have blunted our immune response to it. The ability of multiple vaccine doses, boosters and infections to guard against it is reduced.
The CDC has failed to warn Americans about the high risk of BA.5 spread, which can be mitigated to a significant extent by use of high-quality masks, physical distancing, ventilation, air filtration and booster vaccines. Only one in three Americans eligible has had a booster, which means the U.S. ranks 67th in the world for being up to date on protections against COVID. Among people age 50 and over, for whom a second booster has been shown to reduce mortality and severe disease and is freely available, only one in four has received it. LA Times Read more
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U.S. Hospitalizations Driven by BA.5 Variant Double Since May
Nationwide, hospitalizations have doubled since May, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky said during a media briefing Tuesday. An NBC News analysis found that Covid-related hospitalizations are up in all but four states, with the biggest recent jumps in the South.
The increase is driven by BA.5 and another closely related subvariant, BA.4, Walenksy said. BA.5 accounted for 65% of new cases for the week ending July 9, according to the CDC. BA.4 accounted for 16.3%.
Both subvariants are “more transmissible and more immune evading” than previous versions of omicron. That is, any immunity a person has from vaccination or previous infection may offer little to no protection against what’s currently circulating. . NBC News Read more
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U.S. scientists enroll nearly 40,000 patients in high-stakes, $1.2 billion study of long Covid
The National Institutes of Health is rolling out one of the largest studies in the world to understand long Covid in a high-stakes effort to find definitive answers about a multitude of seemingly unrelated and sometimes debilitating symptoms that have plagued patients and confounded physicians.
The $1.15 billion taxpayer-funded study, called Recover, aims to enroll nearly 40,000 people by the end of this year. It will follow those participants over four years, comparing people with Covid to those who’ve never had it, with the goal of identifying all the long-term symptoms and finding out how the virus is causing them. The Patient-Led Research Collaborative said there were more than 200 long Covid symptoms across 10 organ systems, according to a study published last year in The Lancet.
It’s a massive undertaking, and expectations are high. The size of the budget, breadth, depth and scope of the study are rarely seen in scientific studies. CNBC Read more
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China Walks Back Vaccine Mandates
China’s first large-scale attempt to require Covid vaccinations appears to have ended before it began.
The capital city reported zero new Covid cases for Thursday, with or without symptoms. CNBC Read more
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Hit by COVID, EU population shrinks for second year running, Eurostat says
The European Union's population shrank for a second year running last year, the bloc's statistics office said on Monday, as the region reels from over two million deaths from the coronavirus.
According to Eurostat, the population of the 27 countries that make up the bloc fell by close to 172,000 from the previous year and over 656,000 from January 2020.
"In 2020 and 2021 the positive net migration no longer compensated for the negative natural change in the EU and, as a consequence, the EU total population has been decreasing," it said, pointing to impacts from the pandemic. Reuters
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Total Confirmed Cases
Bay Area: 1,569,899
California: 10,157,114
U.S.: 87,858,093
Alameda County
Primary Vaccine Series Completed: 86.6%
Total Cases: 334,015
Total Deaths: 1,920
Test Positivity (7-day rate): 14.9%
Hospitalized Patients (as of 7/13): 138
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Total Reported Deaths
Bay Area: 8,621
California: 92,386
U.S.: 1,017,880
Contra Costa County
Primary Vaccine Series Completed: 87.0%
Total Cases: 244,271
Total Deaths: 1,356
Test Positivity (7-day rate): 16.6%
Hospitalized Patients (as of 7/13): 102
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COVID has changed our exercise habits, but it doesn't have to be for the worse
During the pandemic, some people found their level of exercise greatly reduced, whereas for others it was a catalyst to increase their physical activity.
With the widespread switch to working from home, incidental physical activity was reduced. Some people took this newly freed up time as an opportunity to add exercise to their day, with online fitness programs and health apps reporting a boom.
However the early impetus to exercise appears to have been short-lived for many, with a study comparing activity levels between the first and second waves of COVID in Victoria finding most people reported a reduction in their physical activity levels the second time around due to a lack of motivation.
However, online workouts, fitness apps and near-home workouts are likely here to stay, and offer numerous benefits, such as greater accessibility (no need to travel to the gym) and convenience, making it easy to fit in a workout while juggling work and family responsibilities. Medical Xpress 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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Top 10 Locations of Cases in
Alameda County, cumulative
as of 7/12/2022
Oakland:91,504
Hayward: 39,350
Fremont: 34,512
San Leandro: 19,338
Berkeley: 17,868
Eden MAC: 17.238
Livermore: 15,530
Union City: 13,926
Alameda: 11,660
Castro Valley: 11,319
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Top 10 Locations of Cases in
Contra Costa County, cumulative
as of 7/6/2022
Richmond: 32,359
Antioch: 29632
Concord: 24,816
Pittsburg: 19,010
Brentwood: 13,726
San Pablo: 13,659
Walnut Creek: 12,385
San Ramon: 11,433
Oakley: 11,221
Martinez: 7,981
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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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