COVID-19
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"We're The Only Ones": Alameda County Supervisor Trashes New Mask Mandate
Alameda County is the only Bay Area county currently enforcing an indoor mask mandate amid a regional uptick in COVID-19 cases. District 1 Supervisor David Haubert wants to know why. "It seems arbitrary to me," Haubert told SFGATE. "Our health officer Dr. [Nicholas] Moss has always said he reserves the right to reinstate a mask mandate, but has never clearly defined the conditions for reinstating or removing a mandate. Maybe he doesn't want to tie himself down to something, but he needs to be more transparent." SFGate Read more
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S.F.’s COVID Positive Test Rate Hits Second-Highest Level Ever
The coronavirus test positivity rate in San Francisco, which tracks the percentage of tests coming back positive for COVID-19, topped 14% on Wednesday, according to city data analyzed by The Chronicle. That is the second-highest rate the city has reached to date. The seven-day average climbed up to 18.9% this January during the winter surge before dropping to 2.4% in mid-March. It has been rising steadily since and is now far higher than the statewide average of 8.9%. A rule of thumb among infectious disease experts is that 5% is considered “too high,” according to researchers at Johns Hopkins University. SF Chronicle Read more
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Amid COVID Surge, San Francisco Cuts Community Test Site Budget In Vulnerable Neighborhoods
In the midst of a COVID surge, San Francisco's new budget is set to cut multiple community test sites in the Mission and Bayview districts. "Our health programs would close in the next 30 days," said Ivan Corado-Vega, manager for the Latino Task Force. The Latino Task Force is seeing first hand COVID cases increase. Data goes hand in hand with the CDC placing the county of San Francisco in the red under "high levels of community transmission." Corado-Vega says this is not the time to make cuts.
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Northern California Woman Faces 5 Years For Selling Fake COVID Cards, Pills
The owner of a wellness center in Santa Cruz has pleaded guilty to federal charges of distributing phony immunization pellets and falsified COVID-19 vaccination cards in a scheme with a Napa naturopathic doctor who already pleaded guilty to the fraud, authorities said. Jaimi Jansen, a business coach and the founder and CEO of Santa Cruz Core Fitness + Rehab, appeared before Senior District Judge Charles R. Breyer in San Francisco and pleaded guilty Friday to three counts of providing false statements related to health care matters. SF Chronicle Read more
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COVID Vaccine/Treatment News |
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Novavax COVID Vaccine Clears Key Step On Path To FDA Authorization After Committee Endorses The Shot
Novavax’s two-dose dose COVID-19 vaccine for adults ages 18 and older cleared a key step on the path toward Food and Drug Administration authorization on Tuesday. The FDA’s committee of independent vaccine experts voted 21 to 0 with one abstention at the end of an all-day meeting to recommend authorizing the shot for use in the U.S. in which they weighed safety and effectiveness data. The FDA usually follows the committee’s recommendations, though it is not obligated to do so. The agency could clear Novavax's vaccine for distribution in the U.S. as soon as this week. CNBC Read more
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Omicron Booster Shots Are Taking Longer Than Expected. Will The Wait Be Worth It?
When the Omicron variant emerged in November, scientists at Moderna and Pfizer sacrificed their Thanksgiving holiday weekend to begin working on new shots tailored to the latest incarnation of the virus. Emboldened by the record-breaking speed of the designing, testing, and authorization of the original COVID-19 vaccines ― accomplished in under a year ― Pfizer chief executive Albert Bourla promised that updated shots would be available within 100 days. That self-imposed deadline passed with few updates and no explanations for the delay. By the time the U.S. Food and Drug Administration convenes a meeting late this month to discuss plans for updating booster shots in the fall, more than 200 days will have elapsed since Moderna and Pfizer began working on their Omicron vaccines. Boston Globe Read more
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Moderna Says New Trial Results Show That A Revised Vaccine Works Better Against Omicron
Moderna released preliminary results on Wednesday on an updated coronavirus vaccine targeting the Omicron variant, calling it “our lead candidate” to serve as a U.S. booster shot in the fall. The firm’s researchers tested a booster dose combining the original vaccine with one targeted specifically against Omicron, the variant that became dominant last winter. They found that among those with no evidence of prior coronavirus infection, the combination produced 1.75 times the level of neutralizing antibodies against Omicron as the existing Moderna vaccine did alone. NY Times Read more
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Don’t Wait To Get Your Kid Vaccinated
Karen Ocwieja delivered her twin sons last June, just weeks before Delta broke across the American Northeast. For months, she and her husband sheltered the boys, who’d been born premature, limiting their exposures to friends, family, and other kids, hoping to guard them from COVID’s worst. But all four of them still ended up catching the virus this January—the boys’ first bona fide illness. Then, in May, the twins tested positive again. Born with Ocwieja’s antibodies from pregnancy and now churning out their own, they likely will never know a world without COVID. Still, Ocwieja, a virologist and pediatric infectious-disease specialist at Boston Children’s Hospital, hopes that the next time her kids encounter the bug, they’ll be far better prepared. The Atlantic Read more
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State/National/International News |
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Two Omicron Subvariants Gain A Bigger Foothold In The U.S.
The Omicron subvariants BA.4 and BA.5. continue to gain ground in the United States. For the week ending June 4, BA.4 accounted for 5.4 percent of new cases in the country (up from 3.3 percent the previous week), and BA.5 accounted for 7.4 percent (up from 4.2 percent), according to an update Tuesday from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The subvariants, which were first detected in South Africa, have been slowly spreading in the U.S. since April. NBC News Read more
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I Got COVID. Then I Got It Again. What's The Deal With Reinfection?
You got sick with COVID back in January, so you figured you were done with the virus for a while. But then you began feeling a scratchy throat and a runny nose, took a home test just in case — and that second line blazed red once again. You might well be wondering: How this can happen? Is it possible to get COVID again just a few months or even weeks after recovering from a case? NPR Read more
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How Better Ventilation Can Help "COVID-Proof" Your Home
For two years, you beat the odds. You masked, kept your distance, got your shots. Now, despite those efforts, you, your child, or someone else in your home has come down with COVID-19. And the last thing you want is for the virus to spread to everyone in the family or household. But how do you prevent it from circulating when you live in close quarters? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends isolating COVID patients for at least five days, preferably in a separate room with access to their own bathroom, as well as diligent mask-wearing for both patient and caregiver. But for many families, those aren’t easy options. Not everyone has an extra bedroom to spare, let alone a free bathroom. Young children should not be left alone, and the youngest can’t tolerate masks. Mercury News Read more
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Hospital Studying Long-Term Effects Of COVID In Kids
Adriana Vaughan tested positive for COVID-19 in October 2021. Eight months later, the 12-year-old has a string of new medical issues: fatigue, headaches, stomach problems and more. Vaughan can't even walk for six minutes without losing her breath. She says swimming, which she did before getting COVID, is also hard. "I do really love the water and swimming. I tried to do it a few days ago, it was really a lot for me," Vaughan told CBS News. At first doctors in her Virginia hometown weren't sure what to make of her symptoms. "They didn't know what long-haul COVID was and they kept saying it was anxiety. But my mom knew I didn't have anxiety," she said. CBS News Read more
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Those Who Believe In COVID-19 Conspiracies May Be At Risk For Depression
People who believe in conspiracies about the COVID-19 pandemic are at an increased risk of experiencing anxiety and depression, according to new research presented at the European Congress of Psychiatry and published in Frontiers in Psychiatry. The research was based on survey results of 700 volunteers who answered a newly created COVID-19 Conspiratorial Beliefs Scale developed by researchers at several Polish universities. Participants also took the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale survey, as well as the Generic Conspiracist Beliefs Scale (covering topics such as aliens from other planets) to compare results. CIDRAP Read more
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CDC Adds 4 Destinations To 'High' Risk List, Including A Caribbean Charmer
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has added four places to its list of "high" risk destinations for COVID-19, including a small and charming Caribbean nation. St. Kitts and Nevis, part of the Leeward Islands east of Puerto Rico, was placed on the Level 3 category on Monday. The destination is known for its gorgeous, lush scenery and cultural experiences. In April, the CDC overhauled its ratings system for assessing Covid-19 risk for travelers. CNN Read more
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Travel Industry Getting Tough On COVID Test Rule
The travel industry will get "aggressive" to end pre-departure testing, U.S. Travel Association CEO Roger Dow told the media at this year's IPW conference in Orlando, Florida. Furthermore, he said, the White House's Coronavirus Task Force agreed that the logic for the testing is "not there." Dow said U.S. Travel executives had gone to the White House last week to meet with the Task Force and that its members said that "the science and data does not support the testing requirement." Travel Weekly Read more
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Total Confirmed Cases
Bay Area: 1,470,658
California: 9,730,176
U.S.: 85,170,481
Alameda County
Primary Vaccine Series Completed: 86.4%
Total Cases: 292,116
Total Deaths: 1,894
Test Positivity (7-day rate): 10.0%
Hospitalized Patients (as of 6/9): 124
ICU Beds Available (as of 6/9): 98
The community level of COVID-19 in Alameda County is medium based on cases and hospitalizations, according to the most recent update from the C.D.C. on June 2. The numbers of hospitalized COVID patients and deaths in the Alameda County area have risen. NY Times
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Total Reported Deaths
Bay Area: 8,480
California: 91,576
U.S.: 1,010,347
Contra Costa County
Primary Vaccine Series Completed: 86.8%
Total Cases: 212,435
Total Deaths: 1,314
Test Positivity (7-day rate): 13.5%
Hospitalized Patients (as of 6/9): 114
ICU Beds Available (as of 6/9): 42
The community level of COVID-19 in Contra Costa County is medium based on cases and hospitalizations, according to the most recent update from the C.D.C. on June 2. The number of hospitalized COVID patients has risen in the Contra Costa County area. Deaths have remained at about the same level. NY Times
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Most Common Symptoms Of Long COVID
Millions of people who have had COVID-19 find themselves suffering from a host of debilitating symptoms that can persist for weeks or even months after their initial coronavirus infection fades. This phenomenon, dubbed long COVID, has puzzled experts since near the start of the pandemic. And while research is starting to come up with some answers, Greg Vanichkachorn with Mayo Clinic says, “we don’t really have [long COVID] nailed down yet.” A big reason is because “it looks like more and more symptoms can be associated with this condition,” says Vanichkachorn, M.D., an occupational and aerospace medicine specialist and medical director of Mayo Clinic’s COVID Activity Rehabilitation Program. AARP 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 801 new cases and 0.7 new deaths per day.
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Over the past week, Contra Costa County has averaged 526 new cases and 0 new deaths per day.
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Top 10 Locations of Cases in
Alameda County, cumulative
as of 6/9/2022
Oakland: 84,676
Hayward: 36,490
Fremont: 30,919
San Leandro: 17,696
Berkeley: 16,708
Eden MAC: 16,047
Livermore: 14,247
Union City: 12,726
Alameda: 10,528
Castro Valley: 10,203
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Top 10 Locations of Cases in
Contra Costa County, cumulative
as of 6/9/2022
Richmond: 30,416
Antioch: 27,637
Concord: 22,918
Pittsburg: 17,865
San Pablo: 12,857
Brentwood: 12,727
Walnut Creek: 11,194
Oakley: 10,457
San Ramon: 10,068
Martinez: 7,277
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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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