COVID-19
breaking news & updates
|
|
|
"We are seeing this increase in Europe, and Europe tends to precede us by about four to six weeks. And so it stands to reason that as we get into November, December, maybe January, we are going to see an increase in infections across much of the country."
White House COVID-19 Response Coordinator Ashish Jha
|
|
|
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month
Take the Mammogram Pledge
Did you know that 1 in 8 women in the United States will develop breast cancer in her lifetime? According to the American Cancer Society, when breast cancer is detected early, and is in the localized stage, the 5-year relative survival rate is 99%. Early detection includes doing monthly breast self-exams, and scheduling regular clinical breast exams and mammograms. The National Breast Cancer Foundation provides help and inspires hope to those affected by breast cancer through early detection,
|
|
|
COVID Test Resources
Food Pantries
|
|
|
How A "Living Laboratory" In One S.F. Neighborhood Transformed What We Know About COVID
When scientists from UCSF and the city’s Department of Public Health approached San Francisco’s Latino leaders in April 2020 about testing Mission District residents for COVID during the earliest weeks of the pandemic, Valerie Tulier-Laiwa was intrigued but skeptical. The proposal was to test every resident in a four-by-four block area of the neighborhood, to better understand how widespread the virus was at the time. Tulier-Laiwa, who had grown up in the Mission, was already convinced that the city’s Latinos were being hit hardest by COVID, but she and her peers lacked the data to prove it.
|
|
|
Religious Group Sues S.F. For Denying Religious Exemptions To COVID Vaccine Mandate
San Francisco, the first major U.S. city to require its employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19, is being sued by four former workers who say the city should have granted their requests for religious exemptions. “San Francisco is excluding religious observers from continued employment,” lawyers from the Pacific Justice Institute, a conservative religious nonprofit, said in the lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court. The case is not unique — claims of religious discrimination in vaccine mandates have been filed in federal courts nationwide, with little success. SF Chronicle Read more
|
|
|
UCSF Researchers: Long COVID Symptoms May Be Derailing Your Exercise Routine
You've heard about brain fog, fatigue and headache as symptoms of long COVID. Now, a new UCSF study reveals the condition can also be derailing your exercise routine. According to a study released Wednesday, Long COVID may age a person's capacity for exercise by roughly 10 years. The study, published in JAMA Network by researchers at the University of California at San Francisco and Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital, analyzed data from more than 2,000 participants across 38 pervious studies that tracked exercise performance in people who had been infected with the virus at least three months prior. CBS News Read more
|
|
|
Beatles Legend Tests Positive For COVID, Cancels Bay Area Concert
Ringo Starr has tested positive for COVID-19 again and has canceled the remaining dates on his North American tour. That number includes the Ringo Starr and the All Starr Band show that was scheduled for last Friday, Oct. 14, at the San Jose Civic. “I’m sure you’ll be as surprised as I was I tested positive again for Covid the rest of the tour is off I send you peace and love Ringo,” the Beatles legend tweeted on Oct. 13.
|
|
|
COVID Vaccine/Treatment News |
|
First Human Results Show New COVID-19 Booster Is Safe And Triggers An Appropriate Immune Response
The first data in people on the new COVID-19 boosters shows them to be just as safe as previous shots and to provide a strong immune response. The new boosters target both the original version of the virus that causes COVID-19 as well the BA.4 and BA.5 variants that have dominated since early summer. The boosters were authorized based on animal data so they could be available this fall, ahead of an expected surge in cases later in the year. A similar process is followed with the flu vaccine, which is modified every year to address anticipated strains. Testing is only in animals.
|
|
|
Omicron-Specific COVID Boosters Appear To Work Well, New Data Says — Regardless Of The Side Effects You Experience
If you already got your Omicron-specific COVID booster, you might have experienced some side effects. Maybe even ones that were more intense than your previous shot. But there’s no need to worry: Experts and new data say the new shots appear to work — regardless of whether you experience moderate, mild or no side effects at all. “Don’t focus too much on side effects, because I really think that the main objective here is to get people to be protected. So focus on that benefit of the new vaccines,” Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, a professor of pediatric infectious diseases at Stanford University’s School of Medicine, tells CNBC Make It. CNBC Read more
|
|
|
Where Can I Find A New COVID Booster Shot Near Me — Now Including Kids 5 And Up?
Don't assume you'll be proactively contacted about getting the new COVID-19 booster. Remember that a certain location may only be offering a certain type of new booster, whether that's Moderna or Pfizer. So be sure that the location you're walking into or making an appointment for offers the type of vaccine you need or want, particularly if you're trying to find a Pfizer booster for a 5-year-old (as Moderna's booster is only available for children age 6 and up.) Read more about "mixing and matching" COVID vaccine boosters. Also make sure the appointment you schedule for your new booster is at least two months after your last COVID vaccine shot, or your last COVID infection. When you're making an appointment for a booster shot, you'll likely be asked for the date of your last COVID vaccine dose or booster dose to ensure you're not getting your shot too soon. KQED Read more
|
|
|
Without A Nasal Vaccine, The U.S. Edge In Fighting COVID Is On
The Line
Biden administration officials are raising concerns that the slow pace of developing a nasal vaccine for COVID-19 in the U.S. could pose a security risk as China, Iran and Russia approve their own vaccines taken through the nose or mouth. Though nasal and oral vaccines are being studied in the U.S., none are close to coming on the market because Congress hasn’t approved more money to support research and development. Big pharmaceutical companies are also not investing in these next-generation vaccines because they don’t see much profit potential. Politico Read more
|
|
|
State/National/International News |
|
The Winter COVID Surge Is Coming
Most of the country has blithely moved on from the pandemic, which is undeniably and blessedly not as bad as it had been. Daily deaths have finally fallen below 400. That’s still a lot, but it’s lower than it’s been for a long time. Scientists aren’t looking at yesterday’s death toll, though. They are worrying about tomorrow’s. A winter wave, and a new batch of COVID variants, may arrive earlier than we expect. Warning signs are mounting — showing up in some U.S. wastewater surveillance. Plus, caseloads and hospitalizations are rising in Europe, usually a signal that we’re next.
|
|
|
"Pretty Troublesome": New COVID Variant BQ.1 Now Makes Up 1 In 10 Cases Nationwide, CDC Estimates
In just over a month since a new COVID variant known as BQ.1 was first named, that strain and a descendant called BQ.1.1 have already grown to make up more than 10% of new infections across the country, according to updated estimates published Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "When you get variants like that, you look at what their rate of increase is as a relative proportion of the variants, and this has a pretty troublesome doubling time," Dr. Anthony Fauci, the president's chief medical adviser, said in an interview with CBS News. Read more
|
|
|
The Best Thing You Can Do To Quash A Deadly COVID-19 Surge This Winter
Another winter, another wave. With the leaves changing color, temperatures dropping, and people spending more time indoors, health officials are warning of a spike not just in COVID-19 cases but other infections as well. “The challenge with holiday seasons every year is it’s also a time where contagious respiratory viruses — like influenza, RSV, and, again this year, Covid — spread much more quickly,” said Ashish Jha, the White House Covid-19 response coordinator, during a press conference last Tuesday.
|
|
|
Distressing Study On Long COVID-19 Reveals Just How Enduring It
Can Be
While most people can recover from COVID-19 and go back to their normal lives, many still have symptoms for months after an initial infection, according to new research from Scotland. A study published Wednesday in the Nature Communications journal followed 33,281 people with recent COVID-19 infections, as well as a control group of 62,957 people who had never been infected, to determine what symptoms were most associated with long COVID-19. This way, vague symptoms that are often dismissed ― like “brain fog” or confusion ― could be more definitively linked to long COVID. Researchers found that among those infected with COVID-19, people who went on to show signs of long COVID were more likely to persistently suffer from 24 of 26 tracked symptoms. Most commonly, those with long COVID experienced breathlessness, palpitations, brain fog and chest pain. When compared with those who had never had COVID-19, study participants with long COVID symptoms were 3.5 times more likely to report breathlessness. HuffPost Read more
|
|
|
The Masks We’ll Wear In The Next Pandemic
On one level, the world’s response to the coronavirus pandemic over the past two and half years was a major triumph for modern medicine. We developed COVID vaccines faster than we’d developed any vaccine in history, and began administering them just a year after the virus first infected humans. The vaccines turned out to work better than top public-health officials had dared hope. In tandem with antiviral treatments, they’ve drastically reduced the virus’s toll of severe illness and death, and helped hundreds of millions of Americans resume something approximating pre-pandemic life.
|
|
|
"Africa Is On Its Own": Little Help In Epidemics, Says Official
Africa must plan to respond effectively to disease outbreaks without international help, a top public health official said Wednesday, warning that the continent of 1.3 billion people is “on its own” during pandemics. As assistance often never materializes, African nations must plug gaps in their response to outbreaks as such as Ebola in Uganda, said Ahmed Ogwell, acting head of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. |
|
Study Links Coronavirus Lockdowns To Birth Rate Drop In Europe
Europe saw a 14% drop in its birth rate in January 2021 compared to previous years - a decline probably triggered by the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, research suggests. January 2021 was nine to 10 months after the imposition of COVID-related lockdowns. Longer lockdowns led to fewer pregnancies, the research suggests. The decline was more common in countries where health systems struggled.
|
|
|
California And San Francisco Further Expand MPX Vaccine Eligibility
While MPX infection rates continue to level off, both in San Francisco and across the United States, health officials from the state level on down are expanding vaccine eligibility in order to continue getting shots into arms. Expanding eligibility, however, doesn't mean officials are making vaccines available to the wider general public, which they believe is not warranted at this time. The San Francisco Department of Public Health issued an advisory October 12 in conjunction with the California Department of Public Health's recent vaccine eligibility expansion which, if anything, puts a finer point on who is most in need of access to the MPX Jynneos vaccine, which requires two doses, about a month apart. Bay Area Reporter Read more
|
|
|
Everything To Know About Potential Side Effects Of The
Monkeypox Vaccine
Some Monkeypox vaccine recipients are developing a red, painful mark at the injection site. Some outlets including The Washington Post reported this prospect is deterring recipients — primarily men who have sex with men — from getting either their initial or follow-up dose, partly for fear of stigmatization. “This is a common issue with any intradermal injection, and not only the JYNNEOS vaccine,” Dr Michael Chang, a specialist in infectious diseases at UTHealth Houston and Memorial Hermann Hospital, shared. The reason this appears to be because the body recognizes the viral load as foreign and sends immune cells to react against it. Healthline Read more
|
|
|
Flu "Gathering Speed" Across U.S. As Health Officials And Doctors Prepare For A Potentially Rough Season
U.S. health officials are becoming increasingly concerned about this year’s flu season — and are already seeing signs that the virus is spreading. As the 2022-23 flu season gets underway, one high school in California is facing a “high number of absences” among students due to possible flu cases. Flu activity in the United States often starts to increase in October and usually peaks between December and February. “We can confirm that there is a high number of absences at Henry High School due to probable Influenza,” Samer Naji, a spokesperson for the San Diego Unified School District, said in an email to CNN on Thursday. There were about 1,000 absences Wednesday, out of 2,600 students. Mercury News Read more
|
|
|
Total Confirmed Cases
Bay Area: 1,773,644
California: 11,320,843
U.S.: 96,954,855
Alameda County
Primary Vaccine Series and Boosted: 69.0%
Total Cases: 349,726
Total Deaths: 2,030
Test Positivity (7-day rate): 5.2%
Hospitalized Patients (as of 10/17): 64
ICU Beds Available (as of 10/17): 89
|
|
Total Reported Deaths
Bay Area: 9,221
California: 96,437
U.S.: 1,065,118
Contra Costa County
Primary Vaccine Series and Boosted: 66.4%
Total Cases: 273,686
Total Deaths: 1,450
Test Positivity (7-day rate): 5.3%
Hospitalized Patients (as of 10/17): 33
ICU Beds Available (as of 10/17): 45
|
|
|
Will COVID Spike Again This Fall? 6 Tips To Help You Stay Safe
Last year, the emergence of the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus caught many people by surprise and led to a surge in cases that overwhelmed hospitals and drove up fatalities. Now we’re learning that Omicron is mutating to better evade the immune system. Kaiser Health News 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.
|
|
|
Top 10 Locations of Cases in
Alameda County, cumulative
as of 10/14/2022
Oakland: 99,076
Hayward: 45,929
Fremont: 38,630
San Leandro: 23,107
Berkeley: 20,583
Livermore: 16,865
Union City: 15,399
Eden Area MAC: 14,989
Alameda: 12,991
Dublin: 12,256
|
|
Top 10 Locations of Cases in
Contra Costa County, cumulative
as of 10/17/2022
Richmond: 37,784
Antioch: 34,699
Concord: 28,580
Pittsburg: 21,608
Brentwood: 17,896
San Pablo: 15,841
Walnut Creek: 14,720
San Ramon: 14,247
Oakley: 13,191
Martinez: 9,883
|
|
|
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 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.
|
|
|
Follow Us on Social Media |
|
|
|
|
|
|
