COVID-19
breaking news & updates
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COVID Test Resources
Food Pantries
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Share The Warmth
Donations of gently used coats of all sizes are needed. Drop-off locations are:
Ashland Community Center (1530 167th Ave, San Leandro): Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., through the end of January
Reach Ashland Youth Center (16335 E. 14th St, San Leandro): Saturday, January 21, noon to 4 p.m.
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Lady Gaga’s Foundation Gets A $350,000 Boost From Oakland’s Kaiser Permanente To Boost Support of Youth Mental Health Programs
Kaiser Permanente is providing a $350,000 grant to Lady Gaga’s Born This Way Foundation to boost its support of mental health programs for young people, the Oakland-based company announced Tuesday, Jan. 17. The money will go toward the foundation’s Kindness in Community Fund, which bolsters community organizations “rooted in practices of inclusion, access, and equity,” according to the Born This Way Foundation’s website. Officials at Kaiser Permanente said the grant allows the nonprofit to increase the number of organizations in California that will receive funding this year. Datebook Read more
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Revolutionary Care: An Oakland Story
Through a spirit of social justice and equity, and the passion of doctors, patients, and advocates, Oakland is home to critical developments in sickle cell research and treatment. From the first sickle cell clinics set up by the Black Panther Party, to a revolutionary clinical trial involving CRISPR (a technology that can be used to edit genes), a UCSF series explores the frontiers of science and health equity by telling the stories of the people who create change. UCSF News Read more
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J&J Slashes Production Of Its Unpopular COVID-19 Shot
After mobilizing to quickly develop and manufacture a COVID-19 vaccine, Johnson & Johnson has vastly scaled back its efforts in producing the shots as it faces slumping demand. The New Brunswick, N.J., pharmaceutical company in recent months terminated manufacturing agreements with companies that helped produce the shot during the pandemic. Meanwhile, a partnership with rival Merck & Co. to help make the shots, forged at the urging of the U.S. government, hasn’t lived up to expectations. The companies are now engaged in arbitration. Wall Street Journal Read more
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What Seniors Need To Know About Taking Paxlovid
A new coronavirus variant is circulating, the most transmissible one yet. Hospitalizations of infected patients are rising. And older adults represent nearly 90% of U.S. deaths from COVID-19 in recent months, the largest portion since the start of the pandemic. What does that mean for people 65 and older catching COVID for the first time or those experiencing a repeat infection? The message from infectious disease experts and geriatricians is clear: seek treatment with antiviral therapy, which remains effective against new COVID variants. The therapy of first choice, experts said, is Paxlovid, an antiviral treatment for people with mild to moderate COVID at high risk of becoming seriously ill from the virus. CNN Read more
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Moderna Says Its RSV Vaccine For Older Adults Is 84% Effective At Preventing Serious Illness
Moderna's respiratory syncytial virus, or RSV, vaccine for older adults was about 84% effective at preventing serious illness, according to data from a late-stage trial published Tuesday. Adult patients in the clinical trial appeared to tolerate the vaccine well and there were no safety concerns identified, the data showed. The company said it will ask the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for approval in the first half of 2023. ABC News Read more
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State/National/International News |
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The Case For "Kraken" - Any Name For The Coronavirus Is Better Than A Jumble Of Letters And Numbers
A new subvariant of SARS-CoV-2 is rapidly taking over in the U.S. — the most transmissible that has ever been detected. It’s called XBB.1.5, in reference to its status as a hybrid of two prior strains of Omicron, BA.2.10.1 and BA.2.75. It’s also called “Kraken.” Not by everyone, though. The nickname Kraken was ginned up by an informal group of scientists on Twitter and has caught on at some — but only some — major news outlets. As one evolutionary virologist told The Atlantic earlier this week, the name— a reference to the folkloric sea monster — “seems obviously intended to scare the shit out of people” and serves no substantive purpose for communicating science.
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Walgreens Removes Online Purchasing Limits For Children’s Fever Medications
After weeks of high demand that stretched supply, Walgreens removed its online purchasing limits for children’s pain- and fever-reducing medications on Monday morning, spokesperson Zoe Krey told CNN. Walgreens only had limits in place on medicines purchased online. It did not have limits on medication purchased in stores. “So currently, we have no purchase limits either in-store or online,” Krey said.
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China's COVID Surge Prompts CDC To Expand A Hunt For New Variants Among Air Travelers
It's early morning at Dulles International Airport outside Washington, D.C., and Ana Valdez is already hard at work at one of the international gates. "Hello everybody. Welcome," she shouts with a big smile as arriving travelers flood through two large swinging doors. "Do you like to help the CDC to find new variants for COVID?" Valdez works for a year-old program that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently expanded to try to spot new variants of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, coming into the country. NPR Read more
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COVID During Pregnancy Increases Risk Of Maternal Death,
Study Finds
Pregnant people infected with the coronavirus have a seven times higher risk of dying compared with pregnant individuals who are not infected, a finding that arrives amid renewed calls for vaccination of those who are expecting a baby. Researchers, whose findings were published Monday in the journal BMJ Global Health, pooled patient data from more than 13,000 pregnant individuals included in 12 studies from 12 countries, including the United States. Along with a higher death rate, infected pregnant people had a greater risk of being admitted to an intensive care unit, needing a ventilator or developing pneumonia if they have a coronavirus infection. Washington Post
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Several Celebrities Test Positive For COVID After Golden Globes
In the wake of the Golden Globes last week, several celebrities said they have tested positive for COVID-19. At least four stars, including Jamie Lee Curtis and Michelle Pfeiffer, revealed they contracted the virus following the awards show. In response, the Critics Choice Awards, which was held on Sunday, announced that all attendees would be required to submit a negative COVID-19 test before entering the venue, according to Deadline. Public health experts said the news of actors and actresses falling ill is not surprising due to the relaxed regulations and people gathering indoors. ABC News
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Will Your Smartphone Be The Next Doctor’s Office?
The same devices used to take selfies and type out tweets are being repurposed and commercialized for quick access to information needed for monitoring a patient’s health. A fingertip pressed against a phone’s camera lens can measure a heart rate. The microphone, kept by the bedside, can screen for sleep apnea. Even the speaker is being tapped, to monitor breathing using sonar technology.
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Required Vaccine Coverage Among Kindergartners Drops Again
Vaccination rates for measles and other diseases dropped again last school year, according to a study published on Thursday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Coverage against measles dropped to the lowest it’s been in more than a decade. School requirements do not include the COVID-19 vaccine, which is explicitly banned from being included in school mandates in at least 20 states. Mercury News Read more
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These Two Major Shifts Sparked A Mental Health Crisis Among LGBTQ Youth In California
The day after his 14th birthday in November 2019, Ryan Nelson came out to his parents as transgender. Ryan was still coming to terms with his identity, and now he had to watch his parents struggle with it as well. “They said they couldn’t see it,” Ryan recalled. “That made it feel like they couldn’t see me.” Four months later, the COVID-19 pandemic began — and Ryan, like students across the country, was thrown into a new reality. He had always struggled with mental health challenges, many of which were tangled around accepting his identity. But now, away from his friends and the classroom, Ryan felt more isolated than ever. He developed an eating disorder. He spent a week in the hospital. Eventually, he dropped out of school altogether. SF Chronicle Read more
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Study Finds Those With ADHD Are More Likely To Experience Anxiety, Depression
A new study finds that people with ADHD may be at higher risk of poor mental health than people with other neurodevelopmental conditions. Autism has been linked to mental health conditions like anxiety and depression. Interested in finding out whether the same is true for ADHD, researchers looked at more than 500 adults in the UK. They found that those with ADHD symptoms were more likely to experience anxiety and depression than adults with high levels of autistic traits. CBS News Read more
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All U.S. Military Veterans In Suicidal Crisis Are Now Eligible For Free Care At Any VA Or Private Facility
As of January 17, U.S. military veterans who find themselves in suicidal crisis will be eligible for free emergency medical care at any Department of Veterans Affairs facility or any private facility. Unlike for most other medical benefits, veterans do not have to be enrolled in the VA system to be eligible. More than 18 million veterans in the U.S. could be eligible. The new policy, which the VA will announce Friday, will include up to 30 days of inpatient or crisis residential care and up to 90 days of follow-on outpatient care.
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35 Percent Of Military Families Face Limited Access To Psychiatrists
Military members and their families have unique mental health needs. But a study shows that up to 35 percent of military recipients don’t have access to adequate psychiatric care despite government insurance that covers such services. Published in JAMA Network Open, the study looked at 39,487 U.S. Zip codes with at least one beneficiary of Tricare, the Defense Department health-care program that covers uniformed service members, retirees and their families. Researchers combined data from a variety of federal sources with community information. Washington Post Read more
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Fentanyl Crisis/Drug Trends |
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Fentanyl Fuels Record Number Of Homeless Deaths In The Seattle Area
A record 310 homeless people died in the Seattle area last year, highlighting the region’s struggle to house the thousands of people living on its streets. The 310 deaths in King County surpassed the previous record of 195 homeless deaths set in 2018, the Seattle Times reported, and marked a 65% jump over 2021. “That’s just appalling,” the paper quoted Chloe Gale, policy and strategy vice president for REACH, the largest homelessness outreach provider in Seattle, as saying. Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell said it underscores his administration’s urgent need to get more people indoors.
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The Addiction Crisis Is Causing A Spike In Endocarditis Cases. Hospitals Are Struggling To Respond
Increased injection drug use has led to a spike in cases of the life-threatening heart condition endocarditis, with cases rapidly accelerating since the onset of COVID-19. The increased case count is one of the lesser-known side effects of the deadly addiction epidemic. But patients with endocarditis, an inflammation of the heart lining caused by infection, require complex, thoughtful care — care that the U.S. health system is ill-equipped to provide. STAT Read more
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Total Confirmed Cases
Bay Area: 1,891,940
California: 11,929,677
U.S.: 101,790,161
Alameda County
Check the Dashboards Below for
the Latest Figures
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Total Reported Deaths
Bay Area: 9.593
California: 99,339
U.S.: 1,101,256
Contra Costa County
Check the Dashboards Below for
the Latest Figures
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Does Taking Vitamins Help When You Have COVID?
With the ever-changing nature of all things COVID, combined with the blizzard of misinformation that’s out there, it’s tough to keep up with best ways to take care of yourself when you’re sick with the coronavirus. One of the things it can be hard to parse is whether it’s safe to take vitamins when you’re dealing with SARS-CoV-2. At one point, experts thought it might be unsafe to take certain supplements, like vitamin D, when infected, fearing it could make the immune system go haywire. But evidence soon found the opposite to be true: Vitamin D may actually help people recover more smoothly from upper respiratory infections like COVID. HuffPost 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 Mariellen Faria, Vice Chair Pam Russo, Secretary/Treasurer Roxann Lewis, Surlene Grant 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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