COVID-19
breaking news & updates
|
|
|
COVID Test Resources
Food Pantries
|
|
|
UCSF Doctor Believes Next Pandemic Will Be Tougher To Fight
It's been three years since the COVID-19 lockdown, and one prominent Bay Area doctor is warning the next pandemic will be tougher to fight. Dr. Bob Wachter, chair of UCSF's Department of Medicine, believes the 2020 lockdown and subsequent mandates helped save hundreds of thousands of lives. But in the event of another pandemic in the near future, he fears there would be much more pushback on those rules. NBC Bay Area Read more
|
|
|
Concord Nonprofit Launches Guaranteed Income Pilot For Those Affected By COVID-19
Monument Impact, a community-based nonprofit, has launched a guaranteed income pilot program after being awarded $1.5 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds by the city of Concord. “We’re proud to partner with the City of Concord to launch this pilot program,” Executive Director Judith Ortiz said in a press release. The project aims to give $500 a month over 12 months in cash assistance to at least 120 low-income Concord families. “Priority will be given to families with children age 12 or younger living in neighborhoods where many low-wage workers who were not able to work remotely, had children at home in distance learning, and lacked access to child care, health care, and/or federal/state COVID-19 recovery funds,” the press release said. Mercury News Read more
|
|
|
Landlord Backlash Prompts Return To Pre-Pandemic Rules In Alameda County
During the pandemic, Alameda County supervisors approved some of the strongest protections in California for tenants facing evictions. But last month, the board abruptly changed course — rejecting a slate of proposals designed to keep renters in their homes. The turn comes amid backlash from property owners that could signal future resistance statewide, some tenant and landlord advocates say. The measures would have banned landlords from doing criminal background checks on potential tenants, created a rental registry meant to help the county enforce code violations and rent-control laws, and only allowed "just cause" evictions for things like not paying rent or violating lease terms. KQED Read more
|
|
|
Vaccine/Testing/Treatment News |
|
Sleep Affects Your Immunity After Vaccination. Here’s How
If you’re scheduling an appointment for a vaccination — whether for COVID-19, the flu or for travel to another country — make sure you’re getting a long, restful night’s slumber before you head to the doctor. Sleeping less than six hours the night before you get the shot may limit your body’s response to the vaccine, reducing protection against the virus or bacteria, according to a new study. “Good sleep not only amplifies but may also extend the duration of protection of the vaccine,” said senior author Eve Van Cauter, professor emeritus at the University of Chicago’s Department of Medicine, in a statement. But there was one odd detail in the study’s findings: The impact of poor sleep on immune response to a vaccine was only scientifically relevant in men. CNN
|
|
|
What Research Shows About Risks Of Myocarditis From COVID Vaccines Versus Risks Of Heart Damage From COVID
Soon after the first COVID-19 vaccines appeared in 2021, reports of rare cases of heart inflammation, or myocarditis, began to surface. In most instances, the myocarditis has been mild and responded well to treatment, though up to four potentially mRNA vaccine-related deaths from myocarditis in adults have been reported worldwide. No known verified deaths of children have been reported based upon publicly available data. The exact number remains a topic of very heated debate because of variability in the reporting of possible myocarditis-related deaths. Studies have largely confirmed that
|
|
|
State/National/International News |
|
The Next Stage Of COVID Is Starting Now
To be a newborn in the year 2023 — and, almost certainly, every year that follows — means emerging into a world where the coronavirus is ubiquitous. Babies might not meet the virus in the first week or month of life, but soon enough, SARS-CoV-2 will find them. “For anyone born into this world, it’s not going to take a lot of time for them to become infected,” maybe a year, maybe two, says Katia Koelle, a virologist and infectious-disease modeler at Emory University. Beyond a shadow of a doubt, this virus will be one of the very first serious pathogens that today’s infants — and all future infants — meet. Three years into the coronavirus pandemic, these babies are on the leading edge of a generational turnover that will define the rest of our relationship with SARS-CoV-2. The Atlantic Read more
|
|
|
Operators Of Upscale L.A. Care Facility Charged In 14 COVID Deaths
The operators of an upscale Los Angeles care facility for dementia patients were charged Tuesday with felony elder abuse and other criminal counts related to the deaths of an employee and thirteen residents during the early days of the pandemic. Silverado Beverly Place, near the Fairfax district, specializes in caring for elderly residents with Alzheimer’s and dementia, and was the site of a COVID-19 outbreak in March 2020. The employee and residents died during the outbreak, in which 45 employees and 60 residents were infected, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. The facility’s operators were sued in civil court by the families of multiple residents and the employee who died. LA Times Read more
|
|
|
Pandemic Stress, Gangs, And Utter Fear Fueled A Rise In Teen Shootings
Diego never imagined he’d carry a gun. Not as a child, when shots were fired outside his Chicago-area home. Not at age 12, when one of his friends was gunned down. Diego’s mind changed at 14, when he and his friends were getting ready to walk to midnight Mass for the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe. But instead of hymns, Diego heard gunfire, and then screaming. A gang member shot two people, including one of Diego’s friends, who was hit nine times. The attack left Diego’s friend paralyzed from the waist down. And it left Diego, one of a growing number of teens who witness gun violence, traumatized and afraid to go outside without a gun. Research shows that adolescents exposed to gun violence are twice as likely as others to perpetrate a serious violent crime within two years, perpetuating a cycle that can be hard to interrupt.
|
|
|
Sudden, Unexplained Deaths Rose Unexpectedly For Black Infants During Early Pandemic, Research Finds
Despite a record low infant mortality rate in 2020, a new study finds an unexpected jump in unexplained deaths in Black infants during the first year of the coronavirus pandemic. The rate of SIDS, or sudden infant death syndrome, increased by 15% in a single year, from 33.3 deaths per 100,000 babies born in 2019 to 38.2 such deaths in 2020, according to the research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published Monday in the medical journal Pediatrics. NBC News Read more
|
|
|
For Some Long COVID Patients, Acupuncture And Other Eastern Remedies Bring Relief That Western Medicines Have Not
Frustrated by a lack of results from Western medicine, some long COVID patients have turned to Eastern alternatives. Many say acupuncture, in particular, has provided relief. Lauren Nichols, a Massachusetts resident who got COVID in March 2020, estimated that over two years she had tried around 30 different pharmaceuticals to ease her migraines, brain fog, fatigue, seizures, diarrhea and other lasting symptoms. Eventually her physical limitations — and a lack of answers — became so overwhelming that she developed suicidal thoughts. NBC News Read more
|
|
|
5 Long COVID Myths We Need To Stop Believing
Long COVID — or post-acute sequelae of SARS-CoV-2 (PASC) — continues to have its critics, despite being a nationally recognized condition that’s been heavily investigated since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Because long COVID is such a heterogeneous condition, in that it impacts people so differently, it’s been tough for researchers to identify its root cause. As a result, long COVID has been underdiagnosed, debated and dismissed. “Just because something is poorly understood doesn’t mean it is not ‘real’," said Dr. Linda Geng, the co-director of Stanford Health Care’s Post-Acute COVID-19 Syndrome Center. HuffPost Read more
|
|
Science Of Forgetting: Why We’re Already Losing Our Pandemic Memories
How much do you remember about the past three years of pandemic life? How much have you already forgotten? A lot has happened since the “Before Times.” Canceled proms, toilet paper shortages, nightly applause for health workers, new vaccines, waitlists for getting the first jab, and more. COVID disrupted everyone’s lives, but it was truly life-changing for only a sizable subset of people. For the rest of us, over time, many details will probably fade because of the quirks and limitations
of how much our brains can remember. Washington Post Read more
|
|
|
Two Counties Square Off With California Over Mental Health Duties
Sacramento and Solano counties are in a standoff with the state over mental health coverage for a portion of Medicaid patients in those counties — a dispute that threatens to disrupt care for nearly 50,000 low-income residents receiving treatment for severe mental illness. The Department of Health Care Services, which administers Medi-Cal, the state’s Medicaid program, says Sacramento and Solano counties must take over managing and providing specialty mental health care for thousands of Medi-Cal patients enrolled in Kaiser Permanente plans. It insists on shifting the responsibility because California’s remaining 56 counties already operate this way. Kaiser Health News
|
|
|
In The Middle Of A Mental Health Crisis Among Youth, Words Matter
State and national research on youth mental health lays bare the fact that women, queer, low income people and people of color suffer disproportionately more and receive less support than their peers. To truly harness California’s vast resources to improve youth mental health means acknowledging different needs, enacting appropriate and unique solutions. It means prioritizing support in communities that need it most — equity. The need for an equitable approach to youth mental health quickly became clear as the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative began to assess how California’s Health and Human Services Agency could lead five state departments — the Department of Health Care Services, Department of Health Care Access and Information, Department of Managed Health Care, Department of Public Health and the Office of the Surgeon General — to improve support for California youth needing treatment for mental health or substance abuse. Capital & Main Read more
|
|
|
Fentanyl Crisis/Drug Trends |
|
The Success Of S.F’s Mobile Opioid Treatment Clinics
San Francisco’s mobile opioid treatment clinics were set up as a way to address overcrowding at San Francisco General Hospital during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. These vans distribute methadone, a medication used to reduce withdrawal symptoms — while offering program patients snacks, water and canisters of naloxone, an overdose-reversal nasal spray. In San Francisco alone, nearly 2,000 people have died of drug overdoses since 2020. And surprisingly, these temporary mobile clinics are drawing more patients than SF General's indoor treatment clinics. Now, the people who run it want to find a way to keep them around. KQED Read more
|
|
|
"I’m Not An Addict": How Crackdown On Opioids Is Leaving Patients In Agonizing Pain
Words bubble out of Lori Long, evincing her natural exuberance. But the 51-year-old Salinas resident’s joie de vivre has been put to the test by debilitating pain. An autoimmune disease inflames her joints and ligaments, forcing her body to curve forward. Since age 15 she’s had about 20 major surgeries on her spine and other affected organs. The inflammation and aftereffects of surgery leave her in constant pain, which she has managed with prescription opioids. “For me, pain medication was really life-saving,” she said. “It allowed me to function and to do more things I would not be able to do without it. Everyday things like taking a bath, doing my hair, putting on some makeup.” SF Chronicle Read more
|
|
|
U.S. Alleges Rite Aid Knowingly Filled Unnecessary Opioid Prescriptions, Ignored Red Flags
One of the country's largest pharmacy chains knowingly filled unlawful prescriptions and ignored internal red flags on its practices, the Justice Department alleged in a complaint filed Monday. The complaint against Rite Aid was part of a whistleblower lawsuit brought against the company under the False Claims Act and the Controlled Substances Act, the Justice Department said in a news release. From May 2014 until June 2019, the federal government claims Rite Aid "filled at least hundreds of thousands of unlawful prescriptions for controlled substances that were medically unnecessary, lacked a medically accepted indication, or were not issued in the usual course of professional practice." CBS News Read more
|
|
|
California Prison Program Trains Addiction Counselors
Before the graduates strode in to the strains of “Pomp and Circumstance,” their prison blues peeking out from under their gowns, correctional officer John Janvrin encouraged them not to rush. “Remember guys, you worked real hard for this. Real hard,” Janvrin reminded the incarcerated men as they lined up in a back room, reread their notes, fixed their bow ties and adjusted the gold tassels bobbing from their mortarboards. The music began to play. “Don’t walk too fast,” Janvrin told them as they began their procession. “Let ‘em see you.” For more than a year and a half, these 20 men had been working for this: their graduation from training as alcohol and drug counselors. It was an accomplishment that could help them secure jobs both inside and outside the California prisons. It had also become a brotherhood they dubbed the Storming Cohort: Scarred Team of Recovering Men Inspiring New Generations. LA Times Read more
|
|
|
Can You Catch A Hidden Virus From A Dog Kiss Or A Cat Cuddle?
This question isn't silly, at all. The vast majority of time that you get sick, you''re infected by another human. But that's not always the case. You can absolutely catch viruses from your pets, including dogs and cats. And it isn't just from getting pet kisses. If you're physically close with your dog or cat – like snuggling on the couch together or sleeping in the same room, you're exposed to their viruses even without the saliva directly on your face. So kissing isn't really adding that much more exposure. NPR 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.
|
|
|
About Eden Health District |
|
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.
|
|
|
Follow Us on Social Media |
|
|
|
|
|
|
