COVID-19
breaking news & updates
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"Our message is loud and clear. Get vaccinated if you haven’t already. Get your second shot if you have a two-dose regimen and have only had your first. The vaccine is free and available to all Alameda County residents age 12+ who want it, either from health care providers, local pharmacies, or locations run by the county or its non-profit partners.”
Wilma Chan, Alameda County Supervisor and Board of Supervisors Health Committee Chair
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Bay Area Counties Have Final Say On June 15 Reopening
Some Have Concerns
Marin County may be better prepared than any other place in California for the state's June 15 reopening. In three weeks, more than 75% of the county’s total population will be fully vaccinated, health officials say - that’s even taking into account children under 12 who aren’t authorized for the shots yet. Marin has among the lowest rates of new coronavirus infections in the country, averaging under 2 cases per 100,000 people a day. Last Thursday, the county reported the death of an unvaccinated resident - its first COVID-19 fatality in more than a month. SF Chronicle Read more
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Bay Area COVID-19 Rent Relief Programs Slowly Launching
Two months after the state launched COVID-19 rental assistance programs for low-income tenants, Bay Area cities and counties are opening individual programs aimed at keeping the poorest residents in their homes. San Jose and Santa Clara County last week launched their $60 million program to reach renters teetering toward homelessness. The efforts will focus on delivering aid to adults making less than 30% of the county’s median income, with a website that can be accessed in English, Spanish and Vietnamese. East Bay Times Read more
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How COVID Changed How The Bay Area Shops
After an excruciating year, we could all use a little retail therapy. So what exactly can we expect shopping to look like now that COVID has turned everything upside down? Well, it’s going to be different for sure. But that’s not necessarily bad. Hand sanitizer, plexiglass between customers and employees and face masks likely are here to stay, but so are improved online ordering platforms and customers’ newfound commitment to shopping local. Some retailers have become downright creative - taking ideas that started as pandemic safety precautions, such as curbside pickup, and rebranding them as an ongoing customer convenience. Mercury News Read more
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Why Some Bay Area Businesses Are Closing As CA Nears Fully Reopening Its Economy
As California prepares to reopen the economy on June 15, business owners are having a hard time hiring staff. There are 4 million workers nationwide who the left the workforce during the pandemic and haven't come back, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In California that's half a million workers, according to UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education. "The guy who makes the brisket pastrami up in Redding, California is having trouble just getting people to his plant. He is paying really good competitive wages to do some of the work right now, so he is having trouble getting people on line, he is having trouble getting product, which trickles down to us, which then we have to try to pass on to customers," said Lex Gopnik-Lewinski, owner of Augie's Montreal Deli. ABC7 News Read more
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Masks Likely When S.F. Schools Return Full Time in Fall
The San Francisco school district promised a return to five full instruction days a week in the fall, and shared new details Tuesday about what a robust reopening will look like. The San Francisco school board had already pledged in April that the district would plan for a full-time fall return, and the superintendent again reiterated that plan. The district also expects to drop health screenings and surveillance testing but keep masking. SF Chronicle Read more
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Will Bay Area Summer Fairs And Festivals Make a Comeback From COVID?
With its beautiful weather and bountiful wide-open spaces, the Bay Area has long been known as a hotspot for big, splashy outdoor festivals during the summer. Calendars from May through September would be dotted with events crisscrossing the region. At least until last year. As this summer approaches, however, hope appears on the horizon with coronavirus cases on the decline, more Bay Area residents getting vaccinated and the state gearing up to lift all restrictions.
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Moderna's COVID-19 Vaccine Appears Safe And Effective in Teens
Moderna said Tuesday that its COVID-19 vaccine provided strong protection in teens ages 12 to 17 in a late-stage trial. The finding could pave the way for the shot to become the second authorized in the U.S. for use in teens, after the Food and Drug Administration expanded authorization of Pfizer's shot to include kids ages 12 to 15. The company said in a press release that the vaccine was 93 percent effective after one dose and 100 percent effective after two doses. Politico Read more
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Caution Urged For Unvaccinated Ahead of Memorial Day
As Memorial Day weekend approaches, the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offered a hopeful message mixed with caution on Tuesday for Americans planning to celebrate the traditional beginning of summer with friends and family. “If you are vaccinated, you are protected, and you can enjoy your Memorial Day,” the C.D.C. director, Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, said during a White House news conference. “If you are not vaccinated, our guidance has not changed for you, you remain at risk of infection. You still need to mask and take other precautions.” NY Times Read more
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C.D.C. Finds Breakthrough Infections Rare Among the Vaccinated
COVID-19 infections have been reported in just a tiny fraction of Americans who have been fully vaccinated against the disease, according to a survey Tuesday by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The study looked at so-called vaccine breakthrough infections reported to the C.D.C. from January 1 through April 30. The CDC defines vaccine breakthrough infections as detection of the coronavirus in respiratory samples taken from a person two weeks or more past the final vaccine dose. With more than 101 million Americans fully vaccinated as of April 30, the survey found 10,262 reports of breakthrough infections among the immunized across 46 U.S. states and territories, which comes to 0.01%. Mercury News Read more
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Pakistan’s Private Vaccine Sales Highlight Rich-Poor Divide
The coronavirus was ripping through Pakistan, and Muhammad Nasir Chaudhry was worried. Long lines and tight supplies plagued the government’s free vaccine campaign. Newspapers were filled with reports of well-connected people jumping the line for a free dose. Then Mr. Chaudhry, a 35-year-old government consultant, discovered he could pay to leapfrog the long lines himself. He registered to take two doses of the Russian-made Sputnik V vaccine for about $80 from a private hospital. That’s a lot of money in a country where the average worker makes about $110 per month, but Mr. Chaudhry was ready to make the commitment. NY Times Read more
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How Medical Jargon Can Make COVID Health Disparities Even Worse
When cases of COVID-19 began rising in Boston last spring, Pooja Chandrashekar, then a first year student at Harvard Medical School, worried that easy-to-understand information about the pandemic might not be available in the many languages spoken by clients of the Family Van, the health services and health literacy program where she was working at the time. So she recruited more than 175 multilingual health profession students from around the U.S. to start the COVID-19 Health Literacy Project. NPR Read more
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What to Do If You Lose Your Coronavirus Vaccine Card
With California quickly reopening, and businesses increasingly requiring proof of vaccines from employees and customers, it’s time to remember where you stashed your precious COVID-19 vaccination card. It could soon become like a second ticket required for sporting events, international travel and a return to some semblance of normalcy. So what happens if you lost it - or the dog ate it - or maybe you never got a card in the first place? Now what?
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State/National/International News |
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Half Of All U.S. Adults Are Now Fully Vaccinated Against COVID-19
The U.S. COVID-19 vaccination program has gone from zero to 50% in less than six months. As of Tuesday afternoon, the Biden administration said, half of the country's adults are now fully vaccinated against the coronavirus. "This is a major milestone in our country's vaccination efforts," Andy Slavitt, a White House senior adviser on the COVID-19 response, said. "The number was 1% when we entered office Jan. 20."
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California's Coronavirus Positive Test Rate Hits New Low
At the beginning of the year, California was hitting pandemic record after record in the midst of a terrible winter coronavirus surge. Now, the state is setting records again, but in a much more reassuring direction. According to state data, a new 7-day average coronavirus positive test rate of 0.8% was reported Monday. That was the lowest positive test rate on record for California. SF Chronicle Read more
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Why Scientists Are Suddenly More Interested in The Lab-Leak Theory of COVID's Origin
The United States is closer than ever to beating COVID-19, with half the country vaccinated and more restrictions lifting. But we're as far as ever from knowing how this virus, which shut down the world, came to be - which is as frightening as anything, since there's growing suggestions that it didn't just occur naturally, as many experts have long argued. The U.S., with increasing urgency, is calling for more study, warning about the stakes for future pandemics, and more openly considering the idea that mistakes or an accident in a Chinese lab caused the COVID-19 pandemic. CNN Read more
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There’s a Free Treatment For COVID-19
Why Aren’t More People Using It?
There is a free treatment available in San Diego County that can significantly minimize the severity of COVID-19, and even prevent death, but not enough people are taking advantage of it, officials say. Drugs containing coronavirus monoclonal antibodies have increasingly shown an ability to pick off the pathogen before it gets the chance to cause critical cases of COVID-19. The county health department, which opened a free monoclonal clinic in Chula Vista - one of the hardest-hit cities in the state - on April 19 in cooperation with the state and San Ysidro Health, had treated only 49 patients in the past month, fewer than was expected given that a similar arrangement that opened in February in Escondido has dosed 247. San Diego Union-Tribune Read more
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Faster Than a PCR Test: Dogs Detect COVID in Under a Second
Faster than PCR and more accurate than lateral flow tests, the latest weapons against COVID-19 have four legs and a wet nose. A study published on Monday found that people who are infected with coronavirus give off a distinct odour, which these highly trained dogs can detect with pinpoint precision. According to the study, dogs could detect COVID-19 on clothing worn by infected people with up to 94.3% sensitivity: they would correctly identify 94 out of every 100 infected people. This compares with a sensitivity of 58-77% for lateral flow tests, and 97.2% for PCR tests. The Guardian Read more
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Why Summer School in California Will Prioritize Fun and Reconnecting Students
Merced County Office of Education students will hike through a wildlife preserve, fish in the Merced River and take sailing lessons from a local yacht club as part of this year’s summer school program. Elk Grove Unified students have the option to learn to act, sing or perform slam poetry. San Francisco students can take archery at a local park or classes in a high-rise downtown building that is usually home to tech workers. Although school districts are still offering academic programs, summer school this year is supposed to be fun. EdSource Read more
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No, It Is Not Illegal For Businesses To Require Proof Of Vaccination
If a person refuses to disclose their vaccination status, a business cannot search their pockets or vehicle for proof they are vaccinated. However, it can ask for the information to be voluntarily disclosed. If it isn’t, a business has the right to refuse entry, according to Michele Goodwin, a professor of law at UC Irvine and director of the Center for Biotechnology and Global Health Policy. CapRadio Read more
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Malaysia Now Has More COVID Cases Per Million People Than India
Malaysia’s daily COVID-19 cases are climbing rapidly and have surpassed India’s on one critical measure, according to statistics site Our World in Data. The latest statistics showed that Malaysia reported on Tuesday 205.1 cases per million people on a seven-day rolling basis, compared with India’s 150.4 cases. Malaysia’s population of roughly 32 million is much smaller than India’s 1.4 billion. CNBC Read more
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Confirmed Cases
Bay Area: 443,157
California: 3,780,417
U.S.: 33,186,016
Alameda County
Vaccines Administered: 1,842,905
Cases: 88,665
Deaths: 1,679
Test Positivity: 0.8%
Hospitalized Patients: 74
ICU Beds Available: 113
Cases have stayed about the same over the past week and are still high. The numbers of hospitalized COVID patients and deaths in the Alameda County area have fallen. The test positivity rate in Alameda County is relatively low, suggesting that testing capacity is adequate for evaluating COVID-19 spread in the area. NY Times
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Reported Deaths
Bay Area: 6,548
California: 63,010
U.S.: 591,908
Contra Costa County
Vaccines Administered: 1,283,461
Cases: 69,496
Deaths: 798
Test Positivity: 1.7%
Hospitalized Patients: 27
ICU Beds Available: 40
Cases have stayed about the same over the past week and are still high. The number of hospitalized COVID patients has fallen in the Contra Costa area. Deaths have remained at about the same level. The test positivity rate in Contra Costa County is relatively low, suggesting that testing capacity is adequate for evaluating COVID-19 spread in the area. NY Times
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How Months of Working From Home Without Bay Area Commutes Has Affected Our Bodies
It seems like just yesterday, millions of employees across the world saw their workplaces change overnight. They went from cubicles and private offices with equipment designed for a long day’s work to hard kitchen tables and makeshift setups in their bedrooms as many began working from home. Now after more than a year later of this transition and the revelation that many companies may continue a work-from home option, healthcare providers and experts want to make sure that an uptick in injuries unique to the home reported since the start of the pandemic is not exacerbated. Mercury News 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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COVID Test Resources
Food Pantries
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Over the last seven days, Alameda County officials have reported 361 new coronavirus cases, which amounts to 22 cases per 100,000 residents. |
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Over the last seven days, Contra Costa County officials have reported 419 new coronavirus cases, which amounts to 37 cases per 100,000 residents. |
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Top 10 Locations of Cases in
Alameda County, as of 5/26//21
Oakland: 27,653
Hayward: 13,708
Fremont: 8,051
Eden MAC: 5,961
San Leandro: 5,518
Livermore: 4,305
Union City: 4,030
Berkeley: 3,618
Newark: 2,817
Castro Valley: 2,588
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Top 10 Locations of Cases in
Contra Costa County, as of 5/26/21
Richmond: 11,676
Antioch: 9,676
Concord: 8,102
Pittsburg: 6,869
San Pablo: 5,272
Brentwood: 3,848
Oakley: 3,247
Walnut Creek: 2,886
Bay Point: 2,796
San Ramon: 2,123
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Mask On!
Protect Yourself While Protecting Others
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Working in collaboration with the Alameda County Public Health Department, the cities of Hayward and San Leandro, and the Castro Valley and Eden Area Municipal Advisory Councils, the District has printed "Mask On" posters for each city in the Eden Health District area. These posters are free of charge and intended for businesses, health clinics, schools, churches, public agencies and nonprofit agencies to display in their entrances. The posters are available in English, Spanish and Chinese languages. The public is welcome to download and print or share "Mask On" posters from our website. |
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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 Varsha Chauhan. 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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