COVID-19
breaking news & updates
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COVID Test Resources
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Tree Planting Memorial to Honor COVID Victims and Survivors
A Tree Planting Memorial to honor those who lost their lives to COVID-19 and those who fought and survived is being held at Kindred Hospital San Francisco Bay Area (front yard), located at 2800 Benedict Drive in San Leandro, on Wednesday, September 15, from 3-4 p.m.
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Here's How Alameda County Vaccine Rates Compare To All Of California
I n the greater Bay Area, COVID-19 vaccination rates among people age 12 and up are outpacing the state's vaccination rate in all but one county. As of Monday, Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Monterey, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and Sonoma counties are all ahead of both statewide metrics, with local data showing many counties surpassing 80 and 90 percent of eligible residents receiving at least one dose. Castro Valley Patch Read more
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Amid Delta Surge, Demand Spikes For COVID Monoclonal Antibody Treatment In Bay Area
When Dora Mendez tested positive for the coronavirus Aug. 20, she was surprised. Mendez, 50, is fully vaccinated. But the Redwood City resident had a kidney and pancreas transplant 19 years ago and takes medication that suppresses her immune system, which may have interfered with her body’s ability to build up protective antibodies. After she tested positive, her doctor quickly referred Mendez to a Stanford Medicine clinic that administers monoclonal antibodies to eligible COVID patients. Monoclonal antibody therapy is the only treatment authorized for non-hospitalized patients with mild or moderate symptoms in early stages of the disease. SF Chronicle Read more
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S.F. Sports Seasons In Jeopardy After School District's Late Release Of Officials' Regulations
Stricter health and safety requirements for referees in the San Francisco Unified School District might delay a long-awaited high school sports season, leaving coaches, athletic directors and parents frustrated and angry. In an email sent Friday by San Francisco Section Commissioner Don Collins to school athletic directors and principals and seen by The Chronicle, the SFUSD’s legal office is reclassifying sports officials in order to limit contact with students. The new requirements - a COVID-19 vaccine, a TB test and a Department of Justice/FBI fingerprint for background checks - put the fall season for SFS public schools - as well as sports at SFUSD middle schools - in a bind.
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Alameda County District Attorney's Office Warns About COVID Related Phishing
Pandemic-related email scams are on the rise with the increase in Delta variant COVID cases and COVID vaccinations. Beware of unsolicited emails that direct you to click a link or open an attachment. These could be “phishing” attempts by bad actors seeking to steal personal information or install malware. ALCODA Read more
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Bay Area Council Recommends Private Companies Require Employee Vaccine Mandates
A group that represents many of the Bay Area's largest employers is recommending that businesses require their employees to be vaccinated against COVID before coming back to work. The Bay Area Council says it'll be up to each company to decide what form that requirement takes. KTVU Read more
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Moderna Vaccine Makes Twice As Many Antibodies As Pfizer, Study Says
Moderna Inc.’s COVID vaccine generated more than double the antibodies of a similar shot made by Pfizer Inc. and BioNTech SE in research that compared immune responses evoked by the two inoculations. The study is one of the first to compare levels of antibodies produced by the two vaccines, which are thought to be one of the important components of the immune response. It didn’t examine whether the antibody differences led to a difference in efficacy over time between the two shots, which both were more than 90% effective in final-stage clinical trials. Mercury News Read more
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Vaccinations Are Increasing In California
Amid worries about the Delta variant, there’s a bright spot of news: Vaccination rates in California have climbed significantly since early July. And the biggest increases are in counties with lots of unvaccinated residents and mounting hospitalizations, according to a Chronicle data analysis. Across California, vaccination rates have increased by over 33%. But many counties have picked up the pace even more - particularly rural counties in the northern and central portions of the state. SF Chronicle Read more
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COVID-19 Vaccine Effectiveness Against Severe Disease Has Not Dropped Much, CDC Says
Overall effectiveness of coronavirus vaccines has not dropped much yet for most vaccinated Americans, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccine advisers were told Monday. CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices met Monday to discuss the potential eventual need for booster doses of coronavirus vaccine - although they did not vote. The White House has said it's planning to offer booster doses at the end of September, although it's up to the US Food and Drug Administration and the CDC to decide on this. CNN Read more
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Bay Area Rep. Ro Khanna Among Lawmakers Calling On FDA To Lay Out Timeline For Kids' COVID Vaccine
In classrooms across the Bay Area, school districts are doing everything they can to keep students safe but one key piece is missing in the fight against COVID-19: vaccinations for kids. Congressman Ro Khanna says that has many parents worried about their child's safety. "I've heard from thousands of parents in Cupertino, Fremont and Sunnyvale who are concerned about sending their kids back to school, kids who don't have a vaccine," Rep. Khanna said. "Of course, as a parent of young kids, this concern is personal for me too." ABC7 Read more
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Why Are Cops So Resistant to Getting Vaccinated?
In city after city, the story appears to be the same: Police unions are firmly against rules requiring their members to be vaccinated against COVID-19. In Chicago, after Mayor Lori Lightfoot said a mandate would be in order for all public employees, Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara told the Chicago Sun-Times his response would be “Hell no,” analogizing the directive to something out of the Holocaust. Mother Jones Read more
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NFL Says It Would Welcome Vaccine Mandate For Players Following Small COVID Outbreak
There’s just over a week left before the National Football League’s new season begins, and its already bickering with the players’ union over COVID guidelines. The NFL Players Association agreed to renew COVID policies for the 2021 season, mainly emulating policies from 2020, including daily testing and mask mandates. However, with the delta variant causing a surge in COVID cases, there are ongoing discussions about mandating vaccines for players. CNBC Read more
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Anti-Vaccine Forces Pushing Ivermectin - It Can Be Toxic, Dangerous, Officials Say
Don’t take ivermectin, a drug used to treat parasitic infections, to prevent or treat COVID-19, health officials warn. For months, ivermectin has become touted by people opposed to the COVID-19 vaccine as a way to prevent or treat COVID-19, despite the lack of scientific evidence the drug has any effect on preventing the disease. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved ivermectin to prevent or treat COVID-19. LA Times Read more
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State/National/International News
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100,000 More Could Die From COVID-19 In U.S. By December
While hospitals around the United States report oxygen shortages as they treat primarily unvaccinated Americans, a recent University of Washington model said it is possible another 100,000 people could die from COVID-19 by December. That terrifying forecast could be prevented if more Americans get vaccinated, Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, said. CNN Read more
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COVID-19 Outbreak Sidelines "Whole Strike Team Of Crews" Battling Caldor Fire Near South Lake Tahoe
An outbreak of COVID-19 has sidelined a strike team of 16 firefighters battling the Caldor fire, which is currently approaching the South Lake Tahoe area. During a Tuesday morning operations briefing, Cal Fire incident commander Jeff Veik announced the loss of the crews, and warned other firefighters to follow the agency's COVID-19 protocols. SFGate Read more
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South African Researchers Keep Wary Eye On Yet Another New Coronavirus Variant
Genetics researchers who have been watching for new coronavirus variants say they've seen a troubling new lineage that carries many of the same hallmarks as other strains, including Alpha, Beta and Gamma. The variant they are watching, called C.1.2, has popped up across South Africa as well as in seven other countries in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, the researchers report. They're not sure whether its constellation of mutations will make it more dangerous, but it carries changes that have given other variants increased transmissibility and the ability to evade the immune system's response to some degree. CNN Read more
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The U.S. Is Off the E.U.’s "Safe List"
What Does That Mean for Americans Traveling to Europe?
On Monday, the European Union removed the United States from its “safe list” of countries whose residents can travel to its 27 member states without requirements such as quarantine and testing. This generated confusion, with some people writing on social media that Americans have been banned from visiting Europe. That’s not actually what the recommendation means. Americans have not been explicitly prohibited from going anywhere in Europe. But as of Tuesday, at least one country had put new restrictions on travelers depending on their vaccination status: Italy said it would require unvaccinated travelers to quarantine for five days; vaccinated travelers must take a test for the coronavirus before entering. NY Times Read more
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Proposed California Vaccine Verification Bill On Ice
A proposed statewide California vaccine verification law won’t happen this year. Democratic lawmakers last week were weighing a statewide mandate that people prove they are inoculated before going inside restaurants, gyms, bars, theaters and other places, which would have been among the most sweeping in the country. San Francisco became the first major U.S. city Aug. 20 to adopt such a rule.
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Children's Hospitals Are Pleading For Federal Help As They Run Out Of Beds
A group of more than 220 children's hospitals is imploring the Biden administration for help, as a surge of young COVID-19 patients puts an "unprecedented strain" on their facilities and staff across the country. Pediatric hospitals are "at or near capacity" and they expect to see more child patients as the school year resumes, according to the Children's Hospital Association. NPR Read more
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Confirmed Cases
Bay Area: 533,732
California: 4,360,789
U.S.: 39,309,315
Alameda County
Vaccines Administered: 2,256,158
Cases: 107,682
Deaths: 1,312
Test Positivity: 3.1%
Hospitalized Patients: 245
ICU Beds Available: 101
Cases have stayed about the same recently and are still very high. The numbers of hospitalized COVID patients and deaths in the Alameda County area have also remained at about the same level. The test positivity rate in Alameda County is relatively low, suggesting that testing capacity is adequate for evaluating COVID spread in the area. NY Times
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Reported Deaths
Bay Area: 6.019
California: 65,873
U.S.: 640,406
Contra Costa County
Vaccines Administered: 1,584,929
Cases: 89,954
Deaths: 869
Test Positivity: 5.2%
Hospitalized Patients: 221
ICU Beds Available: 49
Cases have increased recently and are very high. The numbers of hospitalized COVID patients and deaths in the Contra Costa County area have also risen. The test positivity rate in Contra Costa County is high, suggesting that cases may be undercounted. NY Times
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Why Rising COVID-19 Hospitalizations Are a Risk to Everyone’s Health
Hospitals around the country are running out of ICU beds as coronavirus cases continue to spike in the United States, straining the ability of health systems to care for patients. And it’s not only people with COVID-19 being affected as medical resources are stretched thin. People coming to the hospital after a car accident or with signs of a heart attack or stroke may also face long waits for treatment or a bed in the intensive care unit. Even non-urgent care is being impacted as medical staff, equipment, and space are diverted to deal with surges in COVID-19 patients, the majority of them unvaccinated. Healthline 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 last seven days, Alameda County officials have reported 2,211 new coronavirus cases, which amounts to 135 cases per 100,000 residents.
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Over the last seven days, Contra Costa County officials have reported 4,616 new coronavirus cases, which amounts to 407 cases per 100,000 residents.
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Top 10 Locations of Cases in
Alameda County, as of 9/1/21
Oakland: 34,325
Hayward: 15,909
Fremont: 9,457
Eden MAC: 6,905
San Leandro: 6,721
Livermore: 5,552
Union City: 4,681
Berkeley: 4,517
Castro Valley: 3,266
Newark: 3,172
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Top 10 Locations of Cases in
Contra Costa County, as of 9/1/21
Richmond: 14,053
Antioch: 13,195
Concord: 10,161
Pittsburg: 8,717
San Pablo: 6,135
Brentwood: 5,537
Oakley: 4,604
Walnut Creek: 3,800
Bay Point: 3,505
San Ramon: 2,820
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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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