COVID-19
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Bay Area Schools Are Facing Dire Teacher Shortages
The Result: Other Staff Running Classrooms
Three weeks into the school year, the San Lorenzo superintendent stood in a classroom, masked students behind him, and took a selfie. The photo was unremarkable - desks, students, pencils. But the caption reflected the dire situation that many Bay Area school districts find themselves in: There are not enough teachers to staff classrooms and a host of other employees have to fill in. “The teacher and substitute/guest teacher shortage is a real issue,” Daryl Camp wrote about his East Bay district. “In San Lorenzo USD, directors, principals, assistant superintendents and the superintendent are in classrooms trying to support school sites. Teachers are subbing during their prep time way too much.” SF Chronicle Read more
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Two Bay Area School Districts Want To Mandate Student Vaccines
Proposals to mandate COVID-19 vaccinations for tens of thousands of staff and students in two Bay Area school districts are drawing support from health experts and many families - though some parents and students expressed trepidation. The school boards for the Oakland Unified and West Contra Costa Unified districts are slated to vote on the proposed mandates this week. If they’re approved, these two Bay Area districts would become the first in Northern California to adopt such requirements. SF Chronicle
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Bay Area Counties Prepare To Vaccinate Kids 5-11 Years Old Ahead Of Pfizer's Expected Authorization
Health officers across the Bay Area are starting to prepare how distribution will work once the vaccine is authorized for emergency use. Pfizer is expected to submit data for FDA review by late September. UCSF's Dr. Peter Chin-Hong predicts a decision on the EUA will happen before Halloween, but added we should be prepared for delays. "Because I think there's a lot of pressure to divert resources within the FDA right now to ensure they really have all hands on deck," Chin-Hong said. ABC7 News Read more
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"There Is No Magic Bullet"
Bay Area COVID Experts Offer Reality Check
Dr. Arthur Reingold, head of epidemiology at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health, thinks people need to get rid of the idea that there is one, single solution to ending the pandemic. The reality is just too complicated. "With something like this virus, there is no single magic bullet,” he said. “The vaccine is not a perfect magic bullet, masks are not a perfect magic bullet, social distancing, etc. We really need to think more in terms of a collection of strategies to try and keep people safe.” The Jewish News of Northern California Read more
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The Bay Area’s COVID Hotel Experiment: Successes And Uncertainty
For much of the past year, Heather Chavez waited in fear of being kicked out of the comfortable Livermore hotel room that had become her refuge during the COVID pandemic. As funding deadlines came and went, and residents received frightening notices warning that they’d soon have to move along, she was terrified she’d have to go back to sleeping in a car or RV on the side of the road. Instead, after months of uncertainty, Chavez and her husband recently secured a subsidized apartment in Alameda. Mercury News Read more
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Officials Announce Concert Lineup For Alameda County Fair In October
Pleasanton is gearing up for the return of the Alameda County Fair from Oct. 22-31, after nearly a year and a half of COVID-19-related closures, and fair organizers are adding to the anticipation with the announcement this week of the outdoor concert lineup. The fall fair, which has a theme of "Come Together", will welcome musical performers like Smash Mouth, WAR, Night Ranger and tribute acts inspired by Garth Brooks, Journey, the Eagles and Earth, Wind & Fire.
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COVID-19 Vaccine For 5- To 11-Year-Olds Is Safe And Shows "Robust" Antibody Response, Pfizer Says
In a highly anticipated announcement, Pfizer said on Monday a Phase 2/3 trial showed its COVID-19 vaccine was safe and generated a "robust" antibody response in children ages 5 to 11. These are the first such results released for this age group for a US COVID-19 vaccine, and the data has not yet been peer-reviewed or published. Pfizer said it plans to submit to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for emergency use authorization soon. FDA officials have said that once data is submitted, the agency could authorize a vaccine for younger children in a matter of weeks. CNN Read more
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Moderna's Vaccine Is The Most Effective, But Pfizer And J&J Also Protect Well, CDC-Led Study Says
A head-to-head study of all three authorized coronavirus vaccines in the United States finds the Moderna vaccine is slightly more effective than Pfizer's in real-life use in keeping people out of the hospital, and Johnson & Johnson's Janssen vaccine comes in third, but still provides 71% protection. Pfizer's vaccine provided 88% protection against hospitalization, and Moderna's was 93% effective. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention led a nationwide study of vaccination involving more than 3,600 adults hospitalized for COVID-19 between March and August. CNN Read more
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Parents Are Tired Of Waiting For Vaccines For Their Kids - So They’re Lying
These days, the distance between ages 11 and 12 is more than a year. It is a chasm between danger and safety. Vaccines promise people 12 and older protection from COVID-19, but aren’t yet approved in the U.S. for younger children, and it isn’t clear exactly when they will be. Frustrated by the wait and desperate to protect their children, some parents are sneaking their 10- and 11-year-old kids across this chasm, and hoping not to get caught. The Atlantic Read more
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The Biden Administration Is Negotiating To Buy Another 500 Million Pfizer Doses To Donate Overseas
The Biden administration is negotiating with Pfizer to buy another 500 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to donate overseas, which would bring the total number of planned donations to 1.15 billion doses - about a tenth of the world’s need - according to two people familiar with the plan. It was not immediately clear over what time period the donation would be. NY Times Read more
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Bringing COVID-19 Vaccines To Migrant Field Workers
On a recent Friday afternoon as about 50 workers quietly picked tomatoes at a farm in Brentwood, California, Marivel Mendoza and Dorina Moraida set up tables on the dusty road skirting the expansive field. The women, both first-generation Mexican Americans and daughters of field workers whose parents started out working in the fields, offered donated water, breakfast burritos, and kits with masks, gloves, hats, and goggles to protect the workers from getting COVID-19. And on this day, the 2 co-founders of the all-volunteer group Hijas del Campo, or daughters of the field, were partnering with volunteers from Contra Costa Health Services who provided COVID-19 tests and vaccinated 10 workers after their shifts ended. The organization was started by 4 women, all daughters of field workers. Kaiser Health News Read more
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COVID-19 Vaccination Rates Lag In Younger Black And Latino Residents in L.A. County
COVID-19 vaccinations are lagging the most in younger Black and Latino residents of Los Angeles County. Vaccination rates among L.A. County’s Black residents up to age 49 remain below 50%, and rates among Latino residents in the same age group remain below 60%, health officials said this week. These rates are far below that of older Black and Latino residents, as well as white, Asian American and Native American residents of all age groups in L.A. County. “These persistent gaps need to worry all of us, as the unvaccinated people in each of these subgroups are still able to catch and transmit the virus very easily,” L.A. County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said. LA Times Read more
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They Shunned COVID Vaccines But Embraced Antibody Treatment
Lanson Jones did not think that the coronavirus would come for him. An avid tennis player in Houston who had not caught so much as a cold during the pandemic, he had refused a vaccine because he worried that it would spoil his streak of good health. But contracting COVID shattered his faith in his body’s defenses - so much so that Mr. Jones, nose clogged and appetite vanished, began hunting for anything to spare himself a nightmarish illness. The answer turned out to be monoclonal antibodies, a year-old, laboratory-created drug no less experimental than the vaccine. NY Times Read more
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State/National/International News |
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Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients Waiting Days For ICU Beds In Central California
Some hospitals in Central California are still so overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients that some critically ill people are waiting days to be transferred into the intensive care unit from the emergency room, officials said. One Fresno area hospital had nine critically ill patients who were unable to get into the intensive care unit for more than three days, interim health officer Dr. Rais Vohra said at a news conference this week. This forces emergency room staff to treat patients needing ICU care, disrupting the healthcare of other patients with less severe illness. LA Times Read more
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Parenting A Child Under 12 In The Age Of Delta: "It’s Like A Fire Alarm Every Day"
Greg Otto conducts risk assessments for a living, but the cybersecurity consultant from Springfield, Va., never imagined he’d have to do one every time his daughter, 6, and son, 4, stepped outside the boundaries of their home. Playing with next-door neighbors outdoors? Acceptable. School? Necessary. Eating out? No way. Dance classes where everyone’s masked, and that were prepaid in June when the outlook for coronavirus infections seemed more optimistic? On the fence. “This is insanity,” said Otto, 37. Washington Post Read more
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Hostess Assaulted At NYC Restaurant After Asking Texas Patrons For Proof Of COVID-19 Vaccination
A hostess in New York City was assaulted after asking patrons from Texas to show proof of their vaccination status when they entered a restaurant, authorities said. New York City mandates that those 12 and older seeking to dine indoors show proof of having received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, though enforcement of the policy has largely fallen on front-line hospitality workers. ABC News Read more
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After 169 Hospitals, A Dad Finally Got The COVID-19 Care He Needed - And Changed Dozens Of Skeptics' Minds
Every breath Robby Walker takes is one that almost didn't happen. Just a few weeks ago, the Florida father of six was on a ventilator with COVID-19 pneumonia in both lungs. Like most Americans hospitalized with COVID-19, Walker was not vaccinated. "He is in dire need of an ECMO treatment, which is not available at the hospital that he is in," his wife Susan Walker told CNN in August. ECMO treatment uses an external machine that can function as the body's heart and lungs. But "all the beds are taken up by COVID victims also getting ECMO treatment," Susan Walker said at that time. "So now we're desperately searching outside of the state just for a hospital to take him."
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COVID-Stricken Alabama Had More Deaths Than Births Last Year, A First In Its Recorded History
For the first time in Alabama’s known history, the state had more deaths than births in 2020 - a grim milestone that underscores the pandemic’s calamitous toll. “Our state literally shrunk in 2020,” Dr. Scott Harris, Alabama’s state health officer, said on Friday. There were 64,714 total deaths in the state last year, compared to 57,641 births, Dr. Harris said. Such a gap had never been recorded, not even during World War I, World War II and the flu pandemic of 1918, Dr. Harris said. NY Times Read more
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Doctors Treating Unvaccinated COVID Patients Are Succumbing To Compassion Fatigue
Last February, Dr Bryce Meck, 30, would lock herself in the bathroom to cry for five minutes when her patients, whom she had watched over for weeks in the medical intensive care unit, were dying from COVID-19. They begged her to tell people in their community to get vaccinated. Of the 20 patients with COVID-19 in her care, only three survived. Each week, Meck’s frustration grew when she saw patients who expressed vaccine hesitancy, shared misinformation, or told her that their friends were pressuring them to remain unvaccinated. The Guardian Read more
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Confirmed Cases
Bay Area: 568,793
California: 4,636,268
U.S.: 42,101,341
Alameda County
Vaccines Administered: 2,305,559
Cases: 112,985
Deaths: 1,270
Test Positivity: 2.1%
Hospitalized Patients: 171
ICU Beds Available: 106
Cases have decreased recently but are still very high. The number of hospitalized COVID patients has remained at about the same level in the Alameda County area. Deaths have increased. 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: 6,275
California: 67,966
U.S.: 673,911
Contra Costa County
Vaccines Administered: 1,630,728
Cases: 94,261
Deaths: 921
Test Positivity: 3.1%
Hospitalized Patients: 144
ICU Beds Available: 41
Cases have decreased recently but are still very high. The numbers of hospitalized COVID patients and deaths in the Contra Costa County area have also fallen. 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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Vaccine Record Standards and Guidelines
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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 past week, Alameda County has averaged 228 new cases and 1.6 new deaths per day.
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Over the past week, Contra Costa County has averaged 199 new cases and 2.3 new deaths per day.
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Top 10 Locations of Cases in
Alameda County, as of 9/19/21
Oakland: 35,911
Hayward: 16,511
Fremont: 9,930
Eden MAC: 7,194
San Leandro: 7,012
Livermore: 6.019
Union City: 4,854
Berkeley: 4,786
Castro Valley: 3,474
Newark: 3,328
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Top 10 Locations of Cases in
Contra Costa County, as of 9/19/21
Richmond: 14,517
Antioch: 13,827
Concord: 10,602
Pittsburg: 9,077
San Pablo: 6,343
Brentwood: 5,834
Oakley: 4,920
Walnut Creek: 4,027
Bay Point: 3,616
San Ramon: 3,008
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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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